Sausage people: chorizo?

[Mosca]

Let me specify: Mexican chorizo. There are so many choices.

I’m going to give my new meat grinder a whirl this week. I want to do something that is reasonably simple, and that fits inside of “what makes sense” to me. Kielbasa and Italian sausage don’t make sense; I can buy world class Polish and Italian sausages for less than it costs to make them. Same with ground beef: I can buy ground beef for $3.99/lb, or I can buy chuck roast for $7.99 and grind it… why? Okay, it might be better. Is it twice as good? Is it better than the ground prime rib I can get at Sam’s Club for $5.48/lb?

But I can’t get good chorizo here. The stuff in the Latino market is gristly, the stuff in the regular market is unremarkable. And, I don’t really care about messing around with casings, because I’m going to use it loosely anyhow.

So, anyone have any tips? What do you want your chorizo to taste like? For me, the best chorizo I’ve had in the past few years has been from Porter Road, but I only buy it as part of a larger order because I’m not paying shipping on a couple pounds of sausage. But their chorizo is really good!

[Bkhuna]

Are you looking for Mexican chorizo? It is different from other Latin or Hispanic varieties.

https://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/chorizo-mexicano/

[Mosca]

Yep, Mexican. There are so many choices, but I’m going to stick with the one with which I’m most familiar, for now. Later I’ll give a shot at Chilean sausage and Texas hot guts.

[Mosca]

That looks about like what I want! I have all those things in house right now, except whole cloves, which are readily available.

[Bkhuna]

The casing part is optional. I buy my chorizo loose at a Mexican market. Most commercial brands are sold in plastic wrapping that you have to remove to cook the chorizo. Mexican chorizo is never sold cooked/smoked.

[Andrrr]

I made this one awhile back. While I thought it was far better than any of the overly greasy stuff I can find in stores around here, it wasn’t blow my socks off amazing. It was really good though and I’ve been meaning to make it again, but maybe I’ll try the one posted above first.

https://www.muydelish.com/how-to-make-beef-chorizo-healthy/#recipe

[Mosca]

Bkhuna My local supermercado has an entire wall of Latino chorizos! The problem is, none of them are any good. These are all cooked, but they also have the Tropical brand fresh Mexican, which is not very good IMO.

[Michael_in_TX]

As eclectic as my local HEB is with Mexican and other international foods, we don't have any of this. We have several brands of chorizo, but they are all Mexican-style (uncooked) and either beef or chicken. Most are made in Texas. The only cooked versions are a "chorizo-flavored" kielbasa.

Fascinating to see what is in other areas of the country. (Tropical Cheese, LLC's 73,000 sq ft manufacturing facility is located in Perth Amboy, New Jersey for what it is worth.)

[Bkhuna]

These all appear to be cured/cooked, Every Hispanic nation has there own take on chorizo. I often buy the Colombian or Argentinian for the grill. Fortunately in central Florida, there is no shortage of decent Hispanic sausages.

These are not substitute for the uncooked Mexican variety. Get a good Mexican recipe and make up some loose chorizo.

[shify]

Pretty much every Central and South American country has their own version of chorizo and they differ fairly dramatically from country to country. In addition to the pre-packaged/pre-cooked versions above, the butcher counter at one of my local mexican grocery store sells probably 3-5 versions of fresh chorizo (Argentinean being my favorite for the grill and a choripan)

To me the dried chiles, warm spices (cinnamon, cumin, clove) and cider vinegar are must haves in a good Mexican chorizo.

[58limited]

I've made this recipe several times:

[synodog]

When I make chorizo with eggs like mom used to I use this kind. It’s not cooked you have to cook it in a skillet. Sadly, my wife hates this stuff so we don’t have it much anymore. They make pork versions and now it seems others too.

[Bkhuna]

When I first got stationed in San Diego I had never had Mexican food. I met a pretty little senorita who stole my heart and then went for my stomach. The first time she made me breakfast she wanted to make chorizo and eggs. I took one look at the wrapper and wouldn't touch it. Seems like one of the ingredients included pork salivary glands. I finally overcame my aversion to "utility cuts" of meat and I'm glad I did.

[TomfromtheSoo]

Here is my recipe. I buy pork butt and grind it to about an 80/20 mix. I don't normally link my chorizo so it is basically a bulk fresh sausage. We use it for breakfast burritos, taco night, and breakfast egg bake. Might not be what you are looking for but here it is:

Tom

[Mosca]

This happens to be EXACTLY the kind of thing I’m looking for, thanks!

[TripleB]

So you replaced the normal chili powder with Ancho chili powder, right? Or did you just keep the 2 Tbsp chili powder and add another 2 Tbsp Ancho?

I love Cumin. I think I've increased it in all my recipes. Don't know if you use AR's Big Bad Beef Rub, but I added Cumin to it and it is a game changer. Same with Mexican Oregano. Much better than normal Oregano. Thanks for posting.

Also, just 1 tsp salt? For all my sausage recipes, I use anywhere from 1-2 Tbsp salt. Is that by chance a typo?

[TripleB]

How many of you use Chorizo in making chili? I find it to be a secret ingredient that a lot of Californian's don't use. Whatever your beef poundage is, replace 1/4 of it with Chorizo. Yum!

[johnec00]

Here's ours (no idea if its Mexican), but its what we like. Mostly used as an ingredient in other dishes.


Note that the recipe lists several sources of pork and fat, we often use a mixture of what we have. Mix should be about 20% or less fat. (Fat in sausage used in cooking need not be particularly fatty.

If you like it hotter (we don't) here's the Marianskis' version of Mexican Chorizo. Stanley Marianski is a reputable source as opposed to some other internet recipe sources.

https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-recipes/chorizo-mexican

[Mosca]

Thank you!

As a confirmed and dedicated hot lover, of the hotter-is-better type, I’ve also decided that making things hot is easy; making them delicious is the skill. I can always add peppers, hot sauces, or flakes to anything, but it has to be delicious FIRST.

[mnavarre]

This is pretty close to what I make.

1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon allspice berries
2 whole cloves
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
10 large chiles guajillos (2.11 oz/60 g), stemmed and seeded
2 large chiles anchos (1.2 oz/35 g), stemmed and seeded
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
6 garlic cloves, peeled
4 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2¾ teaspoons Morton kosher salt (0.42 oz/18 g)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground canela or cinnamon
2¼ pounds (1 kg) ground pork, preferably not lean (see Cook’s Note)

Martinez, Rick . Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico: A Cookbook (p. 264). (Function). Kindle Edition.

Toast the spices in a dry skillet until fragrant. Rehydrate the chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. Throw everything into a blender ( not the chili soaking liquid) and blend until sooth. You want about a ketchup consistency, if it's too thick or won't blend add the soaking liquid to thin it out. Allow the Adobo to cool, mix with the pork until evenly incorporated and refrigerate for 24 hours to let everything get happy.

You can also make a big batch of the adobo and freeze portions, it's a good starting point for lots of dishes

[TomfromtheSoo]

“So you replaced the normal chili powder with Ancho chili powder, right? Or did you just keep the 2 Tbsp chili powder and add another 2 Tbsp Ancho?

I love Cumin. I think I've increased it in all my recipes. Don't know if you use AR's Big Bad Beef Rub, but I added Cumin to it and it is a game changer. Same with Mexican Oregano. Much better than normal Oregano. Thanks for posting.

Also, just 1 tsp salt? For all my sausage recipes, I use anywhere from 1-2 Tbsp salt. Is that by chance a typo?“

TripleB,

Yes on chili powder. I had dried Ancho chilis that got too dry and hard. Ground them up and used as substitute for “normal” chili powder.

Also, salt at one teaspoon in this recipe is correct.

Thanks,

Tom

[Mosca]

I’ve started putting cumin in all my salsas, including salsa verde and even a pinch in pico de gallo. It really makes a difference!

[Smoked Transistors]

I purchased Chud's Chorizo Seasoning and used it to grill up some large shrimp. This video may help you with your chorizo making venture.

[Abom]

I sympathize! I love Chorizo, especially with eggs for breakfast, but I can't find anything worthwhile either. I'll have to try the recipes here.

[jfmorris]

I don't know why this thread about "Mexican" chorizo versus "Latin" versus "Beef" chorizo brought this to mind...



Apparently we are 3 years BEYOND the future vision of Soylent Green. I guess you can make chorizo and everything else using Soylent Green.... After all Mosca did say something about "Sausage People" in the initial title of the thread, which made me think of "People Sausage"....

Ok. My job is complete. Thread of discussion DERAILED! Woo hoo! Call me PJ Junior!