This recipe is something I have been working on for a while. There are lots of good versions and I always encourage people to make recipes their own.

Note; As with all ground meat recipes, you should have multiple metal bowls that are nesting capable, so you can put all in freezer the night before or a few hours before, then fill the largest bowl with ice and place smaller bowl inside the big bowl nestled in ice. Keep putting ground meat back into freezer if you are making a big batch. Keep everything ice cold and food safe.


Chorizo recipe:
8 pounds of meat comprising
- 5 pounds pork shoulder (natural - I avoid the use of "injected or seasoned meat")
- 2 pounds pork belly (remove some of the skin to make it easier to grind)
- 1 pound pork loin (optional, depends on price)
- leave in fridge until dry spices are ready to be mixed and you are about to grind the meat

You could also just buy ground pork at butcher store.

- Prepare the dry spices
DRY SPICES MIX:
3 tablespoons of kosher salt
4 tablespoons of ancho chili powder
1/3 to 1/2 cup of sweet paprika (for colour)
2 tablespoons of cumin
1/3 cup of smoked paprika
3 table spoons chipotle
1/4 cup of chimayo / new Mexican red chili powder
4 tablespoons of Mexican oregano
3 tablespoons of fresh cracked and ground black pepper
1 table spoon of fresh cracked and ground white pepper

- prepare the wet spices in blender or food processor... something you can scrape clean easily
WET SPICES:
1/2 to 1 head of garlic... peeled
3 Limes, juiced and zested (add both)
1 cup of decent tequila
1 fresh bunch of cilantro

PREPARATION:
Assemble food processor / meat grinder
Dice and cut meat into small cubes, put ground mixture into freezer in a frozen metal bowl once you have combined the meat well...
Mix Up dry spices, and remove all lumps
Grind all meat into nestled in ice metal bowl then put back into freezer. Note, I usually clean out grinder half way through very quickly as it is often filled with stuff that doesn't grind easily
Place chilled metal bowl in stand mixer and use an attachment meant for mixing...
Begin blending the meat and adding dry spices in batches... waiting until smooth and then adding more...
Once all dry spices are in then place wet spices into food processor and pulse smooth
You want to wait until end to keep wet ingredients from going off, as for example garlic and cilantro can lose flavour etc in the open air
Add wet ingredients untill whole mixture is fully mixed

TEST AND REFINE:
Cook off a small sample and taste for seasoning... Garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano, amount of redness can be increased by more paprika of both kinds in equal portions.

STORE CAREFULLY:
Allow ground mixture to sit for a few hours for flavours to meld stored in cold place in fridge... nestled in ice... Then vacuum seal or simply place into freezer bags etc in meal sized portions. I then freeze it for the next month or so.

Thanks for the post. I just saw you put this up.

Great

Its a work in progress but I am pretty satisfied with it... I make a batch per month and slowly plod along.

Always interested in what other people do in this area.

Thanks.

quote:

Always interested in what other people do in this area.

I haven't strayed much from the ruhlman recipe. But I just made a batch of linguisa out of a different book that was a smashing success. I hot smoked it and it was fantastic left over as an addition to quesadillas and juevos rancheros.

I'm thinking its the way to go: make it, smoke it, freeze it, add it to whatever for smokey spicy goodness.

I found the ruhlmann recipe tasty but not as good as what I have eaten in Mexico and parts of the US... So I did some research, phoned some friends of my dad and decided to start experimenting

Linguisa sounds good!

Also this recipe might be a bit much for most people but basically it fits a Kitchenaid stand mixer bowl when complete... I have the Professional HD version from Costco.

Mexican chorizo is pretty simple and does not contain many ingredients.

2 pounds ground pork butt
1/2 cup plus 2 T. red chile powder (I use hot NM)
4 cloves finely minced garlic
4 t. ground cumin
1 T. salt
1/2 c. white wine vinegar
1 T. Mexican oregano
1/2 t. ground cloves

Mix all ingredients, and store overnight in an airtight container. Next day, make 1/4 pound balls and wrap in saran and store individually wrapped in ziplock bag. Take out and use as needed.

Nice work guys - these recipes definitely have me inspired to whip up some chorizo. Question- what do you guys typically pair your chorizo for a meal? Breakfast/eggs come to mind for me, but just interested/curious to what you guys do with it.

quote:

Question- what do you guys typically pair your chorizo for a meal?

I usually stuff mine into casings, so I'll grill it and slice it up for tacos with onions and poblanos. or put the slices into quesadillas with shrimp.

I use it in eggs - and also in tacos and quesadillas and such - and so I virtually never put it in casings.

quote:

so I virtually never put it in casings

I'm usually cooking over an open fire. I suppose I could make chorizo burgers, but the casings are the easiest when grilling.

True. For me, I never find the need to grill them so I make in bulk and store as patties, breaking off what I need if not the whole patty's worth. I use chorizo as a flavoring agent or as an addition to something - like eggs - meant to be mixed in.

Truly awesome thread! I enjoyed reading it. Anyone have an andouille recipe? Chorizo and andouille are two of my favorite sausages.

Andouille

5 lbs pork butt, trimmed of any tough connective tissue and cut into 2-inch cubes.

Chop half of the meat into 1/4 inch pieces and grind the other half with a coarse grinding plate.


Combine in a bowl:

2 tsp of cayenne or to taste

2 Tbls paprika (I use a mix of 75% ancho and 25% ground Aleppo)

1/4 c minced garlic

1 Tbls granulated onion

1 Tbls freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp freshly ground white pepper

1.5 Tbls kosher salt

1 Tbls sugar

1 Tbls minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried)

2 tsp crushed red pepper (I use Aleppo)

1 tsp ground mace

1 tsp pink salt


Mix this mixture with the meat, making sure you mix well, adding the ice water or wine as you go. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for a day or two.

Stuff the sausage into prepared beef middles or hog casings.

Tie each sausage link with kitchen string to make a loop for hanging. Hang uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.

Smoke as noted here, maximizing the smoke time as much as possible.

As always, thanks Kevin!