[Sca-cooks] Merguez, was Caldo Verde, broccoli rabe, and Saladura

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Angharad wrote:
>speaking of chorizo.....if anyone has access to north african or, better
>yet, moroccan butcher/grocer  (Queens in NY is the best bet), try MERGUEZ.
>These are Moroccan sausages but usually a single long coil.   Anyway, they
>are so delishus!  usually filled with lamb and spices.   you do not boil
>them.  Anathema!  You grill or fry in shallow oil.  I am sure Anahita has
>had them.  Have you?

Yes, i have had merguez...

But, O, irony of ironies!

I do not care a bit for lamb,
Lamb I like not, Sam I Am
I do not like it as a roast,
I do not like it served on toast.
I do not like it as a chop,
I do not like it served on sops...

However, be that as it may, i seem to be serving it at most of my 
feasts (along with chicken and pork ...and sometimes fish)

I have made the sausages in the Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook 
(mirkas) - flavored with a number of seasonings, including lavender 
flowers. I did not stuff them in a casing, though, since the easy to 
find casings are bork! bork! bork! pork pork pork... I just formed 
them by hand and baked them. I really like them - the flavoring 
was... interesting.

My local hallal market sells lamb casings, but $45 for a package of 
intestines that will hold 50 lb of meat...
I have to find a kosher butcher to see if they will sell non-pork 
casings in smaller amounts - say 15 lb of meat.

Ironically all those lovely chicken and turkey sausages i buy at the 
market come in *pork* casings. Bruce Aidells makes a "Moroccan" 
chicken sausage - it's not like merguez, but it is nicely spiced and 
has pistachio nuts in it, so it's yummy.

Hey, i could make mirkas and freeze them and eat them on Atkins 
(don't want to get into THAT discussion, let's just say it's 
working), since they don't have bread in them, as some other 
SCA-period sausage recipes do...

Here's the recipe from the Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook

Recipe for Mirkâs (Merguez Sausage)

It is as nutritious as meatballs (banâdiq) and quick to digest, since 
the pounding ripens its and makes it quick to digest, and it is good 
nutrition. First get some meat from the leg or shoulder of a lamb and 
pound it until it becomes like meatballs. Knead it in a bowl, mixing 
in some oil and some murri naqî', pepper, coriander seed, lavender, 
and cinnamon. Then add three quarters as much of fat, which should 
not be pounded, as it would melt while frying, but chopped up with a 
knife or beaten on a cutting board. Using the instrument made for 
stuffing, stuff it in the washed gut, tied with thread to make 
sausages, small or large. Then fry them with some fresh oil, and when 
it is done and browned, make a sauce of vinegar and oil and use it 
while hot. Some people make the sauce with the juice of cilantro and 
mint and some pounded onion. Some cook it in a pot with oil and 
vinegar, some make it râhibi with onion and lots of oil until it is 
fried and browned. It is good whichever of these methods you use.

It appears i did not write down my recipe - at least i didn't put it 
in the computer, and if it was on a bit of paper, it's long gone. So 
the below is just a dissection of the above recipe

INGREDIENTS

-- "meat from the leg or shoulder of a lamb pound it until it becomes 
like meatballs"
OK - i went to the halal market and asked them to grind some lamb for 
me. I was serving 12, and it was part of a large number of dishes, so 
i probably got between 3 and 5 lb - probably 5...

-- Olive oil, not more than 1/2 cup
-- Murri, a couple TB, maybe 1/4 cup, of murri that was gifted me by His Grace
-- pepper - i might have used white, as the black catches in my 
throat - 2 tsp-1 TB
-- coriander seed - ground fresh - 2 TB-1/4 cup (1/4 c. = 4 TB)
-- lavender - i used dried lavender buds from the health food store - 
not more than a couple TB
-- cinnamon - don't remember if i use true cinnamon or cassia - maybe 
2 TB (i prefer a subtle, rather than strong, cinnamon flavor)
-- three quarters as much of fat, chopped not pounded (i assume this 
quantity is in relation to the meat - i did not add any)

PROCESS

1. First get some meat from the leg or shoulder of a lamb and pound 
it until it becomes like meatballs.
I bought ground meat and used it as is. But sometimes i think that 
the meat they would have been much finer in texture from pounding. I 
don't own a meat grinder - would putting it in a food processor (i 
have an old Cuisinart) give it a finer texture?

2. Knead meat in a bowl, mixing in the oil, murri, pepper, coriander, 
lavender, and cinnamon.

3. Add fat, chopped up with a knife or beaten on a cutting board, but 
NOT pounded. [i skipped this step]

4. Stuff meat mixture into well-washed gut casings using the 
instrument made for stuffing, and tie with thread to make sausages, 
small or large.

As explained above i skipped this step. Instead i formed the meat 
into sausage shapes about twice as big as a  "cocktail sausage".

5. Fry sausages in fresh oil, until cooked through and browned

Before serving i put them into a baking dish and put them into a 350 
oven until they were cooked through but not completely dry - 15 min? 
Because of this treatment, they might have liked having the extra fat 
in them to make them even moister...

6. Make a sauce and eat with sausages while they are hot. "It is good 
whichever of these methods you use."

-- Sauce Option One
vinegar and oil
This may be heated, too, i'm not sure.

-- Sauce Option Two
juice of cilantro
mint
pounded onion

(This is rather like a fresh Indian raita! ...you know, that green 
puree that comes with samosas - except that raita sometimes has 
coconut in it, and usually has green chilis in it, too)

-- Sauce Option Three
Cook the above in:
oil
vinegar

-- Sauce Option Four
Make it rahibi with:
onion browned in lots of oil
I'm not sure if this is added to one of the above options, or just 
sprinkled over the mirkas

Me, i'd go for the pounded cilantro, mint, and onion, cooked in oil 
and vinegar, with a serving of browned onion... But, then, i have my 
moon in Gemini - when faced with a choice, i take one of each.

Anahita