Merguez (A Tunisian sausage)

Ingredients

• 2 ½ pounds shoulder of lamb, not too lean
• 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
• 5 tablespoons harissa (see recipe)
• ½ cup cold water
• Salt to taste, if desired
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 16 feet lamb casings (see note)
• 2 tablespoons corn, peanut or vegetable oil

About 25 sausages

Preparation

1. Have the meat ground or outfit a meat grinder with the fine blade. Put the meat through the grinder.
2. Put the meat into a mixing bowl, and add the garlic, harissa, water, salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly.
3. Outfit a sausage machine or a hand grinder with a sausage funnel. Slip the casings onto the funnel. Fill the casings with the ground meat mixture, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
4. Twist the casings at five- or six-inch intervals to indicate individual sausages. If the casings are not used, individual ”sausages” can be made by dividing the meat into about 25 portions and shaping each one into a sausagelike shape.
5. When ready to cook, heat the oil in a skillet and add the sausages. Cook until lightly browned on one side and turn. Continue cooking, turning as necessary, until cooked through and nicely browned, about six minutes or longer.

• Lamb casings are available at several meat markets in Manhattan, including Florence Meat Market, 5 Jones Street, in Greenwich Village. The cost is 25 cents a foot.

30 minutes