Lamb Sausage & Pickled Red Onions

Lamb Sausage:

Merguz is the traditional lamb sausage of North Africa. That part of the world, called the Maghreb, encompasses Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, all of which were part of the French colonial empire for many years. After these countries gained their independence in the 1960s, many of the Arabs settled in France. Along with other North African dishes, like couscous and mechoui (a whole lamb barbecued on a spit), merguez is very popular in France. That little lamb sausage is a classic at any backyard barbecue or picnic there, as a popular hotdog in the United States.

Buy 1 pound of Italian sausage, already ground, either hot or mild, and 1 or 2 lamb shoulder chops, about 12 ounces total. These chops are a bit fatty, and give great flavor to the merguez. Bone the chops, and cut the meat into 1-inch pieces. You should have 9 to 10 ounces of lamb meat. Grind all lamb, fat included, through a medium-size screen in a meat grinder. Alternatively, grind these pieces in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds. Mix the ground lamb with the Italian sausage.

To the combined meat, add 11/2 teaspoons of cumin powder, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, ¾ teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic. Mix together with your hands until well combined, and divide the meat into equal-size pieces, and form these into 3-inch sausages.

To cook the merguez, place the sausages on a very hot grill and cook for 5 or 6 minutes, turning them occasionally, so they brown evenly. They should be cooked medium. To serve: wrap in bibb lettuce leaves with pickled red onions.

Pickled Red Onions:

1 ½ lb. Red Onions, peeled
2 tbsp. Pickling salt
1 ½ cups white balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Drop onions in boiling water to cover. Boil 3 minutes; drain. Place in cold water. Slice onions. Combine 2 cups water and ginger; pour over onions. Let stand 12 hours. Drain; rinse thoroughly.

Combine vinegar, sugar and ginger; bring to boiling. Pack onions in hot jars, leaving head space. Cover with pickling liquid, leaving ½ inch head space. Adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath (half pints) for 10 minutes. Makes 4 half pints.