Green Mexican Sausage in Houston

[JetLag]

When we lived in Mexico City we could drive to Toluca, 40kms to the west and buy bright green sausage at just about every market stall and from homes along the way. When I say green I mean emerald. About the size of BBQ sausage here in houston and fresh not smoked or dried. I've made Diane Kennedy's green sausage and it's nothing like what I'm looking for. Anybody got a source in Texas?

[Kerr.]

Similarly, I'm looking for huchepos - sweet tamales from Michoacan. Is there a source for those in Houston?

(Sorry I can't help with the green sausage)

[FoodMan]

I don't really have an answer to either, but did you try asking at a Mexican butcher shop or taqueria. They might not have them but they might know who does.

Elie

[JetLag]

I don't really have an answer to either, but did you try asking at a Mexican butcher shop or taqueria. They might not have them but they might know who does.

Elie

←

I have asked until I'm blue(green?) in the face with no luck and my spanish is pretty good for a gringo

[fifi]

An admission here . . . I don't think I have ever even seen a green sausage. But then, here is hoping that I haven't seen everything yet. Now I am curious. My Diana Kennedy book doesn't list green sausage. What makes it green?

(See if Dona Tere has what you are looking for. They have a sweet tamale.)

[nacho]

An admission here . . . I don't think I have ever even seen a green sausage. But then, here is hoping that I haven't seen everything yet.  Now I am curious. My Diana Kennedy book doesn't list green sausage. What makes it green?

(See if Dona Tere has what you are looking for. They have a sweet tamale.)

←

Diana Kennedy has a recipe for longaniza (a green chorizo???) in her book "The Art of Mexican Cooking". Unfortunately, I don't have this book to see what the ingredients are....it's only referenced in her newest, "From My Mexican Kitchen." But when I googled around, I came across one recipe that mentions ground pork with green chiles, bay leaf, parsley, cilantro and Swiss chard.

I'm sorry JetLag, I don't know where to find them either. My first guess in Austin would be Fiesta....I'm guessing you've tried them in Houston?? Also, is the Kennedy recipe for longaniza the one you used?

[FoodMan]

An admission here . . . I don't think I have ever even seen a green sausage. But then, here is hoping that I haven't seen everything yet.  Now I am curious. My Diana Kennedy book doesn't list green sausage. What makes it green?

(See if Dona Tere has what you are looking for. They have a sweet tamale.)

←

Diana Kennedy has a recipe for longaniza (a green chorizo???) in her book "The Art of Mexican Cooking". Unfortunately, I don't have this book to see what the ingredients are....it's only referenced in her newest, "From My Mexican Kitchen." But when I googled around, I came across one recipe that mentions ground pork with green chiles, bay leaf, parsley, cilantro and Swiss chard.

I'm sorry JetLag, I don't know where to find them either. My first guess in Austin would be Fiesta....I'm guessing you've tried them in Houston?? Also, is the Kennedy recipe for longaniza the one you used?

←

I have the book, I'll check it out.

Elie

[fifi]

The book I looked in was The Essential Cuisines of Mexico which is her more recent compilation.

The list of ingredients to make it green makes sense.

[LDLee]

You might want to try one of hte Mexican butchers in town. We don't have a lot of Michoacan and central Mexico influences, except for may be Dona Tere. Most of the food here evovled from the border states and has been hybridized into Tex-Mex. Jay Francis is a member who is highly likely to help you find some places.

[fifi]

I recall seeing several carnecerias with Michoacan in the name. Now I am trying to remember where. It could have possibly been far out Bellaire Blvd past the Beltway or on Texas 6 around Bellaire. Or it could have been in the SE part of Houston on Scarsdale.

[Jay Francis]

I can help you here, because I had a similar experience back in 2004. Upon returning from Toluca, I looked everywhere for a source of green Tolucan sausage in Houston. There wasn't any.

I decided to make my own. I went to Fiesta (Shepherd) and got some sausage casings from the butcher. Some Fiesta's have them in the cooler section, others, you have to check with the butcher.

I went to page 268 of Diana Kennedy The Art of Mexican Cooking, bought all of the ingredients, and with the help of my food processor and Kitchen Aid, I have the grinder and the sausage making attachments, I proceeded to successfully make my sausage.

It was a lot of work and there were a lot of green stains around the kitchen area.

Then, I realized that short cuts are possible without affecting the over-all quality. For my next batch, I eliminated the casings, since, as you know, in Toluca, they remove the casings and just pan fry the sausage to serve in tacos. We don't have the luxury of allowing our sausage to air dry in a market place like they do and need to refrigerate and then cook the sausage fairly quickly.

Then I abbreviated even further. I started with store bought Jimmy Dean pork breakfast sausage, ground up some parsley, cilantro, chile poblano, to mix in with it, added vinegar to taste but didn't mess with the other spices or the Swiss chard leaves. Very quick and easy and a perfectly fine result with less of the work. The trick is to get the ground pork green and this is done with the cilantro, chile, and parsley.

Jay

By the way, even though there isn't a recipe, there is a photo of the green sausage in From My Mexican Kitchen. Also, my experience is that sausages called Longaniza typically indicate cheaper cuts of meat than Chorizo.

Also, the recipe calls for Swiss chard, which I didn't have experience with, but tracked down at Whole Foods. I used organic parsley (I find that using organic carrots, celery, and parsley results in a better food taste as it is a real hassle to wash and wash to get rid of the pesticide taste)

Edited March 20, 2005 by Jay Francis (log)