Acquaintance with various delights of European or Oriental cuisine greatly enriches the taste fantasies of our compatriots, accustoms them to the variety of ingredients used in cooking, and often simply amazes with new aspects of taste. Most people, according to a common saying, believe that “sausage is the best fish,” but they don’t notice much variety in the latter. Like, there is boiled, there is smoked, there is dried - and these are all the differences. And for such unenlightened people it makes sense to get acquainted with chorizo. That this is not just some kind of sausage from the three varieties given, they will understand from the first bite.
How it looks and what it consists of
Externally, chorizo is a dry, long sausage made in Spain. However, there are many. Red pepper certainly enters it (in different recipes both hot and sweet may be present). Garlic is also a must.
As a meat component, either pork alone or in combination with beef can be used. Some especially exotic species include horsemeat, donkey, and especially rare chorizo (which can be shocking, of course) - even mule meat.
How to eat this product? Just like a sausage - please. However, you can fry the chorizo. The recipe, for example, cosido, in addition to it includes as additional ingredients more vegetables and peas (certainly Turkish), and it is considered one of the most outstanding dishes in Spain. The world famous paella will not do without these sausages. By the way, the Andalusian product made in Habugo is considered the most successful.
What is different from other exclusive sausages
Chorizo sausage is not the only Spanish culinary discovery. For example, they are very fond of tasting salchichon. But if the previous sausage is stuffed fresh in the pig’s intestines, then the filling for the second one is left to rest for a day before packing. In addition, salchichon is rather a dried subspecies that has dried for a month, and the real Spanish chorizo (which is strictly stipulated by tradition, undoubtedly) remains raw and must be cooked, baked, or fried after purchase. True, manufacturers from other countries smoked or dried such sausages, then they can be eaten without additional preparation.
Home option
There is an interesting idea on how to cook such goodies yourself. True, it will be Mexican, not Spanish chorizo. It is not difficult, but laborious. And you have to tinker with the ingredients: 2 and a quarter kilograms of clearly not lean pork (loin is our choice) will go 2 heads of garlic, a tablespoon of oregano, a little caraway seeds in the seeds (grind), tequila (roughly speaking, a small pile) same vinegar (take red) and spices: paprika, cayenne, chili, black pepper - all ground. Seasonings are added to taste, but the end result should be sharp if you want to get exactly chorizo. The recipe offers the following ratios (in g): 8: 8: 16: 3. Salt - as you like. The most difficult component will be the pork belly (intestine). Find - take 3 meters.
The meat is chopped, mixed with garlic, then minced with a meat grinder and cooled. Then tequila and vinegar pour in and everything is kneading. Minced meat is fried, spices are introduced. Next is stuffing.
The intestines should be soaked for half an hour in warm water, and then washed. Prepared minced meat is filled with a belly, which is tied up after 10-15 cm. Then the future delicacy is stored in the freezer, and it tastes best when cooked in the form of a grill or barbecue.
Spicy dish
As a matter of fact, you can simply buy chorizo and make something tasty from it. For example, Spanish stew with beans. For 250 g of Spanish sausages you will have to take onion, garlic (3 cloves), half a spoon of pimento (Bulgarian pepper is also suitable), 400 g of tomato in its own juice, carrot, 400 g of any beans, half a glass of wine, cilantro and vegetable oil.
Chorizo is coarsely chopped and fried. Onions, garlic and grated carrots are fried there. Three minutes later, sausages are added to the vegetables, and a little later - tomatoes. Then wine and water pour in - the components should not stick out of the liquid. Cover - and for 2 hours in the oven. Then add the beans - and there for another half hour. After the oven, sprinkle with cilantro and eat immediately.
Will you cook chorizo (what is this, we told you) at home - another question. But to cook something tasty with him is worth it.