Summer food doesn’t necessarily need to be light and refreshing. And that is not a bad thing. Not if you have spent your holidays in Spain and had a chance to indulge in Spain’s amazing food!

When it comes to food, this Mediterranean country has so much to offer – paellas, empanadas, lechazos, tapas, frisuelos…The Spanish cuisine is a beautiful blend of regional cuisines and past historical processes which, along with the climate, shaped the traditions, cooking methods, and the use of specific ingredients that make Spanish gastronomy so exquisite. The Spanish, like all Mediterranean nations, know how to enjoy food, so much so they tend to halt the working schedule to take a mid-morning snack, followed by an afternoon nap they call siesta.

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This nation of hedonists has also invented chorizo, our latest food obsession and the main topic of interest of this blog post. We are so in love with chorizo that we have decided to make it at home. The absence of authentic, dried Spanish chorizo in the US supermarkets was another reason we undertook this adventure.

The preparation of homemade chorizo was a long process of learning, choosing the perfect ingredients, and curing, in the course of which we have discovered many interesting facts about this specialty. Intrigued? Keep reading.

What is Chorizo?

Chorizo is a sausage traditionally made with natural animal intestine casings since the Roman times.

It is made from pork mince and lots of spices, predominantly paprika. If it is cured and fermented, chorizo can be consumed without cooking, simply sliced and placed in a sandwich or on tapas. It can also be grilled, fried, or simmered (usually in a strong alcoholic beverages like apple cider) and included in various dishes to add richness and flavor.

Tracing the origins of chorizo is not easy due to the fact that humans have been preserving meat for a very long time.

The word ‘chorizo’ probably originated from the Catalan xoriço (fun fact: Catalonia is a region with seventeen different varieties of this sausage). Xoriço peppers, also known as capsicum peppers, are used to make paprika, the main spice that gives chorizo sausages their distinctive flavor.

The use of pork in these sausages goes back to the 15th century Spain. Unlike cattle, which used to be bred outside cities and villages, pigs lived inside human settlements and were killed on the streets to make chorizo. And believe it or not, this custom still exists in some small Spanish villages.

Chorizo’s great taste and versatility make it one of Spain’s favorite foods – the country produces 65.000 tons of chorizo a year! Another fact that speaks about chorizo’s popularity is the existence of a chorizo festival called “The Exaltation of the Sausage”. During this festival, you can watch sausage makers work their magic, sample different types of chorizos, and buy as much as you want to take home. The event is held every February in a small town called Vila de Cruces in Galicia, Spain.

However, Spain is not the only country that loves chorizo. Spanish introduced pigs to Mexico after invading it in the 16th century, which eventually led to the development of an entirely unique variation of chorizo that is one of today’s trademarks of Mexican cuisine.

How to Make Homemade Spanish Chorizo

The term ‘chorizo’ in Spain is very broad and it refers to many different sausage varieties depending on the region. Generally speaking, Spanish chorizo is a dried and cured sausage in a casing with a very dense and chewy texture. It is made of coarsely chopped or ground pork meat and pork fat, seasoned with pimentón (smoked paprika) and salt. Other typical additions are herbs and garlic.

Spanish chorizo can be found in the following varieties:

smoked or unsmoked

sweet (dulce) or spicy (picante)

short or long

lean (usually eaten uncooked, along with the casing or without it) or fattier (more suitable for cooking and often added to soups for flavoring)

More specifically speaking, there are four main types of Spanish chorizo:

– Picadillo is the variation that is closest to the Mexican chorizo. It is a somewhat looser sausage, made with ground meat and often consumed fried.

– Fresco (meaning fresh) is very similar to picadillo but stuffed in a casing and cooked.

– Semicurado (semi-cured) is a sausage that has been cured, sometimes smoked, but not dried.

– Curado (cured) is probably the most popular Spanish chorizo variety and the one that is most widely consumed in the States. It is cured, smoked, dried and consumed raw.

If you decide to make homemade chorizo, there are three main elements to consider:

Meat (30 oz.)

As mentioned before, pork is the meat of choice for homemade chorizo recipes. The question is: which cut is the best? Here is what to choose:

– The muscle from the pork neck to the shoulder (cabacero)

– Pork loin (lomo)

– Pork belly (pancetta)

– Pork jowl (papada)

As a rule of thumb, chorizo requires meat that has a higher level of fat (about 35%). Leaner types of meat will produce a drier and grainier chorizo but in this case, pork fat comes to the rescue.

Tip: To save money, combine high-quality pork cuts with lower-quality meat that is not suitable for roasting.

Fat (7 oz.)

When it comes to pork fat (also known as tocino), the best type to choose is back fat since belly fat is too soft.

Tip: Place the fat in the fridge for a while to harden a little bit. This will facilitate its grinding (read below).

Pimentón (3 tablespoons)

Pimentón is the most important spice is Spanish chorizo. Also known as paprika, this spice is made of long and pointy chili peppers. There are two types of pimentón:

– Pimentón de la Murcia which is sun-dried and milder in taste.

– Pimentón de la Vera, which is dried on a wood fire and has a smokier taste. This variety is most commonly used in homemade chorizo recipes. The different levels of spiciness of pimentón de la Vera (hot, sweet, and bitter-sweet) allow you to adjust the recipe to your taste. This spice is also responsible for the vibrant red color of chorizo.

Other ingredients needed for homemade chorizo

The process of curing Spanish chorizo sausages requires a few additional special ingredients:

– Potassium nitrate is a must in order to lower the risk of being infected with botulism or listeria. Even though this ingredient is often associated with the increased risk of cancer, the fact that it is used in very small amounts in homemade chorizo recipes (a ¼ teaspoon should be just enough) makes it perfectly safe.

– Demerara sugar is brown, partially refined sugar used (optionally) to obtain a caramel twist.

– Casings. There are different types of casings to use, from pork to hog and beef bungs, rings, and middles. Hog casings are used for smaller chorizos and cooked chorizo varieties, whereas beef middles are perfect for uncooked chorizos. For large-diameter chorizos, opt for beef bungs.

Instructions to prepare homemade Spanish chorizo

Step 1: Use a meat grinder to grind the pork meat and fat.

Step 2: Add the pimentón de la Vera, salt (1 tablespoon), garlic (2 cloves), and potassium nitrate and mix the ingredients together until the fat and spice are uniformly distributed throughout the meat. Be careful not to form a paste though!

Step 3: Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. This will make the flavors blend together.

Step 4: Soak the casings in water according to the package instructions. Rinse them well.

Step 5: Pull the casings over the sausage stuffer nozzle, then pull a small part of the casing off the nozzle and tie the end with a tiny knot. Use a sausage stuffer to press the meat carefully through the casing. When you are done, tie the end and cut off any excess casing.

Step 6: Make sure your chorizos don’t have any air gaps. If you do find such gaps, use a needle to prick those points to let the air out.

At this point, the chorizo can be cooked and eaten immediately. Or, you can proceed to curing it.

Step 7: To dry-cure your homemade Spanish chorizo, tie the ends and hang it in a cool, dry place for a few weeks. Generally speaking, the more your chorizo hangs, the better it will be.

How to Make Homemade Mexican Chorizo

Mexican chorizo is a sausage made with ground pork or other types of meat such as beef. Unlike the Spanish variety which is almost always cured, Mexican chorizo is sold raw and uncooked, either in a casing or loose. The casing, if there is one, is broken open and the meat is crumbled to be fried in a pan.

Meat

The best pork cuts for Mexican chorizo recipes are the pork shoulder or butt. Just like in the Spanish varieties, fattier cuts produce better chorizo sausages.

Seasoning

Mexican chorizo appears in different colors, depending on the spices used in the recipe. Most commonly, it is orange or light red due to the usage of dried chili. There are many different types of dried chili that can contribute different levels of hotness and smokiness to your homemade Mexican chorizo. For instance, if you are going for a milder taste, opt for guajillo or ancho chili; if you are a fan of hotter bites, use chipotle; and for very hot homemade Mexican chorizo, choose habanero or arbol chili.

No matter which of the abovementioned types of chili you decide to use, you should know that they are sold as a whole, so you’ll need to remove the stem and pulse them (together with the seeds) in a food processor or a blender to obtain flakes.

Chili flakes (about 5 tablespoons) are usually combined with garlic (5 cloves) and salt (2 tablespoons), then pulsed further until a crumbly paste is obtained. Other common seasonings are cumin (1 teaspoon), coriander (1 teaspoon), and oregano (1 teaspoon).

Besides red chili peppers, there are also green Mexican chorizo varieties that contain green chili, tomatillos, or cilantro.

Instructions to prepare homemade Mexican chorizo

Step 1: Combine the meat with the seasoning mix and a 1/3 cup of white vinegar in a large bowl. Knead until the seasoning is uniformly distributed throughout the meat (the color of the meat should change depending on the chili flakes you’ve used).

Step 2: Once you have insured that there are no spice pockets into the meat mixture, cover it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about an hour until the spices are well blended. Knead the mixture some more when you take it out.

The best thing about Mexican chorizo is that it doesn’t have to be stuffed into casings. You can use it immediately for instance in tacos, pizzas, or burgers or freeze the mixture in an airtight container until you’re ready to use.

In case you decide to make Mexican chorizo sausages, use hog casings. Follow the instructions given for stuffing Spanish chorizo sausages.

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As mentioned before, Mexican chorizo sausages don’t require curing. When you are ready to eat, just break up the sausage using a fork, drain the excess fat, and grill or fry the meat on its own or combined with other ingredients.

Need ideas? We have a few chorizo recipe suggestions.

Homemade Chorizo Recipes

Homemade Chorizo

Southwestern Beef Tacos

Paella Bake

Spinach Chicken Roll-Ups

Chorizo Rolls

Potato and Chorizo Pie

I believe that food should not only taste good, but make you feel good as well and that is why I am so interested in exploring ingredients, preparing meals, and finding ways to make the whole cooking experience fun and exciting! Being a blogger for MyGreatRecipes unites my two passions – food and writing, and I am enjoying every second of it!