Chorizo (mexican Sausage)

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Title: CHORIZO (MEXICAN SAUSAGE)
Categories: Pork, Mexican, Meats
Yield: 20 servings

20 Sausage casings (pork
-casings for authentic
-links)
Vinegar
2 lb Lean pork trimmings
8 oz Beef OR pork fat
2 md Onions, quartered
8 Cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 c Cider vinegar
1/4 c Tequila (optional)
1/4 c Ground red chile, mild OR
-hot
1 ts Ground cinnamon
1 1/2 ts Ground comino
1 ts Ground Mexican oregano
1 tb Salt

..I [=Jane Butel] have generally made bulk sausage, as
it is much easier. Sausage has to be taken out of the
casing for most uses anyway.

1. Clean the casings, rinse well with water, then
pour vinegar through them. Set aside.

2. Use a food processor or the coarse blade of a meat
grinder, grind the meat and fat. Add the onions,
garlic, vinegar, tequila and seasonings, using the
hotness of chile powder your family and guests will
prefer.

3. Stuff the casings. First cut the casings into
3-ft lengths and tie one end together. Use either a
funnel or filling tube to fill the lengths. Tie at
about 4-inch intervals with heavy thread.

4. Place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
Set on the counter for about 2 hours, then refrigerate.

5. After a day, freeze what you will not use within a
week or two. Mixture should ripen for at least 8 hours
before using.

Notes: If you have no food processor or grinder, buy
triple ground pork. Prepare the recipe once and taste
for the mildness or hotness of the ground red chile.
Adjust to suit your taste for the next time you make
sausage.

Freezing hints: Mold the sausage into 1/2-pound lumps
and freeze between pieces of foil inside a heavy
plastic bag.

Maximum recommended freezer storage: 3 months.

Makes 20 sausages or 2 2/3 pounds bulk sausage.

From: JANE BUTEL'S TEX-MEX COOKBOOK by Jane Butel,
Harmony Books, New York. 1980. ISBN 0-517-539861
Shared by: Karin Brewer, Cooking Echo, 7/93

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