Grilled Merguez on Lettuce with Cilantro, Mint and Pickled Onion
Ingredients
- 1 shoulder lamb chop (about 12 ounces)
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 bunch of Romaine lettuce leaves, separated
- 1 cup pickled onions
- 2 cups cilantro
- Sprigs of mint
Method
- Remove the bone from the lamb chop. Cut the meat into 1-inch pieces then chop in a food processor. Add the sausage, cumin, chili powder, and salt, then process until well mixed.
- Use a small ice cream scoop to divide the mixture into 20 balls. Wet your hands, then roll each ball into a 3-inch log. At this point you may freeze the pieces to be used later. If cooking right away, heat a grill or grill pan until very hot and cook, turning as needed, until done, about 5 minutes.
- To serve, place each piece of merguez on a Romaine leaf and garnish with the pickled onions, cilantro, and mint. Enjoy.
Traditionally merguez is made with lamb, but I’ve been to North Africa where it was made with beef or a combination of the two. Anyone who is a practitioner of Islam would not use pork, but I find that hot Italian sausage combined with lamb is a nice combination of flavors. It’s delicious served in lettuce with the garnishes on top.