Turkey Chorizo Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is turkey chorizo made of? ›

Place turkey, vinegar, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, cumin, coriander, oregano, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Mix well using your hands. Refrigerate for best flavor, 8 hours to overnight.

Skip the Boiling

Some recipes might direct you to boil fresh chorizo before grilling it. However, when you boil chorizo, the fat melts, resulting in dry sausage. If you're grilling chorizo, you can rotate your links often to ensure they cook thoroughly. Doing this can help you enjoy more flavorful chorizo!

It's Spicy

Mexican chorizo is typically seasoned with vinegar and chile peppers, while Spanish chorizo is made with garlic and pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika, either sweet or hot), which gives it its deep brick-red color and smoky flavor.

Raw chorizo is typically bright red, while cooked chorizo will turn a duller red or even a light brown [2]. Keep an eye on the color change as an additional visual indicator of doneness. Texture: The texture of cooked chorizo should be firm and crumbly, rather than soft and mushy like when it is raw [2].

In the US, Mexican chorizo is typically the most widely available. Less expensive brands of Mexican chorizo are often made from finely ground and seasoned organ meat (spleen is a popular choice) and put into plastic casings from which you squeeze out the filling before cooking.

The chorizo is made with chopped pork meat and pork fat, seasoned with paprika and garlic, all stuffed into natural gut. The red color so characteristic of chorizo is gived by a special paprika known as "pimenton". This feature is what makes different Spanish chorizo from other sausages elsewhere.

Chorizo can be bought as a whole sausage of either soft cooking chorizo – which must be cooked before eating – or a firmer, drier cured sausage that can be sliced and eaten without cooking. It is also sold thinly sliced, like salami, to be enjoyed raw as tapas.

Is chorizo an unhealthy choice? Being a cured meat variety, chorizo has a high amount of sodium and saturated fat in it. It cannot be suitable for many people with special health conditions, and also for those who maintain a healthy diet. Therefore, it is advised to consume in moderation.

I love pairing chorizo with clams, bell peppers and, surprisingly, pears, which balance out the smoky heat of the chorizo with a fresh, sweet flavor. All of these types can be used interchangeably, but don't forget to cook the fresh Mexican variety before eating!

Why is chorizo expensive? ›

The quality of charcuterie depends on the pig. Most chorizos come from white pigs but the best (and most expensive) come from the Iberico pigs and are known as Chorizo Ibérico.

Some of the cheapest commercial chorizos use offal stuffed in inedible plastic casing to resemble sausage links, rather than muscle meat. Before consumption, the casing is usually cut open and the sausage is fried in a pan and mashed with a fork until it resembles finely minced ground beef.

As you cook the chorizo, it will break apart similar to ground meat and produce grease. Consistently stir the chorizo until it has fully cooked, and drain any excess fat at the end of the cooking process.

Spanish chorizo is made safe to eat through a curing process, so you don't need to cook it. Food poisoning is common and can cause severe illness that can lead to hospitalization. Make sure to cook Mexican chorizo to 160^oF to reduce your risk of foodborne illness. Spanish chorizo is not raw, however — it's cured.

Vacuum-packed cured chorizo lasts up to two months when stored properly in the fridge. Once opened or cooked, the longevity of chorizo diminishes; it is advisable to consume it within seven days to experience its prime taste and texture.

Chorizo is made with intestines, because it's a sausage and sausage is packed into pork casings, which are made from intestine. But chorizo is mostly comprised of highly seasoned ground pork. Whether it's fresh or dried and the particular recipe vary by chorizo-making tradition.

commercial grocery store Chorizo is often made with the less expensive cuts and trimmings of pork/beef and may have things like lymph nodes and salivary glands listed on the ingredients.

The Cut. The bife de chorizo cut is entrecôte (which in French means between the ribs) and comes from the dorsal part of the cow, specifically the back part of the loin. After cutting it from the cow, bife de chorizo has a rib which the butcher or chef separates from the meat before cooking.