More Merguez

Ingredient	Grams	Percentage
lamb	1756	95.66
salt	30	0.98
merguez spice mix	40	0.49
harissa	8	0.98
fresh coriander leaf, chopped	8	0.98

Casing: sheep casings

It's been a long time since I first made merguez sausages and I think these have turned out a lot better. The spices are more punchy and I like the stronger colour.

I went to see a friend who keeps pigs to see if there would be any meat available form them for me. The pigs won't be ready for another couple of weeks but he said that the he had just got hold of some lambs so it was an easy call to say that I would make some merguez for him to try. He had never tried them before and I felt confident that he would like these spicy and interesting sausages.

There was plenty of lamb breast, but even after cutting off most of the fat it was still too fatty to use by itself and so I added a small amount of leg to get the right balance of meat to fat.

Having noticed that the green sage looked so good when I made the last batch of sage sausages, I only rough-chopped the fresh coriander leaf to get a similar effect and I'm very happy with the result. Most of the orange colour comes from the paprika and the rose harissa and acts as a great visual cue that these sausages pack a bit of spice.

I have a good amount of spice mix left over which I could seal and save for the next time. But spices taste sweeter when fresh ground so I'm more likely to combine this with something else, just to see what comes out. The colour reminds me of the fresh chorizo sausage I made previously so I may try a combination of the two ideas.

Merguez spice mix

Ingredient	Grams
sweet paprika	60
fennel seed, ground	30
cumin, ground	30
coriander, ground	15
cinnamon, ground	5
chilli, ground	5
black pepper	5
sugar (optional)	20

Experimental Sausage #1

Ingredient	Amount
pork belly	some
salt	about 1%
black pepper	1 tablespoon
Rose harissa	1 tablespoon

Casing: hog casing

I had some meat and casing left over from making the sage sausages yesterday, so I decided to fling a few things together and see what came out. I didn't really have a plan of what I was going to make and I didn't measure out and record what I used, which I now regret. At the least I should have measured the salt, but it was late and I was feeling 'creative'.

I have been researching how to make Mortadella and with that in mind I made an emulsified, poached sausage, similar to the boudin blanc I have made before. I combined that with some cubed, hard fat which I blanched in boiling water before adding it to the mixture.

For flavouring, I opened the fridge and grabbed the first thing that caught my eye - some rose harissa. I picked the harissa because I it's got an interesting but not overpowering taste and because I like the bright red colour.

I was reasonably pleased with the results, considering the haphazard way in which I had put this thing together. The harissa was not really suitable for a poached sausage. Firstly it had a slightly gritty texture that did not go too well with the smooth emulsified meat and secondly it pooled a little while it poached so that instead of an even red colour as I was hoping, I got a few streaks of orange along the outside of the sausage.

The cubed fat came out well. This was the first time I had separated the fat from the meat in pork belly and it's a technique that I will use again. Another thing I have discovered is that it's much easier to remove the skin from the pork belly by cutting it into strips first.

This experiment came about because I had a few bits left over from what I had originally planned to make, but I now think that I will make sure that I have enough spare for experiments when I plan things in the future. I also think I will make more emulsified sausages I am a big fan of their smooth texture. I guess I should have a crack at making some Mortadella too.

Sage 2

Ingredient	Grams	Percentage
pork belly	2000	93.76
salt	33	1.55
black pepper	20	0.94
Sage, rough cut	80	3.75

Casing: hog casings

Last year, when I made sausages with sage I was convinced that I hadn't used enough sage and that the recipe could take more. So this year I nearly doubled the amount and I'm much happier with the results. The green herb looks great under the skin and the taste is more punchy when they sausages are cooked. I think the recipe can take even more, say up 5%, even though it looks like it will be too dominant before it goes into the mix.

I used fresh sage again, straight from the garden though this time it was the regular green variety rather than the purple sage which is past its best at this time of year. The bright green leaves look better under the skin than the duller purple. The sausages were made without rusk as I forgot that I wanted to compare the two styles of making sausage. Now I'm also wondering how letting the sage dry for a few days would affect the texture. Maybe that will be an experiment for next year.

Truffle Sausage

Ingredient	Grams	Percentage
pork belly	2000	95.66
salt	20	0.98
black pepper, crushed	10	0.49
summer truffle, grated	20	0.98

Casing: sheep casings

I was given a small jar of summer truffles for my birthday and decided to turn them into sausages. It's a simple recipe with nothing more than meat, salt pepper and the truffle for flavour.

The sausages do not look anything special. The black truffle is a visually small ingredient and only a few black spots can be seen under the skin. By sight, it's not that easy to tell the truffle apart from the black pepper.

For these sausages I used some Kampot black pepper from Cambodia, that I bought on a recent trip. It is super fresh and strong and over powers the truffle a little. Having said that, the sausages are quite delicious.

The next time I make this, I will knock back the amount of pepper and increase the amount of truffle, though the truffle is quite expensive and that will make quite a pricey sausage.