the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Chorizo Number 2 (or Tex Mex Chorizo)

During these long, dark days of winter (some might argue that’s both a figurative as well as a literal descriptor) we’ve been experimenting a bit once again with making sausages of various types and flavors in the kitchen at home.

There are a host of reasons to do so, including absolute control of sausage ingredients (quality and flavors), economics, curiosity, it just being damned fun when you’re in the mood, among others.

In a quick aside, if you’re not grinding meat at home, consider picking up an inexpensive home grinder (the one imaged here ran us about $70 a couple of years ago); it won’t be powerful enough to process the three elk you and your buddies harvested this year, but for routine, lighter-end home use, these little guys are easy to store, set up, and clean.

To prove the point, when making this batch of chorizo, I ground a 12-lb boneless pork shoulder, including set up and cleaning, in less than 25 minutes (not counting about 75 minutes in the freezer to tighten up the meat before grinding).

We happen to like really well made and flavored chorizo now and again, and I’ve written about it before here on the blog (excerpt below) –

…Having spent many a year growing up (and schooling) here in the Lone Star state, we’ve been fans of good chorizo around our camp for some time, having fiddled with chorizo recipes off and on now for well over a decade.

Sourcing good chorizo can be a challenge in that many if not most of the commercially prepared and marketed versions (of bulk chorizo, not the cured Spanish version) are incredibly greasy and contain parts of critters that you’d never ponder eating if you really knew they had been tossed in the grinder…

…And like most comfort foods prepared with care and attention, using the freshest ingredients, this version of chorizo is very likely nothing like you’ve tasted before and much more akin to the artisanal sausages (think Bruce Adell’s) you’ve thrown on the grill.  Even better, this one is child’s play simple, and you can tinker with spices to make you and your clan happy…

Here’s another chorizo recipe that we’ve come to adopt as our main go to, given the depth of flavors that come from roasting actual dried chiles for the spice base; around our camp we call this one our Tex Mex Chorizo (or Chorizo Number 2). The chiles add an amazing depth of flavor, and we find the hints of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves add interest and bit of nuance that’s very, very tasty.

As with all sausages you craft at home, this one can be formed into patties, crumbled, or even stuff into casings; we usually freeze in smallish patties and crumble if needed (like for next weeks loaded huevos rancheros.

2 pounds ground pork
6-7 dried guajillo chiles, cleaned, seeded, and stemmed
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced small
1/3 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar (try it with both)
1 tbsp salt
1-2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp cinnamon, optional
1/4 tsp allspice, optional
1/4 tsp ground cloves, optional

To get started, toast the chiles in a hot, dry skillet until puffed and fragrant (won’t take long); add enough water to cover chiles and set aside for 30-40 minutes.

When softened, place the chiles, onion, garlic and vinegar in your trusty blender or food processor and blend until smooth; you may need to add either additional vinegar or some of the chile soaking liquid if too thick (think tomato sauce).

Now let’s make some chorizo; place the ground pork in a mixing bowl, add the chile paste and the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, and this is probably best done with your hands. The first time you make this chorizo, fry up a tablespoon or two in a skillet to check the spices and adjust to suit you.

Cook this anyway you please – fry it up loose for breakfast tacos, add in some goodies (poblanos and mushrooms in the image below for a loaded huevos rancheros), shape into patties for the stovetop or grill or even stuff into casings. This recipe freezes like a charm, though we’ve found it’s best to shape in to patties before freezing.

Enjoy.