Mexican Chorizo with my Favourite Tequila- Siempre

A worthy sausage to demonstrate at the sausage making class.  We made it into coils (a la boerowors), into sausages and into patties.  Chorizo is also versatile- eat it in a bun, crumble it into tacos, eggs, wrap puff pastry around it- oh the things you can serve!

Val and I made pork chorizo then experimented with poultry chorizo.  Both varieties well seasoned and "doused" with my favourite tequila.  Delicious.

This recipe makes 10lbs of sausage.

Delicious Mexican chorizo with my favourite tequila.

Ingredients:

10 lbs      ground pork, not too lean
6 tbsp      kosher salt, about 3 tablespoons
2 tbsp      sugar
6  cloves  garlic, minced
4 tbsp      Mexican oregano*
4 tsp        ground cumin
2 tsp        chipotle powder*
2 tbsp      cayenne
6 tbsp      ancho chile powder*
4 tbsp      achiote paste*
1/2 cup    tequila- preferably Siempre tequila
1/2 cup    red wine vinegar
hog casings

* can be found at a Mexican grocer or buy it online

Directions:

Before you begin, make sure your stuffer, bowls, utensils are scrupulously clean - I wash everything in hot soapy water to which I have added  a little bit of bleach.  Clean your countertops with the bleached water.  Soak the casings in a bowl of warm water to remove the salt.  Rinse them.

1. Your butcher can grind the meat for you. Mix together the salt, sugar, and all the seasonings, except the achiote paste, the tequila and the vinegar.  Add to the well chilled meat mixture and mix- I use my very clean hands to do the job. Refrigerate overnight if you can, or at least for an hour.
2. Take out some hog casings and set in a bowl of very warm water. Mix the tequila and vinegar with the achiote paste and chill it in the fridge.
3. Make sure the meat mixture is very cold before moving on to the next step: You want it between 27°F and 35°F.
4. Add the tequila-achiote mixture and mix thoroughly either using a Kitchenaid on low for 60 to 90 seconds or with your (very clean) hands. This is important to get the sausage to bind properly. Once it is mixed well, put it back in the fridge and clean up.
5. Stuff the sausage into the casings. Twist off links.
6. Hang the sausages in a cool place for up to 4 hours (the colder it is, the longer you can hang them). Once they have dried a bit, put in the fridge until needed. They will keep for at least a week in the fridge. If you are freezing the sausages, wait a day before doing so. 

WANNA PLAY?  I made a poultry version using half ground chicken and half ground turkey, with chicken skin added to provide extra fat.  You can adjust the spices or just use the same proportions as for the pork version.  For an extra bite, we added fermented jalapeños and some of the juice to the mixture.