Merguez

{{short description|Spicy sausage in Maghrebi cuisine}}

{{more citations needed|date=January 2017}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Merguez

| image = Merguez sausages.jpg

| caption =

| alternate_name = {{lang|ar|مرقاز}}

| region = Maghreb

| national_cuisine = {{unbulleted list|Algeria|Morocco|Libya|Tunisia}}

| year = 12th century

| mintime =

| maxtime =

| type = Sausage

| course =

| served =

| main_ingredient = Lamb or beef

| minor_ingredient = Cumin and chili pepper or harissa

| variations =

| serving_size = 100 g

| calories =

| protein =

| fat =

| carbohydrate =

| glycemic_index =

| similar_dish =

}}

Merguez ({{IPAc-en|m|ɛər|ˈ|ɡ|ɛ|z}}) is a red, spicy lamb- or beef-based fresh sausage in Maghrebi cuisine.{{cite book |last=الدبابي الميساوي |first=سهام |url=https://www.beitalhikma.tn/publication/acces-boutique/bibliotheque-culturelle-ar/مائدة-إفريقيّةدراسة-في-ألوان-الطعام/ |title=مائدة إفريقية-دراسة في الوان الطعام|publisher=Majmaʻ al-Tūnisī lil-ʻUlūm wa-al-Ādāb wa-al-Funūn, Bayt al-Ḥikmah |date=2017 |access-date=2 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301005653/https://www.beitalhikma.tn/publication/acces-boutique/bibliotheque-culturelle-ar/مائدة-إفريقيّةدراسة-في-ألوان-الطعام/ |archive-date=1 March 2018 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Merguez, the Algerian sausages {{!}} Le Kesh|url=https://keshoxford.com/merguez-the-algerian-sausages/|access-date=2021-11-23|website=keshoxford.com/|language=en-US}} In France, merguez became popular in the 1960s and 1970s, as Algerian immigrants and the pieds-noirs of Algeria settled in the country and opened small shops and restaurants that served traditional dishes like merguez.{{Cite journal |last=Hubbell |first=Amy L. |date=2013-07-17 |title=(In)Edible Algeria: Transmitting Pied-Noir Nostalgia Through Food |url=https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/portal/article/view/2991 |journal=PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies |volume=10 |issue=2 |doi=10.5130/portal.v10i2.2991 |issn=1449-2490|doi-access=free }}{{Cite book |last=Doris Bensimon-Donath |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TbJ6DwAAQBAJ&dq=le+merguez+algerien+arrive+france&pg=PA56 |title=L'intégration des juifs nord-africains en France |date=3 December 2018 | publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=9783111557724}}{{Cite web |last=Amy Hubbell |date=2013 |title=(In)Edible Algeria: Transmitting Pied-Noir Nostalgia Through Food |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270015841 }}{{Cite book |last=Clabrough |first=Chantal |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59098792 |title=A Pied Noir cookbook : French Sephardic cuisine from Algeria |date=2005 |publisher=Hippocrene Books |isbn=0-7818-1082-5 |location=New York |oclc=59098792}} The popularity of merguez in France was also fueled by the rise of fast food chains like Quick and McDonald's, which began to offer merguez sandwiches and burgers to cater to their North African clientele.{{Cite journal |last=Andrew F. Smith |date=2007 |title=Merguez |journal=The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink}}

Merguez is a sausage made with uncooked lamb, beef, or a mixture stuffed into a lamb-intestine casing. It is heavily spiced with cumin and chili pepper or harissa, which give it its characteristic piquancy and red color, as well as other spices such as sumac, fennel and garlic.

Merguez is usually eaten grilled. While not in traditional Maghrebi couscous, it is often used in couscous royal in France. It is also eaten in sandwiches and with french fries and dijon mustard.