Behold the secret ingredient to giving your Mexican dishes an authentic and incredibly amazing flavor! This homemade Mexican chorizo is easy to make and the flavor is out of this world!
SALIVARY GLANDS AND LYMPH NODES. That’s what you’ll find in the list of ingredients of a lot of store-bought chorizo. I bought some a while back, cooked with it, and it wasn’t until after we had eaten it that I saw the foreboding list of ingredients. Yes, I felt a little ill.
The “daring” in Daring Gourmet isn’t referring to entertaining members of the lymphatic and exocrine families.
Since seeing that I haven’t been able to stomach the thought of ever eating store-bought chorizo again. I don’t trust it. That’s right, I have trust issues with chorizo. So, I make my own. I don’t bother using the sausage casings – no point since when cooking chorizo you remove it from the casing anyway. So I either grind my own pork or have the butcher do it for me. That way I know EXACTLY what’s in it! And, more importantly, what ISN’T!
Chorizo is a heavily spiced sausage commonly used in Mexican dishes. It’s crumbled and fried up with whatever other ingredients the dish calls for. It’s made with a variety of ingredients, including various ground chiles, coriander, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, vinegar, etc. Many recipes call for about 1/4 lb at a time, so I divide it up into 1/4 lb “sausages” and freeze them so they’re ready for use when I need them.
And as for my chronic trust issues with store-bought chorizo…I’m afraid it’s a hopeless case, a lost relationship. I don’t think I can ever learn to trust it again . I suppose we could seek counseling together, store-bought chorizo and I, but what’s the use? We never loved each other in the first place, have since lost the ability to communicate, and
“Now it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late…
Something inside has died and I can’t hide it,
and I just can’t fake it.”
Store-bought chorizo: We’re through.
(Thanks, Carole King, for those fitting lyrics.)
This homemade Mexican chorizo is super simple to make. I did the work in experimenting with the different spices and ratios – now all you have to do is combine the spices with the meat and you’re done! It’s really that simple. And this chorizo tastes good! Just grab some ready-made chorizo from the freezer whenever you need it.
Many authentic Mexican recipes call for chorizo. Here are a couple of mine and more will follow:
Tinga Poblana Pulled Pork Tacos
Mexican Meatballs with Roasted Garlic, Chipotle and Tomatillo Sauce
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Wrap the individual 1/4 pound logs in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer ziplock bag. Then you can grab one whenever you need it, let it thaw and use it!
Enjoy!
BEST Homemade Mexican Chorizo
Ingredients
- 1 lb coarsely ground lean pork
- 6 oz coarsely ground pork fat (ask your butcher)
- 5 cloves garlic ,minced
- 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
Instructions
- Place the meat in a large bowl and all all remaining ingredients. Use your hands to thoroughly combine the mixture. Place the chorizo in a colander or sieve over a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3 days, daily squeezing out and discarding any liquid. After 3 days, divide the meat up into 6 little 4 oz loaves, wrap each one in plastic wrap and place the loaves in a freezer bag or wrap again in aluminum foil. You can also use wax or freezer paper.
- The chorizo will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months. Storing it longer doesn't really pose a safety concern, but the taste will suffer.
- Makes 1 1/2 pounds, divided into six 4 oz. servings.
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Lydia says
Oh Kimberley, forgot to mention that hafter the meat had drained, he either rougly minced the meat or chopped it up.
Julie says
I think this is the best & healthiest chorizo I have ever had! I love chorizo & queso blanco dip and it’s great in omelettes too! I didn’t have ancho chili powder so I subbed regular badia brand chili powder, I didn’t have smoked paprika so I used chipotle powder. I used ground pork & didn’t mix in additional fat. I didn’t do the vinegar step either but I let the flavors marry for a day in the fridge & cooked it a day later. Love the clove & cinnamon spices, I always wondered what the secret ingredients were. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Julie, I’m so glad you enjoyed this, thanks for the feedback!
Michelle Storms Van Howe says
Just made this recipe and I love it! thank you!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m thrilled to hear that, Michelle, thanks so much for the feedback!
SHERRY says
Maybe I missed it, but the recipe does not specify the cut of pork. Does it matter? Do you recommend pork loin. pork shoulder, etc? I do want to try the recipe. Thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sherry, it really doesn’t matter. If you choose a lean cut of pork include the extra fat called for. Alternatively you can use a fattier cut of pork and cut down on the additional fat or omit it entirely. There’s really no way to go wrong with this. Enjoy!
Rick Zabala says
Hello well it’s still available. Could beef,chicken, or turkey be substituted for pork?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Rick, it will taste different of course but yes, you can substitute any of those.
Ashley says
If you substitute another main meat, should you still use pork fat? I had flying biscuit chicken chorizo and (though I was skeptical), it was really tasty. I love chorizo and want to make it asap, so I’m excited to try your recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Ashley, most sausage makers agree that using pork fat is still the best option even when making chicken sausages. Happy cooking!
Jeana says
Looking forward to making your recipe. How would one use this in paella?
Mary says
I made this with 1+ lb. of ground chicken and cooked in some oil to sub for the lack of fat in the chicken. It was delicious! You have nailed the seasoning mix. I will be making this again, and I may never buy store-bought chorizo ever again!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Mary, thanks so much!
Anne says
I am a volunteer teacher in rural Guatemala. The meat we have available here comes right off the animal carcass. There is nothing else added, so allowing the chorizo to sit in the frig for 3 days is not necessary. Is there any other reason to let it sit for 3 days? Some things are actually better in “poor developing” countries especially if one cannot live on Germany.
Gracias
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Anne, the purpose for letting it “age” in the fridge is to allow the flavors of the seasonings to fully develop and penetrate the meat.
Stephen says
This is a solid recipe. Made it, ate it, and enjoyed every bite. The subtle sweetness really balances out the other flavors. We also loved how the ancho chili shined in this recipe. We served this with warm corn tortillas, diced white onion, cilantro, and homemade salsa verde. I am looking forward to using some of the additional spices and measurements here to experiment with our own chorizo blend (which is very close to this one) to how it turns out. What I can say now is that this recipe is spot on with the 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt per pound of ground meat. This became our preferred salt-to-meat sausage making ratio after countless attempts. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Stephen, thank you!
Kathleen Stratman says
We haven’t made your chorizo from scratch yet but will do very soon in the future. We were also horrified after eating store-bought chorizo. We were wondering why the texture and taste was different than when we used to have it in the past. Then we read the ingredients on the package and it was all glands, nodes and other non-flesh parts! Thank you for the recipe because we’re never going to buy it already prepared and packaged from a store.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kathleen, I know, it was definitely a turn-off for me too. I think you’ll really enjoy the flavor of this chorizo. Happy cooking!
Wayno says
Hello Kimberly!
Been a few years since I last made Mex chorizo, and didn’t find notes in my recipe box, or remember which recipes I used as guides, and your’s looked really lovely. Just finished making two pounds tonight from your recipe! I think this one is what I’ll continue to use and play with. I have a few notes to share with you and your followers.
I took some inspiration from Lisa Fain’s recipe @homesicktexan.com, putting all the spices, garlic and vinegar into the blender and pureeing. I also had whole dried guajillo and ancho chiles on hand, so I used those (but adjusted with a bit more powdered ancho at the final stage). She also had some fresh onion in her recipe, so I threw a few slices into the blender (onion felt like it would work for my tastes).
Something you might add to the recipe technique — appropriate to hobbyist sausage makers — is microwaving a spoonful of the blended mixture and tasting it to determine if the spicing and salt level is to their preference. I did two rounds of this, with some adjustment in between.
Great recipe, thank you for the gift of it!
On an aside… I’ve been perfecting over the last couple weeks making King Arthur Flour’s English Muffin recipe. (would post a picture of how great they look, if I could…). I keep a few, give away the rest to neighbors, and do make-ahead egg mcmuffins for taking to work (Wayne McMuffins!). Using Kenji Lopez’s (SeriousEats.com) Egg McMuff recipe, but I got to thinking how great it would be to have a chorizo patty on them. And that’s how I ended up at dg.com.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Wayne, thanks so much for the feedback and for sharing all of those tips. And I’m with you, a chorizo egg mcmuffin sounds fab!
joshua knechtel says
I made your chorizo recipe a few weeks back but forgot to mention I made it. It was fantastic! Here in Toronto all I can find is Spanish chorizo, which doesn’t work for what I use chorizo for often (stuffed peppers, stuffed mushrooms, chorizo and eggs) so I went looking to see how easy or hard it was and was overjoyed to find your recipe and how easy it is. I couldn’t find Mexican oregano here, so I had to use regular oregano.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Joshua, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Cheri Cunningham says
Penzy’’s carries Mexican oregano and can be mail ordered
Bertha Lafleur says
This is a delicious recipe! So easy and flavorful. I’m so glad I found it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Bertha, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Barb says
The flavors sound wonderful and authentic, but I am wondering about the texture? Growing up in LA, the Mexican chirizo we were accustomed to was very very soft and melted into the food, leaving hearty flavor but very little texture behind. Is this more of a ground\mince texture then? If so, do you think blitzing the final product in a food processor would make the texture more fine\fluid…..”meltable”? :) Thanks in advance!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Barb, because of the nature of the glandular/lymphatic ingredients in most commercial chorizo it does have a smoother texture than muscle meat does. It’s certainly worth a try though. Before you blitz the entire batch in a food processor I would try it with a little bit of it of it first, fry it up, and see if you like the results. You might need to add a tiny bit of liquid to it before blitzing it in order to help emulsify the meat. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Barb says
I knew there were some questionable ingredients in that type of chorizo, I just never knew exactly what they were (eww!). Definitely going to try this now. Good idea about adding some liquid while blitzing, maybe homemade bone broth? I like the gelatinous texture of bone broth, maybe that will help the end results? Maybe bump up the fat content too, after blitzing. I will post my results, thank you for the recipe!
Whitney says
Is it pork fat, or lard that you used for this recipe?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Whitney, it’s solid pork fat. (Lard is fat that has been rendered – ie, melted and cooled.)
Colleen BONCOSKY says
Can I stuff this recipe in hog casings for sausages?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Colleen, Mexican chorizo is different than Spanish chorizo. Spanish chorizo is an actual “sausage” that’s stuffed into casings, dry-cured and sliced like salami. Mexican chorizo is very soft and loose and crumbly, meant to be fried up like regular ground sausage, and the texture doesn’t work well for traditional sausages.
Rafael says
Hi, i just made it, instead, i completely cheated, instead of getting meat and lard, i got a pound of sweet italian sausages, and mixed it with all the ingredients but salt, since it is already added to the sausages, the reason i did this, the meat doesn’t have as much liquid. I will let you know the result, but looks promising.
Thank you.