French meatballs
Two iconic French sausages transformed into party size snack meatballs. 
Dip your toe into charcuterie making and taste France’s authentic chipolatas (pork) and merguez sausages (spicy lamb), in the form of munchable meatballs. I use the forcemeat and spices to make meatballs, instead of fiddling around with a sausage maker. It’s so much easier and tastes crazy delicious. These are pefect as pre-dinner snacks served with Dijon mustard, harissa or a relish.
INGREDIENTS
Chipolatas – for 700 grams 1lb 1.6 oz) mixture
500 g (17.64 0z) lean pork shoulder meat)
170 g (6 oz) hard pork fat (fat back)
10 gms (0.35 oz) salt
2 g (07 oz) black pepper (fresh but coarsely ground)
Merguez (for 1 kg (35.27 oz) mixture.
300 g (10.6 oz) lean lamb meat
300 g (10.6 oz) lean beef
250 g (8.8 oz) hard lamb fat
10 mint leaves
12 g (0.42 oz) salt
20 g (0.7 oz) harissa paste
2 g (0.07 oz) black pepper (coarsely ground)
2 garlic cloves (pressed)
3 g (0.1 oz cumin powder)
3 g (0.1 oz) paprika powder (sweet)
2 g (0.07 oz) cayenne pepper
8 g (0.28 oz) Moroccan spices (ras el Hanout)
60 ml (2.1 fl oz) olive oil
50 ml (1.7 fl oz) water
Notes
You will need a kitchen aid stand mixer with a meat grinder attachment.
While I cooked the meatballs in the oven you can also cook them in a frying pan. No added fat is necessary when pan frying. The lamb meatballs should be kept slightly undercooked to keep the juiciness. The pork meatballs should take 7 to 10 minutes to be cooked through. Pair with mustard and harissa as dipping sauces.
PROCEDURE
Chipolatas
For best results, cut the meat into medium size cubes, season with salt and pepper and leave in the fridge covered overnight. You can also cut the meat and season it on the day.
Grind the meat into a bowl then follow with the hard fat.
In the mixer bowl, mix the meat and fat together for 3 minutes on low speed with the paddle attachment (or alternatively by hand in a large bowl using a wooden spoon).
Form into meat balls and pan fry for 7-10 minutes until cooked through.
Merguez
Grind the lamb and beef into a bowl.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the spices, herbs, garlic, oil and water and mix everything together for a 1 or 2 minutes on low speed (or alternatively by hand in a large bowl using a wooden spoon).
Form into meat balls then pan fry for 5 to 7 minutes until just about cooked (it’s best to undercook these meatballs just a little as they tend to become dry when cooling down).
As a swede, this makes me so happy. Thank you!Simon Ridell
They look so moist on the inside. Thanks Stephane for another great recipe.Paula Figeirido
It's an excellent idea. Inspiring idea actually. Thank you for sharing the sausages recipes. Dr Stef