Mexican Chorizo Recipes

[maggiethecat]

My husband isn't an avowed Luddite...in theory, quite the opposite. But he's still mastering the touch-tone phone, so he asked me to post this.

Anyone have a good choritzo recipe? Anyone actually made it?

We've got all the equipment. If anyone has made it him/herself, we would love to benefit from your experience.

[Dave the Cook]

I've only made this once, and I didn't stuff it into casings, but it was surprisingly good, cooked as patties for a paella.

Chorizo

6 ounces ground ancho chile powder

1-1/2 C boiling water

2 pounds ground pork

1 pound ground beef

2 T minced garlic

4 t salt

1/3 C vinegar (white wine preferred)

3 T oregano (Mexican, if possible)

2 t black pepper

1 t ground cinnamon or 1/2 t grated nutmeg

1/2 t ground cloves

1 t sugar

1/3 C dry white wine

Make a paste from the water and chile. Set aside.

Mix the meats with the garlic and salt. Add the vinegar and mix.

Add the spices excepting the sugar. Mix.

Add the sugar and wine and mix one last time.

Work in the chile paste, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours before cooking or stuffing.

NOTES: Buy whole chiles and toast them. Let them cool, then grind. A very small step that makes a big difference. Really.

You could buy a pork shoulder and brine it, then grind it. But that's a lot to do yourself on the first go 'round, and the overnight rest will have a similar effect. Just make sure you've got plenty of fat (in the pork and beef, I mean). If the meat is lean, consider adding some fatback or fatty bacon (maybe poach it a bit to get rid of the smoke; chorizo is not a smoked sausage).

I've seen recipes that use canela, or real cinnamon (from Ceylon) instead of the stuff we usually see. I'm not sure in a spicy mixture like this that you'd notice. It does help to have a bit of mystery, which the cinnamon or nutmeg does contribute. I've also seen star anise, but I remember giving it a sniff when I made chorizo, and it didn't fit for me.

Finally, let us know how it goes -- and remember your Unca Dave when you're passing out samples.

[guajolote]

Mexican chorizo or Spanish chorizo?

Dave's recipe looks like a Mexican one to me. Spanish chorizo is usually dried and cured.

[Dave the Cook]

Definitely Mexican.

Actually, I don't usually think of chorizo as a Spanish sausage, but you're right.

[col klink]

Dave, doesn't chorizo usually have minced onions and green peppers?

[Dave the Cook]

I'm no expert on chorizo, that's for sure. I just posted it the way I made it. No claims to authenticity, except it fits the definition of chorizo as I know it.

The recipe was cobbled together from tasting commercial versions -- mainly restaurant and store-bought Mexican-labeled stuff in Houston, which were very finely ground, thus preventing much discovery simply by looking at it. I looked at recipes for breakfast-type sausages to get an idea of the proportion of fat to meat. I had never made sausage before, and I was pleased with the result. It tasted pretty close, but I would have monkeyed with it if I had ever made it again. I didn't, but now I probably will.

I wouldn't be averse to onion. I like green pepper, but I'm not a big fan of doing anything with it that means cutting it up and re-refrigerating it. I think it goes kind of sour.

But I also think that the recipe probably varies a great deal depending on where you are, where you're from, and how yo Momma made it. Seems to me we learned that lesson on that kielbasa thread, wherever it is...

[col klink]

I'm no expert either, but when my buddy and I made it he added onions and green pepper. I'm sure there are hundreds of recipes floating out there for chorizo, I was just curious.

[Dave the Cook]

I'm curious, too, and I hope others will post. I'd hate for my one-time recipe to stand as the definitive eGullet chorizo!

[maggiethecat]

Thanks all, particularly Dave, for the recipe and advice. Yes, it was the Mexican version we are looking for.

Last time I looked, the casings in the fridge looked OK. The shelf life of casings is pretty much forever, right?

[pixelchef]

Chorizo Sausage

In a large bowl place:

2 Lb. ground pork.

3 1/2 tsp. salt

6 Tbl. pure ground red chile

6-20 small hot dried red chiles; tepine, Thai dragon, pico de gallo or the like, crushed

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbl. dry leaf oregano

2 tsp. whole cumin seed, crushed

1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

4 Tbl. good cider or wine vinegar

2 1/2 Tbl. water

Make sure all the ingredients are cool. Break up the meat, sprinkle evenly with the rest of the ingredients, cut in with two forks until evenly mixed, then knead a bit with your hands until well mixed. At this point the chorizo will keep for at least a couple weeks in your refrigerator, or let it season for a couple days in your refrigerator, then wrap it in small packages, (3-4 oz. is about right for two people), and it will freeze fine for months. It can also be stuffed into casings and smoked like any other pork sausage.

[sladeums]

I consulted Mexico The Beautiful, Zarela's Food From My Heart and Diana Kennedy's The Cuisines of Mexico. I also checked Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen, but could find no recipe - though I think his first book (Authentic Mexican) may have one.

The first two have fairly similar recipes and both call for pork, garlic, s&p, cinnamon, cloves, oregano, ground chiles, paprika and red wine/cider vinegar.

Diana's recipe is a little more interesting looking and calls for pork tenderloin, pork fat, ground ancho and pasilla, coriander, cloves, whole peppercorns, oregano, cumin, garlic, paprika, salt, mild vinegar and vodka.

Her advice is this can be ate freshly made or allowed to season 3 days under refigeration (stirring well daily), and if casing then to prick the sausages all over after cased and allow to hang for 3 days to get rid of excess moisture. She also mentions the need for tender pork, free of tendons and tough skin, otherwise the meat will be "...hard from it's rather brief cooking, and very indigestible...".

I looked at several other recipes at a couple of worthwhile internet sites and they were all quite similar to the ones in Mexico The Beautiful and Zarela's book.

Since I don't have a personal variation on any of these, PM me if you are interested in specific recipe quantities.

[maggiethecat]

I guess some men get that far-away Look in their eyes when thinking of the Superbowl, a new riding mower, or the exchange rate on the Euro.

Mine has it because: I can tell, because of all your kind input, it is going to be Sausage Weekend. With a little added wallpapering. God help me!

I really thank you all for your input. You even who did the net research and pulled out your cookbooks. I've become lazy since becoming an eGulleteer.

I could have done all that stuff you kindly did for me...own a couple of the books, even. But a spoiled eGulletteer assumes (usually correctly) that someone else will automatically know the answer.

He's got his nose buried in Jane Grigson now, checking salt proportions. If I survive the weekend, I'll post our findings.

Hmmm...some recipes red wine, some white. Some cumin, some not.

Again, I'm touched by your generous help.

[maggiethecat]

Thanks to all of you, I am now the proud possessor of three pounds of chorizo. He started it at about one am Sunday Morning, and used a kind of mongrel recipe from the suggestions above.

It is great.

First application a tad odd, perhaps. Topping for a Tex/Mex pizza. Man it's good!

Thanks again.

[Bella S.F.]

Living close to the Mission in San Francisco, we are able to get really good fresh chorizo from Mexico. Hoewever, sometimes it has just too much fat and chunks of who-knows-what. I know that the fat is great,, and really flavors whatever you are making, but sometimes, enough is enough. I would like to be able to have great spice but also control what is going in. Does anyone make their own? Ideas please.

Thanks!

[polack]

See if this will help

5 lb. course ground pork butt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp corriander

1 large chopped onion

1 tsp dry mint leaves

5 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp oregeno

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp basil

3 tsp brown sugar

3 tbsp chilli powder

2 cups of water

hot pepper- add your own to your taste

I like making just about all my sausage with good lean pork butt. There's usually enough fat on the butt to make just about all sausages happy. Stuff in hog casings, 32 to 35 mm will do fine. I like fresh sausage in thinner casings.

Polack

[Bella S.F.]

Thanks!

I look forward to trying that. What kind of chilis do you like to use?

[ludja]

Can't compare with a real recommendation--but I've been wanting to check out Bayless' recipe that he has in a couple of his books. You may get some other tips or ideas there.

[sladeums]

Use anchos or guajillos.

Add chile de arbol to make it spicier.

You can also use fresh chiles, chile poblano, to make a less spicy verde chorizo.

Experiment and see what you like.

[polack]

Thanks!

I look forward to trying that. What kind of chilis do you like to use?

←

The chili's will be up to you. What I like may not be the same as someone else, it's a recipe that will get you started and you can adjust accordingly. To me the vinegar is one of the key ingredients in chorizo, many sausages start out with the first key ingredients, pork, salt, pepper, garlic, and a host of spices that are popular to each country. Hey the Polacks, Italians, Spanish, Mexican, and whatever country start off with the aboved mention and spice it accordingly and give it a name that's unique to that country.

Polack

[HKDave]

I've used this recipe http://www.premiersystems.com/recipes/mexican/chorizo.html with success. Since I don't always have access to Mexican chilies, I start by underseasoning with whatever dried chilies I can get (usually a mix of Thai and crushed food-service style American), and test-fry a small patty after mixing, then adjust the heat level accordingly.

[Chris Amirault]

BUMP.

I've been using Ruhlman's Charcuterie for the basics of some chorizo I've been making lately, but it's been prompting some questions concerning the spices (which seem a bit off in the Ruhlman book) and the grind. Has anyone fiddled with the grind coarseness? I'm thinking of trying a batch that's half roughly ground and half chopped pork.

[Ruth in Condechi]

From Ricardo Munoz Zurita's book "Diccionario Enciclopedia de Gastronomia Mexicana" I translate and paraphrase:

from the Spanis chorizo, to which it no longer bears ANY resemblance. Depending on the region of mexico the "chorizo" changes in flavour, color and size. Made with finely chopped pork, "unto" which would be lard, spices, ground chiles and vinegar. It is mixed well and left to rest ( a marriage of flavors) and then stuffed , hung in the air to "orear" which is not meant to air dry but to remove some moisture while still maintaing moistness. (Ah, the vagaries of language!)

In Baja California South and the center of Mexico you would use Chile Pasilla for color. In Chihuahua with Chile Colorado, garlic, vinegar and oregano and is left to dry at least 2 weeks. In Coahuila garlic, sweet flavored pimenton, vinegar, cinnamon, oregano, clove and pepper.

In Michoacan, Huetamo and the "Tierra Caliente" region a marinade is made of chile guajillo, chile puya, vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, marjoram, thyme, oregano, black pepper, fresh ground "gorda" pepper and salt.

There are 2 more pages of descriptives by region of "Mexican" style chorizo. Great reading! There is also green seasoned and yes with pine nuts, almonds and white wine. If any one wants more ingredients by region, just let me know. Or if you read spanish go for the book.

[Chris Amirault]

What a wonderful, informative post, Ruth! Have you tried any of these combinations? Do you have a preference (cinnamon or no, sweeter or spicier)?

[Ruth in Condechi]

What a wonderful, informative post, Ruth! Have you tried any of these combinations? Do you have a preference (cinnamon or no, sweeter or spicier)?

←

I am trying to eat my way through Mexico but it is extremly difficult. Every day you find a different variant not only in chorizo but everything else as well. Since I am in the D.F. we tend to get a mosaic of what the central highlands have to offer but I haven't been out of the city in about 6 months so of course so much more to taste. My personal favorites , the chorizo when it is freshly made, only hung for a few hours to set the meat in the casing then slowly fried in its own fat (start at a low heat, let the chorizo release its own fat) then drain, do not let brown, and add a salsa verde to stew it a bit. Que delicia! Serve as a dinner or if any is left over at breakfast with eggs.

More later.

[davecap]

I've only made this once, and I didn't stuff it into casings, but it was surprisingly good, cooked as patties for a paella.

Chorizo

6 ounces ground ancho chile powder

1-1/2 C boiling water

2 pounds ground pork

1 pound ground beef

2 T minced garlic

4 t salt

1/3 C vinegar (white wine preferred)

3 T oregano (Mexican, if possible)

2 t black pepper

1 t ground cinnamon or 1/2 t grated nutmeg

1/2 t ground cloves

1 t sugar

1/3 C dry white wine

Make a paste from the water and chile. Set aside.

Mix the meats with the garlic and salt. Add the vinegar and mix.

Add the spices excepting the sugar. Mix.

Add the sugar and wine and mix one last time.

Work in the chile paste, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours before cooking or stuffing.

NOTES: Buy whole chiles and toast them. Let them cool, then grind. A very small step that makes a big difference. Really.

You could buy a pork shoulder and brine it, then grind it. But that's a lot to do yourself on the first go 'round, and the overnight rest will have a similar effect. Just make sure you've got plenty of fat (in the pork and beef, I mean). If the meat is lean, consider adding some fatback or fatty bacon (maybe poach it a bit to get rid of the smoke; chorizo is not a smoked sausage).

I've seen recipes that use canela, or real cinnamon (from Ceylon) instead of the stuff we usually see. I'm not sure in a spicy mixture like this that you'd notice. It does help to have a bit of mystery, which the cinnamon or nutmeg does contribute. I've also seen star anise, but I remember giving it a sniff when I made chorizo, and it didn't fit for me.

Finally, let us know how it goes -- and remember your Unca Dave when you're passing out samples.

←

Dave

I had a hankering for some chorizo last week and found your recipe. I did not make the paste, just added the ground peppers into the mix. Flavor is outstanding. Ate some just grilled and then I stuffed the rest into casings and into the freezer. I am really liking it! If you were in the neighborhood I would share.

Dave