Mexican Chorizo Food

HOMEMADE MEXICAN CHORIZO

Steps:

• Combine chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, garlic powder, coriander, oregano, red pepper flakes, ground cloves and black pepper in mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
• Add cider vinegar and stir until dry ingredients are moistened.
• Add ground meat and knead until spice mixture is well incorporated into the meat.
• You can use the chorizo immediately, but for best flavor development, place chorizo mixture in an airtight container and store overnight in fridge.
• Form chrizo meat into small patties or just scramble and fry the meat in a skillet until done.

MEXICAN CHORIZO RECIPE

Steps:

• Cut the meat and fat into chunks that will fit into your meat grinder. Combine the salt, sugar and all the dry spices (except for the achiote paste) with the meat and fat, mix well with your hands and chill it until it's almost frozen by putting it in the freezer for an hour or so.
• Take out some hog casings and set in a bowl of very warm water. Mix the ice water with the achiote paste and chill it in the fridge.
• Grind the meat mixture through your meat grinder (you can use a food processor in a pinch, but you will not get a fine texture), using the fine die, about 4.5 mm. If your room is warm, set the bowl for the ground meat into another bowl of ice to keep it cold. Make sure the meat mixture is very cold before moving on to the next step: You want it between 27°F and 35°F.
• Add the water-achiote mixture and mix thoroughly either using a Kitchenaid on low for 60 to 90 seconds or with your (very clean) hands. This is important to get the sausage to bind properly. Once it is mixed well, put it back in the fridge and clean up.
• Stuff the sausage into the casings all at once. Twist off links by pinching the sausage down and twisting it around several times; do every other link and you will only have to twist in one direction. Or you could tie them off with butcher's string.
• Hang the sausages in a cool place for up to overnight (the colder it is, the longer you can hang them). If it is warm out, hang for just one hour. Once they have dried a bit, put in the fridge until needed. They will keep for at least a week in the fridge. If you are freezing the sausages, wait a day before doing so. This will tighten up the sausages and help them keep their shape in the deep-freeze.

MEXICAN CHORIZO

Steps:

• Combine pork and all remaining ingredients in a food processor; pulse until coarsly blended.
• Place the mixture in a ziploc plastic bag; seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
• The next morning/day, place the mixture in a skillet over med-high heat until hot; add in the pork mixture; cook 5 minutes, or until done, stirring to crumble.

HOMEMADE MEXICAN-STYLE CHORIZO RECIPE

Steps:

• Use immediately in your favorite recipe calling for Mexican chorizo, or refrigerate or freeze the sausage in an airtight container for later use. Serve and enjoy.

MEXICAN CHORIZO

Steps:

• Place the pork, Aleppo pepper, chili powder, garlic, salt, black pepper, oregano, cumin, cloves, and coriander into a bowl, and lightly toss the pork with the seasonings until thoroughly blended. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate the meat, your meat grinder's head assembly, and grinder hopper for 1 hour.
• Fill a large mixing bowl with ice cubes, and place a smaller metal bowl in the ice cubes to catch the ground meat. Assemble the chilled meat grinder, and grind the pork and seasonings using a coarse cutting plate. Return ground meat to refrigerator for 30 minutes. Lightly stir the ground pork with the vinegar and water until thoroughly mixed, form into patties, and refrigerate overnight, covered, to let flavors develop.
• Heat vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat, and pan-fry the patties until browned and no longer pink in the middle, 5 to 8 minutes per side.

CHORIZO

Steps:

• FOR THE CHORIZO:
• Soak the chiles in a bowl in very hot water to cover until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain the chiles, tear into smaller pieces, and return to the bowl. Add the vinegar and marinate for 45 minutes, stirring from time to time. Transfer the chiles and vinegar to a blender and process until smooth, adding a bit more vinegar only if needed to release the blades.
• Put the pork, pork fat, and garlic in a large bowl and toss until crumbled and well mixed. Add the pureed chiles, oregano, salt, pepper, thyme, allspice, cloves, and perhaps the tequila. Thoroughly squish together all of the ingredients with your hands. Fry a spoonful in a small skillet until thoroughly cooked, taste, and add more salt if needed. Cover the bowl tightly and cure in the refrigerator for at least 1 day and preferably for 3 days, occasionally turning the mixture so the flavors are well blended. At this point, the chorizo can be divided into smaller batches, some to be used immediately in various dishes and others that can be frozen for up to 3 months. If you want, this is also the time to stuff some or all of the meat mixture into casings.
• FOR THE LINKS:
• If you are making links with only some of the chorizo, you will not need all of the casings. Rinse the casings in cool water to remove the salt, then soak them in water to cover mixed with the vinegar for 30 minutes. As you remove the casings from the water, cut in half. Squeeze closed one end of a length and fill the opposite end with water to make sure there are no leaks. If there is a puncture, cut the casing on both sides of the puncture, tie a double knot at one end of each length, and press any water out the other end.
• Here now is the real challenge, and the fun: stuffing the filling into the casings. It can be done with just a funnel and any round, flat-ended piece of wood that fits into the opening. But, as always, fingers are the best.
• Carefully smooth the open end of the casing over the funnel, pushing it as far up as it will easily go. Before adding the meat mixture, hold the funnel upright and press the casing to remove any excess air. Now, stuff some of the chorizo into the funnel, pushing as much of it as you can down into the casing and adding enough to make a firm package but leaving a little empty space at the end to make another double knot. Twist and tie every 3 1/2 to 4 inches with burlap-type string or narrow strips of dried corn husk. Diana Kennedy, from whom I have learned so much, always waits until she has filled the whole casing and then ties it off to make sure that all of the space is filled.
• Hang the links to dry at room temperature for 3 days, then cover and refrigerate and continue to dry for several more days. The links will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator or they can be frozen for a few months.