Fresh Green Chorizo Food

HOMEMADE GREEN CHORIZO

Steps:

• Rinse the poblanos. Roast them in the oven at 400F for 20-30 minutes. You can flip them over once halfway through the roasting period if you want.
• De-stem and de-seed the poblanos, adding them to a blender.
• Rinse the serrano peppers and cut off the stems. Add them to the blender.
• Rinse the cilantro and parsley. Twist off the thicker, bottom portions of the stems and discard. Add the cilantro and parsley to the blender along with 4 cloves of peeled garlic, 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 2 teaspoons salt, freshly cracked pepper, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, and a splash of water. Combine thoroughly.
• Add blender mixture to 2 lbs. ground pork in a mixing bowl. Use a spoon or your hands to combine.
• Store in 1/2 lb. chunks using Ziplocs. I keep one in the fridge where it will keep for a few days and store the others in the freezer.

GREEN CHORIZO

Steps:

• Cut the pork shoulder into chunks that will fit in your grinder. Mix with the salt and put in a closed container in the refrigerator overnight. Doing this helps develop myosin in the meat, which helps your sausage bind to itself.
• The next day, put all your grinding equipment in the fridge, and the blade and a 6.5 mm (or medium) die in the freezer. Take out about 15 feet of hog casings and flush them with warm water, checking for leaks. Set the casings aside in a bowl of warm water.
• Put the roasted green chiles, cilantro, serrano chile, and the garlic cloves in a food processor and buzz until you have a fine mix, almost a paste. Mix that in a bowl with the oregano, cumin, and coriander. Put it in the fridge.
• Grind your meat through the grinder once or twice. Once if it's decent pork shoulder, twice if you are using gnarly bits. Set the ground meat in the freezer while you clean up the grinder and set up your sausage stuffer.
• In a large bowl, mix the meat, the chile mixture, the nettle or spinach powder, if you are using it, as well as the carrot fiber, lime juice and ice water. I do this with my (very clean) hands for about 90 seconds, until I can't stand it any longer; your hands should ache with cold while you are mixing. You want the entire 5-pound batch to stick to itself in a messy, sticky ball when you pick it up.
• Put the loose sausage in a stuffer if you are making links, or make patties if you want it loose. To make links, thread a casing onto the stuffer tube and leave about 3 inches of casing at the end. Fill the entire length of casing fully but not too tightly. Repeat until you have filled all your casings.
• To make links, starting from one end of the coil, pinch off about a 6-inch link at the end with one hand, then another by using your other hand. Roll the second link away from you about 5 times to form the link. Compress the end link with your hands and tie it off. Now move down the coil and pinch off two more links. This time you want to roll the link farthest from the end of the coil towards you about 5 times. Continue this with all the coils. Tie off the final link on the other side of the coil. Forming links this way keeps them from unraveling too easily. (This video shows how I do it.)
• Use a clean needle or sausage pricker to piece the casing where there are air pockets. Gently compress each link to push out the air. Let your links hang for at least 1 hour on a drying rack, or whatever you can rig up. Ideally you'd let them hang overnight in a refrigerator, but even an hour's worth of room temperature air will help the sausages bloom and fill their casings.
• Regardless, store your chorizo overnight before vac sealing and freezing. They will keep in the fridge a week or so.

FRESH GREEN CHORIZO

Steps:

• Place the ground pork in a large bowl. Set a cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, oregano, bay leaf and cloves and toast briefly until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Remove from the heat, transfer to a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Add to the bowl with the ground pork.
• Return the skillet to a high flame and heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic cloves, Serrano and poblano chiles and roast, turning them from time to time until softened slightly and blackened in spots, about 6 to 12 minutes, removing the pieces as they finish cooking. Set aside to cool at room temperature. Once garlic cloves are cool enough to handle, peel them and discard the skin. Wearing gloves if possible, remove the stems and seeds from the Serrano chiles. Remove the stems and seeds from the poblano chile, and peel away the charred skin.
• In a blender, purée the roasted garlic cloves, Serrano and poblano chiles along with the sherry vinegar, parsley and kosher salt until smooth. Transfer to the bowl with the ground pork and spices.
• Mix the chorizo with your (preferably gloved) hands until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to use, or for up to 3 days. The chorizo can also be frozen in an airtight bag for up to 1 month.

GREEN CHILI AND CHORIZO BREAKFAST STRATA

Steps:

• Butter an 8-cup baking dish.
• Saute' chorizo in heavy skillet over medium-low heat until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer chorizo to paper toweling to drain.
• Whisk next 5 ingredients in large bowl. Place 2 bread slices in bottom of prepared dish. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese and half each of chilies, cilantro and chorizo.
• Pour 1/3 of egg mixture over.
• Repeat layering with 2 bread slices, 3/4 cup cheese and remaining chilies, cilantro, and chorizo.
• Top with 2 bread slices.
• Pour remaining egg mixture over and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Cover; chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake Strata uncovered until puffed and golden, about 55 minutes.
• Let stand 5 minutes or so befoe serving.

HOMEMADE FRESH CHORIZO

Steps:

• Heat a large dry cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add chiles; toast, turning often, until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from pan and let cool.
• Using kitchen scissors and working over a medium bowl, cut chiles into 1" rings, reserving seeds and discarding stems. Cover with 1/2 cup hot water; let soak, stirring occasionally, until chiles are soft and pliable, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer chiles with seeds and soaking liquid to a blender. Add garlic, paprika, 1 tablespoon salt, and pepper; pulse until a paste forms.
• Combine pork and chile paste in a large bowl. Gently mix until just blended (do not overwork the meat).
• Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook chorizo until cooked through, 7-8 minutes. (Be sure to let meat brown before turning and breaking it up into small pieces with a spoon or spatula.) Season with salt. DO AHEAD: Chorizo can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm before serving.

FRESH CHORIZO TACOS

Steps:

• Make the chorizo: Set up a meat grinder with the finest disk. Cut the meat into cubes and grind once; then pass through again. For a ver fine, almost pasty texture, grind the meat a third time. (If you don't have a grinder, ask your butcher to do this for you.).
• In a mini food chopper or food processor, pulse together the garlic, onion, and salt to a paste. Blend in the pepper, ground chile, cumin, oregano, and crushed chile. Blend in the vinegar. Scrape into a bowl. Add the pork and mix well. Knead until the meat and seasonings are well mixed. The sausage may be used right away, but it tastes better after a night in the refrigerator.
• To serve, heat the oil in a medium frying pan and fry the chorizo until browned and crumbled into small pieces. Top each tortilla with a large dollop of crema and sprinkle with the chorizo, onion, cilantro, and lettuce.