Fresh Mexican Chorizo

It was only a matter of time before moved on from grinding beef to pork, and started making my first sausage.  Even more than burgers, sausage absolutely require grinding meat at home.  And now that I had had practice it was time to move up in the world.  It seemed like an important step forward--on par with making homemade bacon and cheese. 

Little did I know that making fresh sausage requires very little skill, knowledge, or talent.  And it's unbelievably cheap.  Of course, this only applies to fresh sausage. And I'm still a little bit away from casings and smoking and anything to do with dry-cured salami--that will come a little later when I get enough nerve. The nice thing about fresh sausage is you can mix the spices with ground meat and not bother altogether with trying to stuff it into casings.

And while breakfast sausage is good and fine, what I really wanted to make was Mexican chorizo.  It's one of my favorite ingredients, and I use it as often as I can, or my wife lets me.  It's fatty and highly spiced, and lends a wonderful aroma to essentially everything it touches. 

Mexican chorizo differs from the Spanish variety in many crucial ways, and not just because it is a fresh sausage and not a cured and smoked one.  While they are both red in color, what turns the sausages that color can differ drastically.  Spanish chorizo almost always has a healthy dose of paprika.  Mexican chorizo can differ in ingredients based on what region you happen to be in. 

I had to first find the right Mexican recipe, but all these differences were a little confusing.  Not only did the kind of chile differ, but the cut of pork changed, too.  All they really agreed on is that chorizo should be very finely ground, an almost paste-like mixture.  Michael Ruhlman's recipe from Charcuterie even whipped the meat in the mixer with the paddle attachment. 

What I settled on had nothing to do with what was the most authentic version: it just seemed the simplest.  

The recipe comes from Diana Kennedy's "From My Mexican Kitchen".  This particular version comes from the Michoacán region.  She does give direction on how to stuff the mixture into casings, but I bailed out early.  Some day.   

As first sausage making experiences go, I'd have to say this was pretty remarkable.  I got about 2 pounds of fresh sausage and spent about $12 dollars.  Half of it is frozen right now, ready to be used at a moments notice. 

I used the first batch to make some chorizo and potato tacos, one of the more inspired Mexican pairings.

Chorizo

• 2 pounds pork shoulder

Cut the hunk of pork into 1 inch chunks.  Set in the freezer for about 15 minutes. 

Grind the meat on the smallest setting.  It will resemble a paste. Keep the meat in the fridge until ready to mix with sauce.   

• 35 guajillo chiles
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 10 black peppercorns
• 6 whole cloves
• 3 whole allspice
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

Remove the stems from all the chilies, and shake out as many of the seeds as possible.  Place in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer for a minute then remove from heat and let soak for 5 minutes.  Drain the water.  Add 1 1/2 cups of the vinegar and let the chilies soak for an hour. 

Meanwhile, pour the rest of the vinegar into a blender along with the garlic, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, black pepper, clove, allspice, and salt.  Blend until smooth.  Add to the ground pork.

When the chilies are done, add them to the blender and process until smooth.  Strain this mixture through a metal strainer, to get rid of all the chili skin. 

Add this red sauce to the meat.  Mix together - hands work best - until fully combined.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in the fridge.  Let it hang out for a day, and then it is ready to use.

Tagged as: Chilis, Chorizo, Corn Tortillas, Diana Kennedy, Kitchen Aid, Mexican, Pork, Pork Shoulder, Potato, Tortillas