Merguez sausage

Merguez sausage is a spicy red sausage from North Africa. Merguez is made with lamb or lamb and beef then spiced with paprika, cayenne pepper, and harissa paste.  These spices give the sausage the red color and spicy flavor.  While not traditional, you may also find chicken versions of this sausage. 

Serving

Saveur du Jour suggests grilling the sausage then serving it with couscous.  See other recipes this page.

Where To Buy Merguez Sausage

Check your local Whole Foods Market first, they frequently carry Merguez sausage.  If you can't find it locally, you can purchase it online at specialty shops such as Dartagnan.com or Amazon features several sellers of the sausage: Merguez Sausage

If you don't have Merguez you can substitute equal amounts of one of the following sausages:

• Linguicia - a flavorful Portuguese sausage
• OR - Sweet Italian pork or chicken sausage (salsiccia)
• OR Nigella Lawson suggests an alternative you can make yourself by combining ground or minced lamb with salt, pepper, cumin, fennel and paprika. You could also add harrisa to taste if you have it.