Chorizo

Mexican chorizo is not really that common in New England, in fact, most people around here think you are talking about the much more common portuguese variety when you say the name. At my burrito shop, we used to get fresh Mexican chorizo that was delicious, but then the supplier kept sending the portuguese stuff by mistake and it was starting to annoy me. We are a burrito shop man! One day we ran out of the mexican kind so I whipped up a quick homemade version after skimming a few recipes. It came out ok, but everyone REALLY liked the stuff we were bringing in much better. This reaction made me really want to make chorizo better than the store bought one, so I tested recipe after recipe for several months until I got it right! Now we not only save money on it, but everyone loves the stuff! If you happen to live close enough to Cafe Burrito, come in and try some on a burrito or taco (it’s especially good on our breakfast burritos), But if not, here is the super easy recipe to make some on your own!

We don’t have a meat grinder because we have a really tiny kitchen and work area, so my solution to getting more fat into the sausage is mixing diced up pork belly into the ground pork.

Just stir these up nice.

The flavorings are easy and just get food processed into a smooth sauce.

Pour on the sauce and mix it all up.

We leave the meat to marinade overnight, then cook the whole thing in the oven like a big chorizo meatloaf.

It’s great in the burritos, but I think it really shines in the tacos!

It’s hard having this avalible to me all day and not eat a million tacos every shift.

1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1/2 pound diced pork belly
1 small onion
7 cloves garlic
1 habanero(with seeds if you want it hot, otherwise remove)
1/2 cup red vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chipotle powder
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 pinch cinnamon, black pepper, and clove

Dice the pork belly into long strips that are striped with fat. These technically are called lardons. Mix the pork with the lardons in a large bowl. Add everything else to a food processor and process until very smooth. Pour the sauce over the meat and thoroughly mix. Allow to sit overnight.

We then bake the chorizo in a pan like a meatloaf for about 45 minutes, but you can feel free to instead just pop it into a frying pan or on a flat grill. You will need to cook it a little longer than a normal ground beef or pork mixture to allow the pork belly to render and break down.