Meat Club Charcuterie

random posts about our meatings

Merguez

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This is the second time I've made Merguez and both times I have had great success! This time I made about 3 lbs and used the Ruhlman/Polcyn recipe as a guide. I did not use lamb shoulder, but rather some pieces I had left from my last whole lamb purchase from Mel at Sierra Farms. I bought uncut lamb shoulder the last time I made merguez and it was SOOOO expensive. Not going to do that again. In any case I also prefer to use lamb fat, rather than pork fat as the recipe in the book calls for. I had enough fat from the trimmings on the pieces I used. The ratio was pretty much perfect.

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I remember from my last experience that we liked the spices slightly ramped up, so I kinda of did heaping measurements of everything. I used both sweet paprika and hot paprika (a little more of the hot than sweet). We ate a few sausages right away, but I'm letting the rest sit in the fridge for a couple of days to really get the full effect of the spices.

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My daughter helped me yesterday and we had a lot of fun. It's pretty great having a six-year old who likes to grind and stuff sausage.  

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Lamb's Tongue

In my recent lamb box from Sierra Farms I had Mel throw in a lamb's tongue. I've been wanting to recreate the Lamb's Tongue Salad from Flour + Water. The tongue is served whole over lightly dressed potatoes with salsa verde and a poached egg. For my version tonight, I sliced the tongue and omitted the egg since we were also having lamb steaks. 

To prepare the tongue, I soaked it in cold water for a couple of hours. I then quickly sauteed a few slices of onion, chunks of carrot, and bay leaf in a touch of olive oil; added the tongue and covered all with water; and finally I tossed in a couple stems of parsley and three or four peppercorns. I cooked it all at a robust simmer for about 2 hours. I removed the tongue, cut out the center, and peeled off the outer skin. I sliced the tongue and put it over potato slices with a touch of salsa verde to top it off. Tasted terrific! 

 

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Local Goats

Just a follow-up on yesterday's post. Tim turned me onto Rossotti Ranch in Point Reyes. 

If you are interested in goat, their next harvest is early December. I think you would have to get your order in by the end of this month. Check the "Buy" tab on the website for specifics. I'm going to get some (they come in various sizes and you can also order a half). If anyone is interested in part or half of my order let me know. 

Also, by the by, I know that Mel at Sierra Farms is harvesting lambs soon for the November delivery, so get your orders in! Merguez, people, merguez!

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