How to Make Authentic Homemade Chorizo

ground pork

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: ground beef

Turkey is lower in fat, while beef is often more affordable.

paprika

🥗Healthier: smoked paprika

💰Cheaper: sweet paprika

Smoked paprika adds flavor without extra calories.

vinegar

🥗Healthier: apple cider vinegar

💰Cheaper: white vinegar

Apple cider vinegar may offer more flavor and nutrition.

Cut open the dried peppers and scoop out the seeds.

Turn on a pan to medium heat and warm the peppers without oil to char them and release their aromas.

Add a few cloves of garlic to the pan to warm them up as well.

Remove the peppers from the pan and place them in warm water to soak and rehydrate.

In a molcajete, add the garlic cloves, whole peppercorns, whole cloves, whole cumin, Mexican oregano, majoram, thyme, a little salt, and apple cider vinegar, and grind into a paste.

Gather the rest of the seasonings: ancho chili powder, paprika, and aote powder.

Set up a blender and add the rehydrated peppers along with a little soaking water to create a paste, adding water a tablespoon at a time until blended.

Add the paste from the molcajete and the measured seasonings into the blender and combine.

Grind 1.5 lbs of pork shoulder using a medium grinding plate.

Mix the ground pork with the combined seasonings and paste using your hands until well mixed.

Divide the mixture into three individual packages of about half a pound each and wrap them in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate the wrapped sausage to firm up for a while before vacuum sealing and freezing any portions not used immediately.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary