What to Do With Leftover Harissa: Homemade Merguez Sausages

And how I came second in the world championship of sausage making

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Earlier this year I came second in the Istrian sausage-making world championship.

The competition is held in the tiny town of Sveti Petar u Šumi in northwestern Croatia. This is the breadbasket of Croatia, responsible for some of the best food in the country, including Istrian sausage. It’s a sausage so revered, the whole town turns into a 48-hour party to celebrate it every year. First, they try to beat the record for the world’s longest Istrian sausage (sort of successful), then, they get willing volunteers to compete for the title of the world’s best sausage maker (in my case, very successful).

I was all over that.

It was old-school sausage making at its finest. We were given nothing other than a length of casing and a twig to assist in shoving the filling down the hole. Whoever made the biggest and most beautiful sausage in 20 minutes won.

It was freezing cold, my hands cramped after just a few minutes but I loved the repetitive motion of pick up, poke, squeeze, repeat (not as dirty as it sounds).

I placed between a professional butcher and a Croatian grandma which is never a bad position to be in. And it was legit one of my finest life achievements.

There’s something about sausage making that is incredibly soothing, but sausage casing is a pain in the ass to both procure and store, so in recent years I’ve resorted to making caseless sausages at home.

In Turkey, it’s the kofta. In the Balkans, it’s Čevapičići. In Romania it’s Mici.

And in Porto, I gave Merguez sausages the caseless treatment this week.

Merguez sausages come from North Africa — places like Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. They’re normally made from lamb (sometimes beef) and are heavily spiced with cumin, chilli — and harissa.

My fridge is full of harissa at the moment thanks to developing the harissa recipe I shared on Wednesday.

We’re not in the habit of wasting food here at TCP, so to use up the last of it, I made Merguez sausages.

Yesterday was also Beaujolais Nouveau day. A very important date in this Beaujolais lover’s calendar when the first wines of 2023 are released from the region and parties across Europe abound.

Alas, Porto hasn’t yet cottoned onto how freaking awesome Bojo Nuvo is (I’m working on this for next year) so there were no bottles to be had in the city. Instead, I opened a bottle of bright and sparky “Oh!” Beaujolais by winemaker Yann Bertrand. It was the nearest thing I could find to Nouveau and very much worth seeking out if you can find it.

Beaujolais and spice are best buds and the whole thing took the edge off the FOMO I felt for the Bojo parties happening back in London.

Who needs that when you’ve got Merguez and Beaujolais?

Serves 4

• 500g / 1lb ground lamb (or beef if, like me, you struggle to procure lamb)

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp fennel seed, crushed

• 1 tsp unsmoked paprika

• 2 tbsp harissa paste

• Pinch salt

Mix all ingredients together. Shape into 8 thin sausages.

Heat a frying pan on medium-high and add a slug of oil. Fry on each side until cooked through - around 5-7 minutes.

Serve with:

• Tzatziki

• Smashed potatoes

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