Easy Homemade Chorizo Sausage

Easy Homemade Chorizo Sausage

You know St. John's, Newfoundland is not the best place in the world to find a wide variety of ingredients for my cooking experiments but still, I persevere. Don't get me wrong, things have gotten much better over the last 20 years or so with much more available than at one time. This recipe however, still does not rely on fresh or even canned or bottled chipotle or other hot peppers that you may not be able to find locally, instead it relies on the contents of your spice rack to bring great seasoning to the meat in this tasty pork sausage.

While you can get the dry chorizo form of this sausage in at least one local supermarket, I have never had the fresh version in this neck of the woods. Chorizo sausage is one of my favorites, especially as a slightly spicy little kick-start to your day at breakfast. They are great smoked or grilled and tossed with peppers and a quick tomato sauce then served on pasta. Another favorite recipe idea that we will be featuring soon, is to add some of this chorizo to burgers which we then like to top with guacamole. That's one of the tastiest things you will have off the grill this summer.

Easy Homemade Chorizo Sausage

This recipe makes about 4 pounds of sausage, part of which we will portion into freezer packages to enjoy later. I do use my sausage stuffer attachment to my Kitchen Aid Mixer to make some link sausages but I also freeze some of the loose sausage meat, formed into patties to enjoy for breakfast or to add to those burgers we mentioned earlier. Check your local butcher supply shop for sausage casings or get them online.

• 3 1/2 to 4 pounds of coarsely ground pork butt (NOT LEAN)

Mix together:

• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tbsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
• 2 tbsp granulated onion
• 3 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tbsp chipotle powder
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 cloves finely minced fresh garlic

Divide the ground pork into roughly four portions, adding each portion to a large bowl one at a time and creating layers by sprinkling 1/4 of the spice mix over each layer of meat. This helps to evenly distribute the seasoning through the sausage without over mixing it. Mix together:

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup water

Pour over the layered pork and seasoning and mix well. Stuff into prepared sausage casings or portion into one pound packages and freeze for later use.

As a totally delicious weekend brunch idea, especially if you are entertaining is to try some of our homemade chorizo sausage with an over easy egg and spicy fresh tomato compote on fried ciabatta bread. Find the recipe for our Spicy Tomato Compote by clicking here.

Easy Homemade Chorizo Sausage with egg and spicy quick tomato compote on fried ciabatta bread.