What is Merguez Sausage?
Merguez sausage is a spicy, flavorful sausage originating from North African cuisine, particularly popular in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Made primarily from lamb or beef, this sausage is seasoned with a blend of aromatic spices, including cumin, coriander, fennel, and paprika, along with garlic and harissa, a fiery chili paste. The vibrant red color and robust, smoky flavor make Merguez a standout ingredient in various dishes. Often grilled or pan-fried, Merguez sausage can be served in sandwiches, with couscous, or as part of a mixed grill. Its unique, spicy profile adds an exotic touch to any meal.
What does Merguez Sausage Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Lamb is a red meat that comes from the animal before it is 12 months old. Meat older than this is called mutton and is from a sheep. Shoulder meat is the preferred cut for ground lamb, though other cuts can be used. Ground lamb has a soft texture that is pliable and easy to shape. The color is red and when cooked it has a mild and sweet flavor that is gently gamey.
Tomato paste is a made by cooking tomatoes down, straining them and then continuing to let them cook until they have been reduced to a thick, dark red paste. This paste is tart and sweet with very little moisture due to the reduction of juices which creates an intensified and rich tomato flavor. Tomato paste is used in sauces and many Italian dishes.
There are a number of spices used in cooking and baking. Spices generally refer to a variety of seeds, barks, fruits and roots that are used to add specific flavors to food. Some spices are sweet, spicy, pungent or savory. The flavors range greatly and spices can be used whole or ground and are usually cooked, but generally cooking them is not required.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Garlic is used in cuisines around the world and is extremely popular for its depth of flavor. The garlic bulb forms underneath the soil and is harvested once it reaches maturity. The bulb typically has thin, dry, white and flaky skin, surrounding the individual cloves. Often there are 10-12 cloves to a bulb/head of garlic. The cloves are cream colored with a strong smell and flavor that is spicy and sharp. Garlic takes on a nutty flavor in addition, when cooked. It is used in countless dishes, sauces, breads and more.
Olive oil is extracted from the fresh olive, which grows on a tree. Many olives are needed in the extraction of the oil. This is done by a mechanical process and sometimes by a chemical process, though the mechanical method is highly preferred. Olive oil is a golden color and changes slightly due to whether it is extra virgin, or first cold pressed. The flavor of olive oil depends on how it was processed. Lower quality oils will taste mild, while high quality olive oils will have a robust flavor that is green, or may have a spicy quality. Extra virgin and first cold pressed or preferred. Olive oil lends a depth of flavor to any savory dish.
Paprika is a spice made made not from one type of pepper but from multiple varieties of sweet peppers and chili peppers. Common paprika is not spicy, but some paprika will be mildly spicy if hotter peppers are used. The pepper is dried and ground into a fine red power used to season savory dishes. The flavor is both sweet and pungent with a hint of bitterness that can emerge when it is cooked.
Tripe is offal; a cut of meat from the insides of the animal, not connected to bone or mussel. Tripe is the lining of a cow's stomach and is used in various cuisines as a protein. The color is beige and the texture is chewy and a little rubbery. The taste is neutral and similar to the flavor of liver.
