Chorizo (choreetho)

This post was requested by my blogging friend Sommer J of Germany, remember to come back and click through to view her food blog recipe that inspired this post.

http://www.mamawithflavor.blogspot.com/2011/02/chorizo-and-pork-belly-with-white-beans.html



A semi air-dried sausage that is, in my opinion, hugely under-estimated and not used enough in our everyday cooking repertoire. It can be used in many places, on pizza is probably a favourite, sliced chunks in a cassoulet or a hot soup really work well, as they do in pasta dishes and rice dishes such as paella. Recently I have seen it sold hot in Borough Market in London, where one of the stallholders offers a toasted bread roll filled with a grilled chorizo split lengthways along with roasted red peppers and a dressed salad. The queue for this feast was more than 20 deep! Does that tell you something?




Chorizo can be put in 36mm boar casings.



Tip: Replacing some of the water in the mix with olive oil plus a few shakes of Tabasco sauce works very well.

Another, and probably my favourite chorizo recipe is this semi air-dried sausage that, unlike salami, is not left to develop a white powdery mould on the surface.
Ingredients

7.5kg pork

1.5kg beef

240g salt

24g saltpetre (WARNING..please check the legal useage and amounts of saltpetre in your country before following this recipe)

20g ground black pepper

10g nutmeg

10g hot chilli powder

40g paprika

280g mild chilli powder

100ml olive oil

Method

1. Trim the meat thoroughly, discarding any sinews.
2. Mince using a 5–6mm plate.
3. Add and blend the seasoning to the meat mix.
4. Fill 34–36mm boar casings and make to length, approximately 50cm.
5. Tie the two ends together using a fine butchers twine.
6. Pre air-dry at 25oC (77oF) for 6hrs, then air-dry for about 2 weeks at a constant 15c (60 oF) and 80% humidity.
7. The shelf life will be several weeks from the end of the drying stage.
8. Wiping with olive oil before sale or serving will enhance the appearance and colour of the sausages.
A large chorizo can be made using 54mm ox casings and with added back fat cut into thumbnail-sized pieces, add just enough to offer an alternative texture to the main mix. Of course the pre-drying and drying times need to be extended for the larger version. Once mature this chorizo can be served as thin slices.



Tip: When making air-dried or salami sausage it is best to remove all visible silver skin and sinews. Silver skin is the fine bluish film of skin you find in between the joint of two muscles, the outer skin on a tenderloin demonstrates this well. Use only trimmed lean meat then add back the fat to the mix before seasoning. Experiment with any recipe that takes your fancy, you will be surprised and maybe delighted with your efforts.