me so chorizo!
Recipe: homemade mexican chorizo
It’s been an ordinary week around here. And ordinary is pretty spectacular! We’ve seen foxes running through our yard, lightning storms all around the house, and Jeremy and I ran into (almost literally, but just shy by 10 yards) a mother moose and her calf on a trail run! Just because awesome happens regularly, doesn’t mean it is any less awesome in my book. Same goes for awesome food, awesome friends…
the fantastic mr. fox
lightning in the daytime
lightning at night
Back in the day, few of my friends were much into food. Sure, they’d eat it, but I didn’t have many who were avid cooks or “foodies”. The flow of recipes via snail mail or email or even scribbled on a scrap of paper was practically non-existant. Then I found rec.food.cooking in the early days of the interwebs and now the leap to today… with all of these food blogs with PICTURES and great recipes and friendly people and even people you end up meeting or never meeting, but becoming close friends regardless. I love that stuff. LOVE.IT. I think it is responsible for more than 50% of the recipes I now try.
de arbol and guajillo chiles from savory spice shop in boulder
i added my new mexico reds to the mix
My friend, Mel, recently raved on Facebook about a recipe for homemade chorizo that she had gotten from Rebecca. Don’t you love how these recipes get passed on like chain letters without the annoying letters and implied guilt? Awesome. I had never heard of chorizo until a friend of mine had made it one of his secret ingredients in a chili cookoff many years ago. The chili was great, but with so many ingredients, I couldn’t pinpoint which one was the chorizo. This was an ingredient I read about, saw in photos, would occasionally enjoy as part of an ensemble at a creative restaurant, but never had at home…
apple cider vinegar, onions, ground pork, spices, chiles, salt, garlic
stemming and de-seeding the chiles
toast the chiles, chop the garlic and onions
That is, until I saw how flipping easy this recipe was. I had to try it. Remember how I have a hoarding problem with certain foods – like New Mexican chiles? Got plenty of those… Now I have a few less chiles, but a lot more Mexican chorizo! Booyah!!
place the chiles, onions, and garlic in a large bowl
pour heated vinegar over the ingredients
set a plate on top to weigh it down
The most time-consuming part for me was stemming and de-seeding the chiles, because those little seeds go flying off into the kitchen and I have to hunt them down to make sure Kaweah (aka, the vacuum) doesn’t wander past and suck one up. Other than that, the prep time is quick. Let the toasted chiles, onions, and garlic sit for an hour in hot vinegar while you go do something productive. I love getting things done that don’t require me to do anything. When the time is up, the chile mixture goes into a blender. I divorced my old blender and remarried a Vitamix. This is true love, folks.
chiles, onions, garlic – oh my!
i love my non-sucky vitamix
Let that spicy blend of goodness cool completely before mixing it in with the pork and all of the spices. I was tempted to mix it all up in my stand mixer, but when Mel said to mix by hand, I was all, “Yeah, let’s do this!”. So I doode it.
saucy
spicy (or herby)
messy
I wound up with five pounds of raw chorizo and bagged it up into 1-pound portions to freeze. Actually, I only froze four pounds and I cooked the other one up because I wanted to taste it. It’s a nice, spicy (but not crazy spicy), tangy sausage. The cinnamon comes out a little later and gives it a warm flavor. This is good stuff.
weighing it out
portioning out
Not having had much chorizo in the past, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. I didn’t want to make chili… not in summer. Mel had made eggs with her chorizo which set off an idea in my head. As I’ve stated before, I am not much of a breakfast person. In all likelihood, this is because a lot of breakfasts in western cultures are sweet. But a breakfast burrito really appealed to me (and Jeremy) the other day.
tortillas, potatoes, eggs, chorizo, and a skillet
fry it up
fill her up
My feelings toward flour tortillas tend to be lukewarm. I really prefer corn tortillas and it behooves me to ask someone to please develop a pliable soft corn tortilla. Anyway, I put hashed brown potatoes, scrambled eggs and chorizo, and some sharp cheddar cheese in the burrito. It’s probably more traditional to see cubed hashed brown potatoes, but I like the crunchy bits and well – it’s my burrito. Next time, I’m omitting the cheese in mine (although Jeremy liked the cheese). But that chorizo is golden. And now I have four pounds in my freezer… and if I ever run out, I’ma gonna make MOAR!
breakfast burrito of flavor
Homemade Mexican Chorizo
[print recipe]
from Alosha’s Kitchen and Foodie with Family
10 dried guajillo chile peppers, stem and seeds removed
7 dried arbol chile peppers, stem and seeds removed
4 dried New Mexico chile peppers, stem and seeds removed
2 white onions, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
2 tbsps ground cumin
2 tbsps Mexican oregano
2 tbsps kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
3 lbs. ground pork
Wipe the dried chiles down with a damp cloth. Place the chiles (seeds and stems removed) in a hot skillet or frying pan for a minute on a side until they are no longer brittle. Remove from heat. Place the chiles in a large non-reactive bowl. Place the chopped onions and garlic on top of the chiles. Heat the vinegar in a saucepan or in the microwave until quite warm, and pour that over the chiles, onions, and garlic. Weigh the whole thing down with a plate, then tightly seal the entire bowl with a sheet of plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for an hour. Empty the contents into a blender or food processor and blend until it is smooth. You can add more vinegar if you need more liquid in case things don’t feel like cooperating in the blender. Let the sauce cool completely. After the sauce has cooled, add it and the remaining spices to the ground pork. Mix with your hands until uniformly distributed. Divvy up the sausage to freeze or use right away. Makes 5 pounds of chorizo.
July 26th, 2012 at 6:50 am
What a wonderful post to wake up to this morning — I miss really good chorizo. When I lived in the Southwest, it wasn’t “really good chorizo” it was just “chorizo.” Not that there aren’t good options in WA, but I think making it from scratch would make a world of difference! Going to have to try this very soon, I already predict a chorizo craving in my near future.
July 26th, 2012 at 6:53 am
I think there should be some achiote or something in there to make it more redder (that’s my bias though, I was raised on Peyton’s, which is very red).
July 26th, 2012 at 7:00 am
I’m so verklempt that you made something I posted. ;) For real, though. Rebecca will also be thrilled that she passed it on double. Steve and I couldn’t stop thanking her for making one that he approved of, what with growing up on it like he did. Truly an accomplishment. So thrilled you loved it, too!
Also, THIS: “I really prefer corn tortillas and it behooves me to ask someone to please develop a pliable soft corn tortilla.”
Go here:
http://www.latortillafactory.com/products-8.aspx
I realize they have some preservatives in them, yadda, etc. But it’s delicious corn tortilla flavor with a flour tortilla-like pliability. We’re hooked on them and have been since finding them a couple of years ago. They stopped selling them for a brief period at my favorite market here in TX, and I actually paid the premium to order a big supply from their online shop. They’re that perfect. I don’t think they come in burrito size, but damn if we don’t go through the taco ones like it ain’t nothin’.
July 26th, 2012 at 10:43 am
This is brilliant! I’ve never even thought about making my own chorizo before, and I can never find the fresh stuff here in France. Thanks!
July 26th, 2012 at 11:10 am
Homemade chorizo is a fantastic idea! I might try out some variations with different meats–lamb chorizo, anyone?
July 26th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
I love chorizo, but always have to pretend like I don’t know what is in the commercial brands to eat it! Making my own is now a viable option, and I will know exactly what meat parts are in it! Thank Jen!
I second Melissa’s love of that brand of tortillas. They are delicious!
July 26th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Gosh, I LOVE this. Chorizo burritos are one of my favorite Mexican breakfeast treats here in San Diego. I never thought to make chorizo at home. Thanks for the inspiration.
July 26th, 2012 at 1:29 pm
La Tortilla Factory is getting a lot of press today. Another popular blog mentioned them today for the same reason, which is that they are pliable while still delivering great corn flavor. I don’t know about them one way or another, but it does seem like they are popular.
July 27th, 2012 at 12:59 am
Like Brandon, I live in San Diego, where Chorizo is well known and loved. I have had commercial Chicken Chorizo. It was really good! I’ve never made my own, but it is good in a burrito with some sauteed bell peppers, too. I’m not able to tolerate much heat, so a little sour cream (low fat of course) can cool it down a bit. You can’t go wrong w/Chorizo!!
xo Linda
July 27th, 2012 at 6:58 am
The tortillas Melissa recommended are for sale at King Soopers but they are in the bread section and not with the regular tortillas. They have their own small stand that is about 4 feet tall. I like them a lot – the white corn are very yummy. I also love your blog.
July 27th, 2012 at 9:05 am
Can’t wait to try this out. Wish I were still dating Jesus…that was before I even knew about hot sauce on eggs! Have you tried Stacey’s organic flour tortilllas? The are in a refrigerated end-cap section at Whole Foods Boulder (not at Superior) and are quite yummy.
July 27th, 2012 at 9:10 am
Woah. I’m wicked thrilled that you made and loved it. Chorizo… the gift that keeps on giving!
July 27th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Curious how many hours a day, how many days a week you spend cooking?
I am always so impressed with the ambitiousness of your recipes…WOW!
July 30th, 2012 at 7:50 am
Also, wrt relatively pliable corn tortillas – La Banderita and Verole are both pretty good. Even with those, it helps to warm them up, which makes them tastier anyhow.
July 30th, 2012 at 11:58 pm
How odd to see chorizio all portioned out like that. I only know it as a sausage to buy in the store! Which I LOOOOOOVE to slice up and grill :) Mmmmmm!
July 31st, 2012 at 12:15 pm
That’s the breakfast burrito of champions, right there!
August 5th, 2012 at 2:45 pm
Wow, sounds like a great recipe, and thanks for reminding me that I don’t have to go through the god-awful mess of trying to stuff the sausage mix into casings. We just got a meat grinder recently and I’ve been meaning to try my hand at making chorizo. Next on my “wish list” is a Vitamix :)
I love your blog and am glad I found it the other evening.
August 5th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Oh wow! Homemade chorizo! This is awesome and the recipe sounds like it packs a lot of flavor…definitely bookmarking this one!
August 7th, 2012 at 8:50 am
denise – i hope you like it. it’s a lovely recipe!
Rob – you’re welcome to add some :)
Mel – OH MAH GAH! You’re telling me there is a pliable corn tortilla?!?!? :) I love you Mel!!! xoxo
Diane – yay!
Eileen – I’m sure they’d be fabulous. Sounds wonderful, actually.
Cheryl – sweeeeeet. Good to know about the tortillas too xo
Brandon – me neither!
Bobbie – I know! I can’t wait to try them :)
Linda – I bet if you’re making your own, you can use milder chiles or less?
Engrid – ooooh, thanks for that heads up! xo
M.K. – YES! Those are the tortillas I used in this post (and well, in general). They are wonderful tortillas considering how much I dislike flour tortillas. Nice and thin, but HUGE :)
Rebecca – thank you, my dear! I love this recipe. Is it odd to hand out frozen packets of raw homemade chorizo as gifts?? ;)
Shut Up & Cook – a lot ;)
Rob – okay, thanks!
LizzieBee – I’ve heard they fall apart once out of their casing, so I like the idea of having it loose.
Christine – :)
Brenda K – ha ha! i would never make sausage to stuff into casings – that would make me cuss ;)
joey – thanks! xo
September 3rd, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Yum, I was really excited to see this recipe. Like Cheryl, I love chorizo but never liked to think about what was in commercial stuff so it was definitely a special occasion food. We just demoed our first batch, made with a blend of ground chicken thighs and breasts. Nice flavor. As native Angelos, we could have used a bit more heat but the base flavor was exactly what I look for in chorizo. I’ve got some ground chimayo and will just add some as we cook up the extra was put in the freezer. Thanks!
November 11th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Add some nice fresh Hungarian Paprika to give it a beautiful red color, and some extra flavor to boot.
April 20th, 2013 at 11:24 am
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June 9th, 2013 at 1:08 pm
I made this last night. I kept the seeds in on all the peppers except the arbol, and I added one large ancho for some extra smokiness. I also added 4 lbs of pork rather than 3. SOOOO good, right amount of spice/heat, correct texture, perfect. Going to try making it into sausages and smoking it next time. Now just need the husband to make me a smoker! lol Thanks for the recipe!
October 27th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
Growing up mexican my mom always made chorizo and eggs for breakfast. Was awesome. I recently read the ingredients in mexican chorizo (salivary glands)! I was somewhat turned off. I tried this recipe and it was excellent. However, I like my chorizo a little hotter and added some habanero . Overall I give this recipe a thumbs up. (and no salivary glands)
November 17th, 2014 at 3:46 pm
im going to use Venison and Pork 2# venisom 1# pork