Classic Grilled Merguez with Harissa & Flatbread

Classic Grilled Merguez with Harissa & Flatbread

Recipes with Merguez

The purest way to eat merguez: charcoal-grilled until charred and blistered, served with extra harissa, a squeeze of lemon, and warm flatbread to tear and wrap. Street food perfection from the souks of Tunis.

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

8 min

Servings

4

Difficulty

Easy

Ingredients

  • 8 merguez sausages
  • 2 tbsp harissa paste
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lemon, quartered
  • 4 flatbreads (khobz or pita)
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • Optional: grilled peppers

Steps

1

Get your charcoal grill very hot, or heat a grill pan over high heat. The merguez need intense, direct heat.

2

Grill the merguez for 3-4 minutes per side, turning once. The casings should blister and char in spots while the inside stays juicy. Don't prick them — you want the fat to stay inside.

3

Mix the harissa with olive oil to make a loose sauce. Warm the flatbreads on the grill for 30 seconds per side.

4

Serve the merguez on a board with the harissa-oil, lemon wedges, sliced onion, and mint. Tear the bread, wrap the sausage, add harissa. Eat immediately.

Tips

If you don't have a charcoal grill, a screaming-hot cast iron pan works. But do not — under any circumstances — microwave a merguez. The thin casing needs high heat to crisp.