Monday, October 15, 2012

Lamb Merguez Patties – If the Sausage is Moroccan, Your Burger Will Be Rockin'

After using Merguez sausage in this beautiful stuffed acorn squash recipe last year, I got a bunch of emails saying, “I can’t find that anywhere! Can you show us how to make it?!” I generally ignore those, since it’s usually just people not looking hard enough (I’m looking at you, Mr. “I can’t find Panko”).

However, in this case, I realized that Merguez is not commonly stocked at the grocery store, so I decided to come up with an easy home version. I didn’t bother with the casing, as these were originally going to be breakfast patties, but as I mention in the video, I was seduced by a brioche roll, and ended up going full burger. Happily, it made for a very memorable lunch.

If you do happen to give this Merguez recipe a try, I hope you make a double batch and not only experience the amazing burger it produces, but also use it in/on a number of things. It is wonderful in beans, frittatas, pastas, soups, and especially crumbled on pizza or flatbread. I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for Four (4 oz) Patties:
1 pound ground lamb (rec., 85% lean, 15% fat)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp turmeric
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp Harissa (a spice red pepper paste), we did a version here. I didn’t add cayenne since my Harissa was very spicy, but feel free.
1 tbsp tomato paste
*Note: To check seasoning, fry a small piece and check for salt and heat.

View the complete recipe


11 comments:

Scotty said...

I love lamb burgers and can't wait to try this out. How much tumeric was used? It wasn't on your list. Thanks!

Chef John said...

1/4 tsp! I just added. thanks!

bennynac said...

Do you think the dish would benefit from sitting in the bridge overnight before cooking to let the flavors marry?

Food Junkie said...

Another delicious sounding dish John. While they generally don't grind as finely why not get a glass mortar and pestle for the videos? They are the next best thing to a mortar with a light.

Chef John said...

Thanks! The glass are way too slick to grind in for me. Need the rougher marble for this.

Aryanna said...

Hi John, just a quick question, what's a good substitute for Harissa? I know you provided a link on how to make it from scratch but I don't have all the ingredients at the moment. Thanks in advance!

Chef John said...

Basically, use anything spicy made from red peppers. Not sure what that means for you, but other hot chili sauces would be the only sub. Or, or a few tubes online. The stuff rocks!

Aryanna said...

Great! Thank you!

SoRefined said...

Chef John, what size mortar do you use? I have thought about getting one (though I usually use a powered grinder for spices, it's not really useful for making pastes) but I'm never sure what's the right size.

Love your videos!

Chef John said...

Not sure, it's about 5 inches across. Size not a huge deal, just get one the size of a small bowl and you're good to go.

dana said...

Hmm, wonder how this would work with ground chicken. Might give it a whirl.