I found the Merguez sausage quite edible not too spicy and the aniseed taste came through quite nicely. This particular recipe needs some adjustment I believe the balance of spices is not quite right. But as a starting point well worth a try.
The Hot Italian was as it's name suggests a bit hotter than the merguez but still quite nice. The spices came through and was OK. But as with the merguez this recipe needs some adjustment. With a little work these would be an excellent sausage.Merguez sausages
350 g lean beef or lamb shoulder, roughly chopped
100g beef or lamb fat, roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of cold water
1 teaspoon harissa
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon Smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
Here is a harissa recipe, from " The Morrocan Collection", Hilaire Walden.
2 Red sweet bell peppers
1 oz fresh red chilleis INCLUDING the seeds
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspon of roasted corriander seeds
2 teaspoons of carraway seeds
olive oil
salt
Grind the dry ingredients to a spice powder. Grind the chillies and pepper together/liquidise and garlic. Heat peppers & chillies gently to reduce to a paste if necessary.
Hot Italian Sausage
375 gm Beef
125 gm Suet
8 gm salt
4 gm Coarse Ground black pepper
5 gm Ground Coriander
1/2 gm Ground Dried Birdseye Chilies
5 gm Smoked Paprika
1 Small Clove garlic Minced
1 Tbsp or 18 fl oz Dry White Wine
Method
Mince trimmed Beef add suet Mix in all the rest of the ingredients. Keep meat cold Put in the bottom of the fridge or in the freezer for a short time if necessary. When skins are stuffed leave the sausages in fridge overnight.
In conclusion I think that both sausages are quite nice and both are worth making if you like spicy sausages and intend to develop the recipes.
