Merguez, butchers & Soho in the 70s

I discovered Merguez in 1976 when, as a student, I began to explore the delights of Soho. At that time Brewer Street boasted three butchers. Randall and Aubin was a traditional butcher with a ceramic tiled interior and sawdust on the floor; (it later metamorphosed into a twee coffee shop of the same name and now, as a restraurant, bills itself as 'Soho's Hippest Eatery' - sigh!). Slater & Cook, Bisney and Jones was a more modern affair. Essentially up-market with stainless steel fittings behind the white tiled frontage and a substantial catering supply business. One could buy the best sweetbreads here. Alas this too was to disappear as leaseholds came up in the 80s. It became a Fresh & Wild.

But as a student, whilst I used these two from time to time, my everyday butcher was Dalli's - it was the cheapest of the three and always had the most interesting offal. J and J Dalli occupied the corner of Brewer Street and Lower John Street. The Dalli's were Tunisian and it was natural for them to make Merguez - though in the seventies these delicious sausages were not yet widely sold in the UK. They would use lamb shoulder as the base bulked with other lamb trimmings and fat and spiced with home-made harissa, sumac, garlic, paprika and fennel seed. Once coarsely ground and mixed they would stuff the paste into lamb intestine that they had cleaned and tie them off. The resulting sausage was a revelation to this young student and prompted my interest in the food of the Mahgreb. (Interestingly, Alan Davidson in the Oxford Companion, who is usually definitive on all things culinary has merguez made with beef. But I can find no other reference to this).

What with the predicted heat wave this week, we're going to start cooking outside on the charcoal stove. Whilst Merguez are often served with Cous Cous I also serve them with potato and that's the plan tonight. Grilled Merguez, cold boulangere potato, bread and a Mechouia (salad of peppers, onions, garlic cloves and tomatoes cooked in the embers) with a bottle of Twentyeight Road Mourvedre 2005 ...



Meanwhile Dalli's too has gone, superseded by another bland coffee shop. I guess Merguez production says it all. Producing the sausage is incredibly labour intensive, but it is sold at a raw material price. Coffee, sandwiches and prepared food can all be marked up by considerably more and that's why today there are no butchers in Soho.