Spice up Summer Cookouts With These Grilled Merguez Lamb Patties

Merguez is a North African sausage made with lamb, beef, or a combination of both, along with toasted spices and aromatics; harissa brings spicy heat. Grilled as patties rather than in a traditional sausage casing, F&W recipe developer Renu Dhar tops the meat with a sublime gingery mint sauce that easily comes together in the blender. The mint in the sauce will darken as it sits, so you may want to blend the sauce just before you’re ready to begin grilling. Chill the sausage mixture after mixing to allow the flavors to infuse and meld.

How can I keep my mint sauce bright green?

Adding boiling water while blending the mint sauce lightly blanches the mint leaves and preserves their vibrancy rather than turning a drab green. The mint sauce color will remain green for a few hours in an airtight container. 

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can finely crush the toasted spices using a mortar and pestle, or you can crush them using the back of a heavy skillet or pot.

Suggested pairing

Serve these patties with a plummy, herbal, Moroccan red, such as Thalvin-Alain Graillot Syrocco Syrah.

Make ahead

Patties can be mixed and formed through step 3 and stored in an airtight container for up to two days. Proceed to step five to grill patties. Put them on the oil grates while still cold from the refrigerator.

This recipe was developed by Renu Dhar; the text was written by Cheryl Slocum.