Meats and Sausages
Spanish Chorizo
This is a traditional recipe for pure Spanish chorizo. Spanish chorizo is a dry sausage made from pork, pimentón, oregano and garlic. Pork is coarsely chopped and seasoned with oregano, garlic and its crucial ingredient the pimentón paprika which gives the sausage its deep red color.
| Meats | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Lean pork, ham or butt | 750 g | 1.65 lb |
| Back fat or hard fat trimmings | 250 g | 0.55 lb |
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat
| Salt | 25 g | 4 tsp. |
| Cure #2 | 2.5 g | 1/2 tsp |
| Pimentón, sweet | 28 g | 5 Tbsp |
| Pimentón, hot | 5.0 g | 1 Tbsp |
| Oregano, ground | 2.0 g | 1 tsp |
| Garlic, diced | 3.5 g | 1 clove |
Instructions
- Grind meat and fat through 8 mm (3/8") plate.
- Mix all ingredients with meat. Hold in refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Stuff firmly into 32-36 mm hog casings, form 6” long links.
- Ferment/dry at 22-24º C (72-75º F) for 48 hours, 90-85% humidity. A thin smoke at 22-24º C (72-75º F) can be applied during this step.
- Dry for 6-8 weeks at 16-12º C (60-54º F), gradually decreasing humidity from 85 to 75%.
- Store sausages at 10-12º C (50-53º F), <75% humidity or refrigerate.
Notes
In the past chorizo was made without cure (#2 or #1) as most people were not aware of them.
