Tried something new: Basque Chorizo!

[Kevin A]

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone.

My sons have been using this chorizo in everything: mixed with eggs, sliced & tossed in mac n' cheese, in black bean soup.
The chorizo really added a nice touch to the paella my wife made last Friday! Not overly hot, but the peppery-garlic flavor really was great!

I've had a some folks ask for this recipe—or at least MY estimations of the amounts—so here they are. For a guideline, I used some of the amounts listed in Bruce Aidell's "Complete Sausage Book" but since some of the ingredients in THIS version were a bit different or weren't in Bruce's recipe, I adjusted accordingly.

Country Basque Chorizo
makes six pounds

Ingredients:
5 lbs. pork butt/shoulder
1.0 lb. beef chuck
1/2 Cup (126g) Sweet Spanish paprika (or Hungarian)
1/2 Cup (128g) Choricero Pepper puree
1 Tbl (10g) Espelette Pepper powder (more for added heat)
1 Cup fresh minced garlic
6 Tbsp dry red wine
20g sugar
44g kosher salt
11g coarsely ground black pepper (tellacherry preferred)
Pinch of ground clove or allspice
1&1/4 tsp Cure#1 (pink salt, dissolved in ¼ cup water)
30-32mm hog casings

Grind pork and beef through a 3/8" plate. Combine ground meat with all ingredients.
Let stand overnight in refrigerator.

Stuff the next day. Hang links to dry at room temperature for one hour (or hang in smoker @120° with no smoke for 45-60 minutes) until exterior is dry to touch). Add smoke. Well-seasoned sausage can take hardier-flavored woods so use personal preference.
After sausage has dried, increase the heat to 130-140 degrees F, and apply 2-3 hours of smoke. Continue raising temp over the course of the next 4-6 hours (top out @170°) until the desired IT (155°) is reached. Plunk 'em in ice-bath & let them bloom for a hour or so before refrigerating. Refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.

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That's pretty much it. Next time I'll add more of the espelette powder for more kick.'

—Kevin

[MTFiddler]

Kevin,

Thank you for sharing, I told my dad about your chorizo and he has been chomping at the bit to find a recipe, especially after showing him pictures.  I know what we'll be making in the next couple weeks.

Lon

[iceman]

Great recipe and post Kevin. THANK YOU  :)

[Kevin A]

Did I already say this chorizo goes great in paella?

Let me repeat myself: THIS STUFF GOES GREAT in PAELLA!
:) ;)

I made two batches over the weekend: one with shellfish (mussels, clams & shrimp), the other without. Not everyone in our family likes shellfish.  :(   Both had the chorizo, serrano ham & chicken; added to short-grain spanish rice, artichoke hearts, splash of white wine, homemade chicken broth, piquillo peppers, peas, onions, garlic, saffron, smoked paprika & spices. The chorizo adds a nice smokiness (along with the paprika) and a nice garlicy kick.
Here's the one pan sans-shellfish. I need bigger paella pans (!)

[BBQIT]

Kevin - I would very much like to try your Basque Chorizo recipe.  I was not able to find the Choricero paste, but I was able to get dried Choricero red peppers.  Can you tell me how I should prepare them and how much I should use in place of the amount of paste called for in your recipe.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Keymaster]

Nice Job Kevin, they look Delicious!!!

[Kevin A]

Kevin - I would very much like to try your Basque Chorizo recipe.  I was not able to find the Choricero paste, but I was able to get dried Choricero red peppers.  Can you tell me how I should prepare them and how much I should use in place of the amount of paste called for in your recipe.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Hi BB

For the dried peppers, you should soak them in warm water (at least an hour or so). Very similar to other dried peppers (I do this with dried guajillo peppers for mexican dishes). After the peppers soften quite a bit, scrape away the flesh from the skin to make a paste. Alternatively, you could put the whole rehydrated peppers into a food processor, but the resulting paste wont be quite as smooth as you'll have flecks of skin in it. It's much more work to do this whole rehydrate/scrape process than simply buying the jars of the paste, but its also far less costly.

Re: quantity. Use the same amount specified in the recipe.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Kevin

[BBQIT]

Kevin - many thanks for the help.