Mexican Chorizo

Yield: approximately 5 cups

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 

4 dried ancho chiles (stemmed, seeded, and rinsed)

 

 

3 dried guajillo chiles (stemmed, seeded, and rinsed)

 

 

1 tablespoon minced garlic

 

 

2 cups minced onion

 

 

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

 

 

1 tablespoon paprika

 

 

2 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

 

 

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

 

 

2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

 

 

2 teaspoons ground cumin

 

 

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

 

 

½ teaspoon dried oregano

 

 

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

 

 

2 pounds pork shoulder

 

 

 

Directions:

 

Bring 2 cups of cold water to a boil over medium-high heat in a small saucepan of water.

 

When the water boils, remove saucepan from heat and place on a trivet.

 

Place a clay or cast iron comal or a cast iron griddle or skillet over medium-low heat. When hot, place dried chiles on top and toast the chilies until they bcomes fragrant.

 

Place chiles in the hot water on the trivet for 15 minutes or until the chilies have softened and are limp.

 

Cut the pork shoulder into cubes. Coarsely grind the pork shoulder cubes using a 1/4” grinding plate into a large bowl.

 

Combine the cumin, coriander, cayenne, paprika, oregano, cloves, black pepper and salt in a small bowl.

 

Place garlic and onions in bowl with ground pork.

 

Drain water from chilies and discard. Remove any exocarp that has come away from the guajillo chilles. Do not remove any exocarp that has any mesocarp sticking to it.

 

Mince the chiles.

 

Add minced chiles to ground pork.

 

Add mixed spices to ground pork.

 

Stir pork with a fork to combine ingredients.

 

Grind the pork mixture a second time.

 

Cover and chill raw chorizo overnight.

 

 

Loose meat

 

Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

 

Add chorizo and fry, stirring frequently, until sausage is cooked through.

 

 

 

Sausages without casings

 

Add ¼ cup whisked egg for every 2 cups of chorizo.

 

Use 1 tablespoon of chorizo for each “sausage.”

 

Form into a little finger-shaped pattie.

 

Use a spatula to move each “sausage” to the hot, oiled cast iron skillet.

 

Fry until light brown on the bottom, carefully roll the sausage over and fry on that side until lightly browned.

 

Carefully remove each cooked “sausage” from the skillet with the spatula.

 

Chill overnight.

 

Reheat the next morning and serve.