Lamb sausages -- need suggestions

I saw some nice lamb sausages in my local food co-op at Christmas and bought some to freeze, thinking that it would be a nice addition to a cassoulet. Now it's getting to the point that I really need to use it up, but cassoulet is SO not on the menu. I see duck breasts or leg quarters in the meat case once in awhile, but never confit, and I am not prepared to make my own confit.

What else can I do with my nice lamb sausages?

They might do well in a gumbo or a burgoo.

Here are two things you can do. The first, which is from Emeril Lagasse, includes a recipe for actually making the sausage, but you can skip that portion, obviously.
LAMB SAUSAGE WITH A LENTIL RAGU

Ingredients needed:

3 pounds lamb butt
4 tablespoons minced shallots
4 tablespoons chopped basil
4 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
4 teaspoons Essence
4 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
12 turns black pepper
2 whole eggs
For Ragu:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 cup cooked brown lentils
1 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and black pepper
2 cups veal reduction
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 cups creamy, cheese grits in a saucepan on the stove, hot
Long chives
1 tablespoon chopped chives

Preheat the grill. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sausage together. Cover and store in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Using a grinding machine pass the meat through the 1/2-inch grinder plate. Remove half of the ground meat and pass through the grinder again. Switch the grinder attachment to the feeder tube. Stuff the casings with the sausage. Twist the sausage every 4 inches to form individual links. Prick each link a few times to prevent the sausage from busting. Rub each link with oil and place on the grill. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side and remove from the grill. For the ragu: In a saute pan, heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, saute the shallots and lentils. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Add the veal reduction and bring up to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the sausage links. Simmer the ragu and sausage for 8 minutes. Stir in the green onions and reseason if needed. Spoon the ragu in the center of a shallow bowl. Spoon the grits in the center of the ragu`. Lay the sausage on top of the grits. Garnish with long and chopped chives.

Yield: 4 servings

Farfalle with Lamb Sausage, Feta and Mint
The lamb sausage imparts a rustic and earthy flavor to this dish that complements the salty sweetness of the feta.

Serves 4
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 TB olive oil
1 lb fresh lamb sausage*, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 can (28 oz) chopped tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) can tomato sauce
sea salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste


3/4 lb (dry) farfalle pasta
crumbled feta cheese
chopped fresh mint
In a medium saucepan, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil. Add the sausage pieces and brown them, breaking up the pieces slightly. Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce and simmer on very low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare pasta and toss with half of the sauce. Top each portion with additional sauce, crumbled feta and mint.

You can order confit from D'Artangion (sp?) over the internet. I made a cassoulet for christmas eve a couple years ago using cinfit and french sausage I ordered from there, turned out great...not cheap but great. Lamb sausage would have gone well with it.

A friend of mine from France served in the Algerian Campaign. He's a lifelong professional waiter/restaurateur but his favorite thing to eat is grilled lamb sausages (Merguez) on a crusty roll with Harisa (the spicy red pepper paste). I've tried it with the lamb and mint sausages from Whole Foods with good results, I like some grilled onions, too.

On the subject of lamb sausauge, Blood Farm in Groton Mass 978 448 6669, sometimes has it. Blood Farm is an old time, on farm, butcher shop with very good prices. They are one of the oldest businesses in the country still in the original family. Their products often show up in "Taste of Massachusetts" meals around the state. Even though their farm is in the middle of Yuppyville, USA, don't expect anything fancy. It is a true working farm with an on site slaughterhouse.

Sorry, long.

Confit is actually a piece of cake to make, though a little time consuming. Main issue is rounding up enough duck fat. What I do routinely (fall & winter only, obviously) is get 3-4 ducks, use the legs & thighs for confit, freeze the breasts for grilling, render all the fat & make stock or demiglace out of the carcass & wings. Ducks are about as useful as hogs -- nothing wasted.

Just render the fat (watch the temp and save the cracklin's -- great on frisee salad), salt down the duck for a day or so and cook in the fat at about 190 for an hour or therabouts. Clarify the fat, pack in a crock & you're done. And it keeps in the frige for months.

Paula Wolfert's Cooking of Southwest France book, which was just reissued, has a good recipe with times & quantities if you want.

As to the lamb sausage, I get lamb necks (not easily found, but cheap -- you can use shoulder) and trim most (not all) of the fat. I replace the lamb fat, which is a little strong and gets waxy, with pork fat at about a 30 - 70 fat/lean ratio.

Seasonings depend on what I'm feeling like. Last time I did two batches, one with a sort of greek theme (salt, black pepper, oregano, thyme, red wine, garlic & a touch of lemon peel) and an indian one using the same seasonings I use for vindaloo (cumin, coriander, turmeric, tiny amounts of clove and cinnamon, salt, black & cayenne pepper). I find that it makes a dramatic difference if you sweat aromatics (onion, garlic, etc.) before adding -- they get harsh if you use them raw.

As to amounts, I just wing it and taste until it has what I'm after, then stuff. The small merguez (lamb) casings are a bit of a hassle, so I usually just use hog.

As with all sausage, its critical to keep the meat & fat as cold as possible -- slightly frozen is the best.

NB: I've found that lamb in cassoulet tends to overpower the confit, so I either use pork or omit the confit.

quote:

Originally posted by rjb


NB: I've found that lamb in cassoulet tends to overpower the confit, so I either use pork or omit the confit.

I might decide to try a cassoulet without the confit, although it was actually reading Paula Wolfert's new cookbook that made it seen that cassoulet without confit just wasn't done!

That recipe with the lentils looks really enticing, too. Choices, choices!

Cut your sausage into bite size lengths and microwave. Stick a toothpick in each. Serve with hot sauce, if desired.

quote:

Originally posted by Ashphalt

A friend of mine from France served in the Algerian Campaign. He's a lifelong professional waiter/restaurateur but his favorite thing to eat is grilled lamb sausages (Merguez) on a crusty roll with Harisa (the spicy red pepper paste). I've tried it with the lamb and mint sausages from Whole Foods with good results, I like some grilled onions, too.

Merguez and harissa! A match made in heaven! In France we ate the grilled merguez as a side dish to lamb stew and couscous with copious amounts of harissa.

I used to work with a guy who was Olga's (of "Olga's Souvlaki" fame) original partner before she became famous. One of the dishes I became fond of was a gyros sandwich made not with souvlaki/gyros meat but instead with the wonderful Greek sausage Loukanika, which is a lamb sausage with orange and spices and herbs.

Though Loukanika is normally a sausage in-and-of itself, here is a recipe that I found in a brief search online that includes traditional greek ingredients for Loukanika that you could adapt for any number of dishes ... saute ... casserole, etc.

The other thing I would personally do is to definitely include rosemary in the recipe, which is the other classic Greek lamb herb ... and also (ground) fresh onion in some form ... again, very traditional.

And as for all the spice and herb ingredients, I would grind them in a spice-mill or coffee grinder if they are dried to bring out their flavor!



Loukanika - Greek Lamb/Orange Sausage

1/2 lb ground pork
1 lb ground lamb
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 orange, peel only, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf, ground
1/2 tsp ground coriander
salt, freshly ground black pepper and hot pepper flakes to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Refrigerate and allow to sit, covered, for 2-3 hours so the flavors will blend.

Roll the mixture in to little balls. Heat a saute pan over medium heat, add a little olive oil and sauté the Loukanika until they are browned. Serve as a Meze (appetizer) dish with lemon to squeeze over.

I have found many variations on the recipe for Loukanika, so there is no single way to make it. This is my personal favorite.

Note – this is “quick” Loukanika as normally this mixture would be put in to a sausage casing, poached, cooled, sometimes smoked and finally sliced and cooked as above. You can take the longer route if you wish, but this more direct method makes a delicious Loukanika.

Serves 20 as a Meze or 4 as a main course

rjb,
And I thought I was the only nut case making confit (I also raise a few ducks for foie gras also, but that is another story). The avian flu scare has caused Tractor Supply to NOT carry chicks this spring which makes me go to my local Southern States place (hate the place, redneck central) for my ducks and chicks.

Placed our order for three lambs last week. Silence of the lambs??