Merguez calédonienne
Adaptation of the Maghrebi merguez with local beef and rusa deer, inherited from the North African community settled in New Caledonia since the 1960s.
| Lean beef, minced | 500 g |
| Rusa deer, minced (or lamb for want of it) | 300 g |
| Beef fat | 200 g |
| Fine salt | 20 g |
| Harissa | 15 g |
| Ground cumin | 6 g |
| Ground coriander | 3 g |
| Sweet paprika | 8 g |
| Garlic, crushed | 10 g |
| Ground black pepper | 2 g |
| Cold water | 30 ml |
| Fine sheep casing (Ø 22–26 mm) | — |
- Preparation: Cut the meat and the fat into cubes. Refrigerate at 0 °C.
- Mincing: Mince through the 5 to 6 mm plate.
- Seasoning: Dilute the harissa in the cold water. Add the cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add to the minced meats. Knead for four to five minutes until a uniform red colour forms.
- Resting: Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
- Stuffing: Stuff into a fine sheep casing, forming sausages of 12 to 15 cm.
- Cooking: Grill on the barbecue over charcoal or on a grill, over medium-high heat, for 6 to 8 minutes, turning regularly. Serve with a baguette, harissa and a salad.
The Caledonian merguez is an adaptation of the Maghrebi merguez (see that entry in the Mediterranean section) to the context of New Caledonia. The presence of the merguez in the territory is bound to North African immigration: Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan families settled there from the 1960s, within the framework of migrations linked to the nickel industry. They brought the merguez, which folded into the culture of the Caledonian barbecue and was adopted by all the communities (Caldoche, Kanak, metropolitan French, Polynesian).
The substitution of lamb with rusa deer, which is leaner and has a slight gamey taste, constitutes the main modification. Some butchers produce a 100 per cent deer merguez, others a beef-deer mix, and others again the classic beef-lamb version. The making follows the standard process: fine mincing, seasoning with harissa, cumin and paprika, then stuffing into a fine sheep casing.
The rusa-deer sausage (in the preceding entry) is one of the two pillars of the Caledonian barbecue. This book documents the spread of the merguez via North African immigration to a Pacific territory and its adaptation to local game.
The book
All 144 recipes and their histories, gathered in a single volume.