I don't know who this guy is, but I like his t-shirt
Since moving to the country, I’ve had to say goodbye to ethnic restaurants. The only ethnic restaurants here in town is a surprisingly decent sushi place and a Mexican joint where they serve a bowl of spiced-up ranch dressing alongside the complimentary basket of tortilla chips and salsa. It’s pretty gross….until you get used to it, and then you find yourself eating it along with every other Mexican-deprived resident of this town.
Not having many decent dining-out options is one reason why my husband and I cook so much. Our favorite type of cuisine is Mexican. AUTHENTIC Mexican: fresh pork, tomatilloes, roasted tomatoes, chilaquiles….not the canned refried bean, melted cheddar cheese biomass you find at places like Chili’s.
But it can also be hard to get our hands on quality ethnic ingredients here. The last time I bought chorizo — spicy Spanish pork sausage that is also a staple of Mexican and South American cuisine — at the supermarket , I noticed the meat all but disintegrated in a pool of oil as soon as it hit the hot pan. It was so fatty and gross, I remember thinking, Note to self: You’ll probably never eat chorizo again.
I thought I was out of luck, or that I’d have to drive an hour to get my hands on the good stuff.
Well, after four long years of cooking without chorizo, I just learned that chorizo doesn’t necessarily involve any sort of fancy curing process; it’s more of a simple spice blend that people like me can make at home. And chorizo doesn’t have to come in links, it can be made using ground meat. Yippee! Homemade chorizo!
Chorizo is typically made using ground pork seasoned with different spices, depending on whether you’re going for a Spanish, Mexican or Argentine flavor. I went for Mexican. Mexican chorizo differs from Spanish in that it’s usually drier due to its higher chile and spice content.
To make my chorizo, I decided to use three-quarters fresh ground venison (which, thanks to the leanness of deer, is virtually fat free, so the meat renders barely any fat when cooked) mixed with a quarter fatty pork sausage. You gotta have some fat in there! I find that ground venison mixed with ground sausage is a great combination — the earthiness of deer mixed with the juiciness of the sausage is really great for chiles, meat casseroles, meat loafs and my beloved Super Nachos.
Anyway, smash 1 pound of ground meat of your choice into a bowl……but try to include some ground pork (not necessarily pork sausage) to keep the dish somewhat authentic.
Add to the bowl this Mexican chorizo spice blend*:
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon hot paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (I had to special order mine from here.)
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
Smoosh it all up until the spices are evenly disbursed through the meat and cook as directed.
Tonight, I’m having people over and plan to use my homemade chorizo to make Rick Bayless’s Crusty Black Bean-Chorizo Subs. I haven’t been able to make these incredible sandwiches for four long years due to the dearth of chorizo.
So tonight, I plan to gorge.
* Chorizo recipe from Cook’s Illustrated
Tags: homemade chorizo
that guy’s tshirt is amazing.
and i seem to have found a source for this item. http://camisetasperronas.spreadshirt.com/free-chorizo-A3399276
Love your blog, and I can’t wait to make your chorizo recipe with our elk meat. Darn, I’ll have to pass on the “free”.
that sounds delicious: its great to know you can do chorizo without having to stuff into the intestine of some worthy beast because although sausage making is on my list of things to do its a little daunting.
Four years without chorizo? My goodness, girl. I’m crying for you.
That said, I just received a meat grinder and sausage stuffer for Christmas, so I’m all about the sausage making. Am going to have to tuck that recipe aside for the next sausage making weekend.