Ale’s Homemade Mexican Chorizo

Well Done Sausage-Making Class in Houston, Texas - 2019

Sausage-making

This all started in early 2019 when I took a sausage-making class in Houston at a cooking school called "Well Done" on Airline Drive. I went solo so the teacher partnered me up with two guys - one had been sent by his wife (smart lady!) and the other one just wanted to learn. The inappropriate jokes went on the entire evening after struggling to stuff the sausage, carefully trying not to rip the pork casing. It was hilarious! I felt even more awkward for the couple that showed up for their second date.

After taking turns, and the men continuously tearing the casings, we decided I would be in charge of guiding the sausage into the casing while the men pushed the meat through the stuffing tube. We made 5 different sausages that night -- all delicious!

Feeling inspired, I went to eBay and bought myself a stainless steel grinder. My KitchenAid motor has come close to dying after trying to grind 15 pounds of meat at a time! (Don't do that!)

sausages

Although we have our preferred chorizo brand (San Manuel), my least favorite part of any chorizo are those tiny bits of cartilage and things that you can't quite chew properly. That is when I decided to grind my own meat, but this works well with store-bought ground meat too - no problem!

grind-chorizo

My dad and I realized we cannot stand the flavor of cloves in our chorizo - many recipes call for "clavo". This chorizo has no cloves. I even tried 1/8 of a tsp to multiple pounds of meat - we could STILL taste it.

If you grind your own meat, try and have a 70/30 ratio. You can buy 80/20 but when my meat has less fat, I find myself adding more oil to the pan.

Make sure and freeze into batches and thaw in your fridge as needed. I make sure to buy my meat in bulk when it's on sale, and we've been able to save a lot of money on buying chorizo. Let me know what you think! And, no pressure... you do not need the KitchenAid, the grinder, sausage stuffer, etc. You can just buy the ground meat and once you're done, freeze in Ziplock bags.

Depending on the equipment you have and if you decide to grind your meat or not, this may be a somewhat quick recipe or it can take a half a day. The recipe below is me assuming you are buying your own ground beef.


AuthorAleCategoryDifficultyIntermediate

After attempting multiple batches of chorizo, trying a couple of recipes, and editing them heavily, I have finally arrived to a chorizo recipe my parents and I approve of. Enjoy!

mexican-chorizo
Yields1 Serving
Prep Time2 hrsTotal Time2 hrs
Dried Chiles
 10 guajillo peppers
 2 chiles anchos or 2-4 more guajillo peppers
 2 morita chiles (optional)
Spices
 1 dried bay leaf
 1 tbsp smoked or sweet paprika
 1 tbsp Mexican dried oregano
 1 tbsp table salt or 1.5 tbsp Diamond Kosher salt
 1 tsp garlic powder
 1 tsp cumin
 1 tsp ground black pepper
 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
 ½ tsp Arbol powder or cayenne pepper
 ¼ tsp dried thyme
 ¼ tsp dried marjoram
 ½ Truvia packet or 1 tsp sugar
Meat
 2 lbs ground pork or beef (75/25 or 70/30)
Liquids
 ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
 2 fl oz vodka
Equipment
 blender or food mill
 spice grinder or molcajete
1

With kitchen shears, cut off the chile stems. Inside a trash bag, flip the dried chiles and lightly tap to dump out most seeds. Then butterfly-cut the chiles and open. Devein, deseed, rinse and pat dry.

**Don't worry if there are a few seeds left - the mixture will later pass through a sieve or a food mill.

**Morita chiles are sometimes too small to cut and deseed but don't worry, they're small chiles so no need to open and devein those.

2

In a hot skillet, toast your chiles on both sides being careful not to burn them. They require your full attention as they can burn quickly and turn bitter - we just want that smokiness to add a layer of depth to the chorizo. This step is optional but I think it gives it a more delicious flavor. Towards the end of toasting your chiles, fill up a medium-sized pot halfway with water and wait for it to boil.

Next, carefully place the chiles inside the boiling water, cover, and lower to a medium simmer for about 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, turn off the stove and allow the chiles to cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile, let's start with the spices.

3

In a spice grinder, grind the bay leaf and the oregano. There are times I'll grind up my own cumin, cinnamon and black pepper... if you choose to do so, do that now.

In a small bowl, add all your dried and measured-out spices - the ones you grinded and the rest on the list. Set aside.

4

Discard the water you cooked the chiles in.

**Option 1 (you have an amazing blender AND you removed ALL seeds from the chiles, including moritas): If you own something like a Vitamix, add your chile peppers to the blender with the apple cider and vodka. Blend very well. No need to pass through a sieve unless you really want to.

**Option 2 (you have a normal blender): Do the same as Option 1 but DO pass your mixture through a sieve.

**Option 3 (food mill): Since I don't have a good blender, I actually prefer the food mill. Pass your chiles through the food mill using the smallest or second to the smallest disc. Add vodka and apple cider vinegar to your chile mix (after passing through the food mill).

Reserve your blended chile sauce.

5

In a big bowl, add your ground meat, the blended chile mix, and all your spices. Mix well with a large sturdy cooking spoon or put on some gloves and mix well.

6

In a pan, cook about 2 TBSP of your chorizo (remember, it's raw - cook well) and make sure salt is to your liking. If so, leave the mixture covered in your refrigerator overnight.

The next day, make sure to portion out and freeze. I normally like to vacuum seal but plastic freeze bags work too - just remove some of the air. I usually like to freeze in 1-2 cup portions. It has no preservatives so just make sure you can finish within a day or two. That's it! (And if you want to stuff in your own casings, you can do that too and THEN freeze.

Notes

  • There is a shortcut. I purchased powdered chiles. I have also powdered my own chiles (that was so time consuming - I don't recommend!). If you're in a hurry, sub the dried chiles for about 16 TBSP of powdered chile - yes, I actually measured all the chiles I made into powder. However, I can say that the original recipe is tastier. 
  • Don't be afraid to substitute your chiles. For example, there was a time I had very few guajillos but had a couple of ancho chiles and some pasilla. I did a mixture of all 3 that time - just remember that the guajillo really gives it that brighter red color. Anchos and pasillas are very delicious though so, go for it!

Ingredients

Dried Chiles
 10 guajillo peppers
 2 chiles anchos or 2-4 more guajillo peppers
 2 morita chiles (optional)
Spices
 1 dried bay leaf
 1 tbsp smoked or sweet paprika
 1 tbsp Mexican dried oregano
 1 tbsp table salt or 1.5 tbsp Diamond Kosher salt
 1 tsp garlic powder
 1 tsp cumin
 1 tsp ground black pepper
 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
 ½ tsp Arbol powder or cayenne pepper
 ¼ tsp dried thyme
 ¼ tsp dried marjoram
 ½ Truvia packet or 1 tsp sugar
Meat
 2 lbs ground pork or beef (75/25 or 70/30)
Liquids
 ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
 2 fl oz vodka
Equipment
 blender or food mill
 spice grinder or molcajete

Directions

1

With kitchen shears, cut off the chile stems. Inside a trash bag, flip the dried chiles and lightly tap to dump out most seeds. Then butterfly-cut the chiles and open. Devein, deseed, rinse and pat dry.

**Don't worry if there are a few seeds left - the mixture will later pass through a sieve or a food mill.

**Morita chiles are sometimes too small to cut and deseed but don't worry, they're small chiles so no need to open and devein those.

2

In a hot skillet, toast your chiles on both sides being careful not to burn them. They require your full attention as they can burn quickly and turn bitter - we just want that smokiness to add a layer of depth to the chorizo. This step is optional but I think it gives it a more delicious flavor. Towards the end of toasting your chiles, fill up a medium-sized pot halfway with water and wait for it to boil.

Next, carefully place the chiles inside the boiling water, cover, and lower to a medium simmer for about 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, turn off the stove and allow the chiles to cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile, let's start with the spices.

3

In a spice grinder, grind the bay leaf and the oregano. There are times I'll grind up my own cumin, cinnamon and black pepper... if you choose to do so, do that now.

In a small bowl, add all your dried and measured-out spices - the ones you grinded and the rest on the list. Set aside.

4

Discard the water you cooked the chiles in.

**Option 1 (you have an amazing blender AND you removed ALL seeds from the chiles, including moritas): If you own something like a Vitamix, add your chile peppers to the blender with the apple cider and vodka. Blend very well. No need to pass through a sieve unless you really want to.

**Option 2 (you have a normal blender): Do the same as Option 1 but DO pass your mixture through a sieve.

**Option 3 (food mill): Since I don't have a good blender, I actually prefer the food mill. Pass your chiles through the food mill using the smallest or second to the smallest disc. Add vodka and apple cider vinegar to your chile mix (after passing through the food mill).

Reserve your blended chile sauce.

5

In a big bowl, add your ground meat, the blended chile mix, and all your spices. Mix well with a large sturdy cooking spoon or put on some gloves and mix well.

6

In a pan, cook about 2 TBSP of your chorizo (remember, it's raw - cook well) and make sure salt is to your liking. If so, leave the mixture covered in your refrigerator overnight.

The next day, make sure to portion out and freeze. I normally like to vacuum seal but plastic freeze bags work too - just remove some of the air. I usually like to freeze in 1-2 cup portions. It has no preservatives so just make sure you can finish within a day or two. That's it! (And if you want to stuff in your own casings, you can do that too and THEN freeze.

Notes

Ale’s Homemade Mexican Chorizo
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