Why we love merguez:
Here comes summer, the perfect grilling season. We
always prefer cooking outdoors at this time of year and our menu often includes
merguez, our favorite spicy sausage, grilled to perfection, juicy and
delicious. John’s favorite culinary treat that he has written about often is grilled spicy
merguez paired with my famous garlicy hummus and paired with a cold beer! Of
course, our merguez sausage is perfect for a sandwich with grilled onions and
peppers or as an appetizer with cold cucumber dip. There are so many ways to
enjoy our ever popular sausage.
The story of how it all began….
Merguez
Sukey and I figure that we started making Merguez in the
late 1990’s. It was really just a happenstance. Sukey and I were handing out
samples of Lamb at The Book and the Cook event in Philadelphia. We had been
developing various products to use up the shoulders and legs which were not
selling on a regular basis at that time. We had created a Lamb Stew with our
friend, Jean-Louis Palladin, a Lamb Barley Soup and a Lamb Pie which won an
award at “The Fancy Food show” in New York City.
While these were starting to sell, we decided to try making
sausage, hoping we would cover a broader market. This food show was in Eastern
Pennsylvania after all, where everyone eats sausage, so we thought it would be
a good venue for us. Our first attempt was a plain sausage which had sage in it
which gave it a flavor similar to an American Breakfast Sausage. The second was
a spinach and feta sausage with its obvious Greek influence. We worked over
time developing these recipes and we thought we had two good sausages and a
good line of handmade prepared products.
So there we were, smiling and happy, handing out samples of
barley soup and both sausages talking with prospective customers, when two
somewhat familiar faces in full Chef’s Whites were hurrying through the grid of
serving station tables. As they started to pass by us, I recognized them and asked
them to come over to try a sample. Sukey and I had known Jacques Pepin and
Alain Sailhac from The International Association of Culinary Professionals.
Both were there promoting The French Culinary Institute which was headed by
Chef Sailhac. We were starstruck that they recognized us and decided to stop
and sample some lamb.
Chef Pepin went straight to the sausages while I was talking
to Chef Sailhac. I was trying to remain calm, talking with one chef who had
been at Le Cirque in NYC for years, while nebbing in (as we say in Pittsburgh)
to see how one of the most famous chefs in the country liked our sausage.
He tried a bite of both types and then turned to Sailhac,
started speaking in French, but was obviously pleased. They were discussing
something about the sausages but the only word that caught my ear was,
“Merguez.” Chef Pepin then turned to me and said, “These are very good, but you
must make Merguez.”
Merguez? So it started. We hadn’t even heard of Merguez as a
sausage in this country. We had heard the name thrown about by Chefs which is
why it had caught my attention when the two were talking. If French Chefs of
this stature were interested, we had best check it out. So we researched it,
studied it, consulted various sources and, with Chef Pepin’s suggestion, came
to Paula Wolfert’s books, authority on all things Moroccan. Following her lead,
testing and trying to match what we thought Merguez should taste like, we sent
to a few of our French chef customers.
That’s when the fun started! We sent samples to Jean Joho in
Chicago, Jean-Marie Lacroix in Philadelphia, Jean-Louis Palladin in D.C., and
Jacques Pepin at his house in Connecticut. Within days I had great Gallic
disagreement, with these chefs passionately pounding out the fine points of
what “his,” Merguez should taste like. “More Sumac,” “Too much Paprika,” etc.
We learned from their comments. We sent the “tweaked,” Merguez back to
them. Everyone was happy. We loved it…..and
then Sukey ramped up the coriander, just a touch. Wow! That made it “just
right!”
We created our own recipe and have been making our Merguez
the same way for twenty plus years, long before it became popular in this
country. We have always received compliments, especially from our customers who
have spent time in parts of France and North Africa where Merguez is both a
staple and a street food. It is made regularly by us from only our own lamb. We
think it’s the best we’ve ever tasted.
A delicious way to enjoy merguez:
Fennel salad with merguez:
For salad:
1 head radicchio
2-3 Belgian endive
1 large fennel bulb
1 lb. merguez sausage-
grilled or sautéed and cut into 1” lengths
1/2 cup coarsely grated
parmesan cheese
For dressing:
3 T chopped fennel frond
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 teaspoon chopped shallot
2 T lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon coarse ground
pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
Slice and chop salad mix into bite size pieces. Toss with
parmesan cheese.
Grill or sauté merguez sausage until medium, just done.
Slice into 1” lengths.
Prepare vinaigrette in mini blender. Place all
ingredients except oil in blender. Pulse to combine. Taste for seasoning. Add
oil at the end to emulsify. Add 1 teaspoon water if too thick.
Pour vinaigrette over vegetable salad. Plate salad, add
merguez and sprinkle parmesan on top.
Sukey & John Jamison
Jamison Farm
