CHORIZO

Chorizo is a famously smoky, spicy, highly seasoned fatty sausage found in Spanish, Portuguese, and Mexican cooking. Lots of paprika makes them a gorgeous shade of red and chilies and garlic make them delicious. The fresh Mexican style is essential in all sorts of Tex-Mex and south of the border recipes. Now you can make your own Chorizo as spicy (or not) as you like with your favorite cut of meat or even make it vegetarian. Carefully blended from toasted chilies: ancho, guajillo, d'arbol, and chipotle, cumin, coriander, oregano, annatto, garlic, sea salt, black pepper, bay leaf, and a pinch of clove.

Season burgers and top with pepper jack, guacamole and salsa for a tasty new grill favorite.

Season your favorite vegetarian chili recipe for smoke spicy flavor and beautiful color.

Use CHORIZO to season your favorite enchilada sauce recipe and discover your new favorite sauce!

Use in your favorite meatloaf recipe for a south of the border take on a family friendly meal.

Use in your next batch of homemade salsa matcha - mix with olive oil, ground nuts & toasted sesame seeds, brown sugar, vinegar, and plenty of garlic. So good you'll be putting it on everything.

Toss cubed potatoes in cooking oil and CHORIZO and roast in a cast iron pan. You may never go back to plain old potatoes.
 

Mexican style Chorizo
~makes 1 1/2 lbs~

1 1/2 lb ground meat, preferably pork or a mix of pork and beef
3 -4 Tbsp CHORIZO®
3 Tbsp cider vinegar

In a large non reactive bowl, break up meat with 3 Tbsp CHORIZO® and vinegar. Mix well until spices are thoroughly distributed. Add another Tbsp if you want even more color and spice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to meld and vinegar to do it's tenderizing magic.
You can form into patties or links and freeze for later use.
When ready, unwrap and remove plastic. Cook like any fresh sausage until well done and browned.

Note: You can form into patties or links and freeze for later use, but it will not hold together like a sausage in casing.

Mole de Olla
~serves a crowd~

3 pounds beef stew meat cut or beef shank meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch to 2-inch chunks and bones added to the pot
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic
1 large sprig of fresh mint, or between 10 and 12 leaves
1 tbsp sea salt
10 cups water
3 Tbsp CHORIZO
1 pound (about 4) ripe tomatoes, preferably roma
1/4 pound tomatilloes, (about 1 or 2 depending on size)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 chayote squash, peeled and cubed (about 3 cups)
1 large zucchini, cubed (about 3 cups)
3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into about 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
3 ears of fresh corn, husked and cut into thirds
3/4 cup finely chopped white onion, for garnish
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
3 to 4 limes, quartered, for garnish

In a large heavy-bottomed casserole or pot, place the meat, half onion, garlic cloves, mint and a tablespoon of salt. Cover with water and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface, and reduce the heat to low or medium-low heat, cover and simmer for an hour.
Place the tomatoes and tomatilloes in baking dish under the broiler, until they are completely charred and mushy, about 10 minutes. In a small skillet set over medium heat, place the sesame seeds and toast, stirring constantly, anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes until they start to become golden brown, but not completely dark brown. turn off heat and stir in CHORIZO until just fragrant.
In the jar of a blender, pour in the broiled tomatoes and tomatilloes with all their juices, the toasted sesame seeds & CHORIZO, and puree until completely smooth.
Remove the lid from the large casserole, remove the cooked onion, mint and garlic cloves (if some remains, it is totally fine) and pour the chile mixture in with the meat. Stir, cover again and cook for another half hour.
Remove the lid, raise heat to medium heat, add the cubed chayote squash and the corn, and cook partially covered for 15 minutes. Add the green beans and zucchini, and cook partially covered for another 10 minutes. Taste for salt and add more if need be.
Serve in bowls, making sure that each bowl has a serving of meat, corn, chayote, green beans and zucchini. Place white onion, cilantro and halved limes at the table, for people to add as last seasonings and garnishes.