Merguez sausage is the signature sausage of North Africa, especially Morocco and Tunisia. It is normally made with lamb (or mutton) and lamb fat, but in this case I am using venison; either works, and you can use beef or, untraditionally, pork.

Tunisian merguez sausages are spicy, almost exotic tasting. I’ve made merguez off and on for years, an was in fact featured in Food & Wine for my merguez back in 2010. This recipe is my latest rendition of that one.

Merguez hinges on harissa, a chile paste they use in North Africa that’s a combination of sweet and hot chiles, garlic, coriander, caraway, mashed with a little lemon and olive oil. I buy it in tubes imported from Tunisia. It’s easily available in supermarkets now.

Harissa is vital to the flavor here, and you can buy it in specialty shops, big supermarkets, you can buy harissa online, or you can make it yourself.

Interestingly, while merguez turns out bright red when uncooked, they lose a lot of that color when grilled. Oh, and if you are worried that these links will blow your head off with heat, think again. Yes, they are spicy, but it’s not really a hot spicy, just interesting.

Merguez is a grilling sausage, but I’ve fried them in clarified butter, and put them in braises and stews, too. They also make one helluva hot dog substitute!

One interesting trick would be to smoke them over oak or fruit wood, as cool and as slowly as you can to partially dry them out. Then hang in the fridge a few days before storing or serving. This makes them a little like kabanosy, my favorite meat stick.