Chorizo Mexicano

By LaLaCooks

From Mexico, One Plate At A Time - Rick Bayless

Mexican chorizo, unlike its namesake Spanish relative, is a fresh sausage, like American breakfast sausage or what most of us know as Italian sausage. Though it can be aged to improve the flavor and decrease the moisture, it's tasty used right away and requires very little equipment to make. Zesty from vinegar, dried chile, herbs and spices, chorizo gives a definitive flavor to the food of Mexico.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds lean, boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch piece
• 8 ounces pork fat (collect scarps from roasts or chops if you like, or even buy fatty bacon or salt pork- thought the flavor will be different)
• 12 medium (about 6 ounces total) dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, preferably freshly ground Mexican canela
• 18 teaspoon cloves, preferably freshly ground
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano,m preferably Mexican
• 1 tablespoon EACJH fresh thyme leaves and marjoram leaves OR 1 teaspoon EACH dried thyme and marjoram
• Salt
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar

Details

Servings 3

Preparation

Step 1

1. Pork and pork fat: Place the cubed pork and pork fat (or one of the substitutes) into the freezer (to firm for uniform chopping) while you prepare the seasonings.

2. The chiles and other seasonings: Tear the chiles into flat pieces and toast them in a dry heavy skillet or on a griddle heated over mediu, pressing them flat with a metal spatula until they are aromatic, about 10 seconds per side. In a bowl, rehyrate the chiles for 20 minutes in hot water to cover; place a small plate on top to kep the chiles submerged. Drain and transfer to a food processor blender.
Pulverize the bay leaves in a mortar or spick grinder, then add to the food processor along with the cinnamon, cloves, oregano, thyme and marjoram and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (less if using b acon or salt pork). Measure in the vinegar and 2 tablespoons water and process until smooth, adding a little more water if necessary to keep everything moving through the blades. Press the mixture through a medium-mesh sieve into a large bowl.
3. Grinding and flavoring the meat: Coarsely grind the meat either through the corsest disk of a meat grinder or by pulsing it in a food processor (the blade needs to be sharp to avoid mashing the meat). Fry a little portion of the chorizo and taste for salt, adjusting as necessary.

Working ahead: Refrigerated, the chorizo keeps for about a week. It freezes well.