Mexican Chorizo

Mexican Chorizo (Pork Sausage with Chili and Vinegar)

A coarse, well-seasoned fresh pork sausage from Mexico, traditionally cured with dried chilies, vinegar, and warm spices. Unlike Spanish chorizo, Mexican chorizo is almost always sold raw and is cooked before eating - crumbled into eggs, tacos, or beans.

Prep

40 min

Total

40 min

Serves

Makes about 900 g (2 lb) - roughly 8 portions of 110 g

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •900 g (2 lb) pork shoulder, trimmed of gristle, about 70% lean / 30% fat - fat is essential for texture and flavor
• •30 g (¼ cup) dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed, toasted and soaked; substitute ancho chiles if unavailable
• •10 g (1 Tbsp) dried árbol chiles, stems removed, optional, for heat - omit or reduce for a milder sausage
• •60 ml (¼ cup) apple cider vinegar or white vinegar, traditional acidulant; also helps preserve color
• •4 clove (4 cloves) garlic
• •1 tsp ground cumin
• •1 tsp ground coriander
• •1 tsp Mexican oregano, dried, rubbed between palms; do not substitute Mediterranean oregano
• •1 tsp smoked paprika
• •ground cloves, ½
• •ground cinnamon, ½
• •25 g (2 Tbsp) kosher salt
• •5 g black pepper, freshly ground
• •60 ml (¼ cup) water or reserved chile-soaking liquid

Steps

1. 1 Toast the chiles: Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast the guajillo and árbol chiles for 10–15 seconds per side until fragrant - do not burn, or they turn bitter. Transfer to a bowl, cover with hot water, and soak for 20 minutes until softened.
2. 2 Make the chile paste: Drain the chiles (reserve 60 ml / ¼ cup of the soaking liquid). Blend the chiles with the garlic, vinegar, soaking liquid, and spices until a smooth, pourable paste forms. Strain if you want a finer texture.
3. 3 Prepare the pork: Cut the pork shoulder into 2 cm (¾-inch) chunks. Place half in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill - partially frozen meat grinds cleaner and stays cold, which is important for sausage safety.
4. 4 Grind: Pass the chilled pork through a meat grinder fitted with a coarse die (about 8 mm / ⅓ inch). If you do not have a grinder, ask your butcher to grind it coarsely, then pulse in a food processor in short bursts - do not over-process into a paste.
5. 5 Mix the sausage: In a large bowl, combine the ground pork with the chile paste, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly by hand (wear gloves) for 2–3 minutes until the mixture is sticky and uniform. Cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours so the flavors meld and the salt fully seasons the meat.
6. 6 Cook a test patty before stuffing or freezing: Pinch off a small piece and fry in a dry skillet over medium heat until browned and the internal temperature reaches 71°C / 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Adjust salt, vinegar, or chile to taste.
7. 7 Use or store: For immediate use, cook crumbled in a skillet over medium heat for 8–10 minutes until well-browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into several pieces reads 71°C / 160°F (mandatory doneness for pork).
8. 8 To freeze for later: portion the raw chorizo into freezer bags, flatten for even freezing, label, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking to 71°C / 160°F internal.
9. 9 Casing note: Traditional Mexican chorizo is often sold loose (uncased) or packed into hog casings. If stuffing, soak natural hog casings in warm water 30 minutes, rinse, then thread onto a sausage stuffer and pack loosely - do not overstuff, or casings burst during cooking.