The Mediterranean diet along with more frequent world-travellers have brought chorizo from its Spanish home base to become a household name and store cupboard ingredient. But what exactly is it?
What is Chorizo and How is it Made?
Chorizo is a pork sausage made with the scrap ends of the pig after the legs and loins had been removed for salting. The head, tail and everything in between would have been boiled in a huge cauldron over an open fire, then the chunks of meat were cut into small pieces, spiced put into the animals intestine as its casing and then cured.
The main ingredient was pimenton or dried red peppers which every household had. These days the commercial chorizo vary depending on the area of production. Chorizos from Murcia use a more spicy hot pimento than the one made in Extremadura which use pimenton de la vera, a red pepper variety which gives a lovely smoky flavour.
So there is no one taste in chorizos, they come hot and spicy or garlicky and herby but its not only the flavour to watch out for when buying chorizo. It is also graded on the meat, fat and humidity content. Sausages labeled “Extra’ are the highest quality made with the best meat from the rib area and the fore leg.
Another sign of a good chorizo is its irregular shape and size with a thicker skin, this means the casing is made from the animal intestine which allows the sausage to cure more slowly and naturally which enables a more intense flavour to develop. Chorizo made in man-made casings are very regular in shape, they will have been fast-cured, and are usually more pinky in colour and may contain additives.
Chorizos can be bought fresh and semi-cured and longer-cured. Fresh chorizo are for cooking as in a breakfast sausage, semi-cured is when they have been cured for a month or so and these may be cooked or eaten. Longer-cured chorizo are usually cured for around five months and are usually firmer and more expensive to buy, this type of sausage can be eaten as tapas or on crusty bread.
So investigate the difference to find your favourite and try experimenting with the unique chorizo flavour by adding them to soups and stews. They go very well In lentil and bean dishes or to replace normal sausages in a familiar recipe.
Why not try this chorizo recipe - Lentils with Spicy Spanish Sausage
Read about Trevelez a famous Chorizo producing town.
Chorizo can be bought online from various international companies. See Andalucian Gastronomy for more on Spanish cuisine.
Rachel L. Webb - Rachel L Webb lives in and writes mainly about Andalucia. She enjoys exploring the region and shares her explorations through her website ...
