My Merguez With Pork And Grilled Tortilla Bread

A recipe from Jacques Pépin, from the 2007 Classic in Aspen. Jacques Pépin: MerguezNearly 50 years ago, when I left France, I was already familiar with merguez, the traditional lamb sausage of North Africa. That part of the world, called the Maghreb, encompasses Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, all of which were part of the French colonial empire for many years. After these countries gained their independence in the 1960s, many of the Arabs settled in France, where they have lived for several generations. Along with other North African dishes, merguez is very popular in France. That little lamb sausage is a classic at any backyard barbecue or picnic there, as popular as the hot dog is in the U.S.Merguez are sometimes made only of lamb and often are a mixture of beef and lamb. I make my merguez with lamb and pork, which many Arabs would object to on religious grounds, but I feel that this combination works best. I make my merguez without casings, forming the meat mixture into small patties.