Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Sausagy nonsense
My pal Lucie sent me a link to a recipe for Merguez sausage. I printed out a copy, but now the darn thing is locked behind a firewall! The only thing more nonsensical than locking things behind membership-only firewalls is putting it up for all to see and THEN locking it away.
I’ve made some minor changes. It’s my recipe now.
(Why pork? It seems to be one of the few meats I can still tolerate.)
Toast heaping half-teaspoonfuls of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds until slightly smoky, then grind in a spice grinder.
Add this to 1 lb of ground pork, along with 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh cilantro, 1.5 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon of Spanish smoked paprika (you can substitute red pepper flakes or cayenne). Mush it all together with your hands, and when it’s all nicely mushed, form it into sausages.
No, I haven’t tried them yet — I’m letting them air-dry in the fridge — but they smell lovely. I’ll keep you posted.
D.
For sausage, don’t you have to put them into a casing? Or are these just sort of long thin hamburgers?
I’ve always been reluctant to do homemade sausage for just this reason. Who can find casings?
I found them once, and they sat in my fridge for months, unfulfilled. Never again! So if these hold together without a casing, I think I’m golden.