After several years of looking for a good Authentic Mexican chorizo at the Latin stores, and having no luck, I decided to make my own homemade Chorizo Mexicano version. It wasn’t easy at the beginning. The idea of preparing all the chorizo ingredients and stuffing the meat into the casings seemed unattractive and messy. I started using a small funnel and then found a large one and cut the tip to make it easier to work it.
Chorizo Mexicano
Mexican Chorizo Recipe
Making your own Mexican chorizo might be a daunting task for some, but once you make it, you’ll realize it was worth it and really easy. Besides you can make it into patties and freeze it, which lasts up to 6 months. The stuffing process is faster if you have a Kitchen Aid with the stuffer attachment.
Chorizo (also known as Spanish sausage or Mexican sausage) is a delicious and unique type of sausage with origins in what today are the countries of Spain and Portugal. Chorizo was brought from Europe on in its many types across the Atlantic to Latin America.
Although Spanish chorizo and Mexican chorizo share a name, and both are sausages, there are many distinct differences between the two.
Pork or beef meat are typically used to prepare Chorizo, although chicken versions exist in México. There are also more exotic versions made from iguana or ostrich meat. The process to make chorizo often includes parts of the animal that would not otherwise be used but they add a distinctive texture and unique flavor to the chorizo.
Both the Mexican and Spanish versions of chorizo are made in a variety of regional and cultural styles, all of them delicious. Since Chorizo is a vast culinary topic, we attempt to provide a basic description that applies to the most common types of chorizo. Some people ask what makes Mexican Chorizo different from the Spanish Chorizo. Mexican Chorizo includes dried peppers, and other spices like Mexican oregano, it is soft and is not usually smoked like some of the chorizos from Spain.
Mexican chorizo is commonly made with ground fresh, raw pork, pork fat and a mix of herbs and/or spices, chile peppers (for both flavor and color), and vinegar. The finished product is usually stuffed into short links inedible or inedible casings and “aged” from anywhere to one day to a week.
Chorizo from Spain and Portugal is commonly made with pork meat, though beef is not unusual as well. Its ingredients include smoked paprika, herbs, garlic, and white wine. The mix is stuffed into natural or artificial casings from short to quite a long length, fermented, and slowly smoke. The smoking helps preserve the meat and contributes greatly to the chorizo’s aroma and flavor. The final product is then air cured for several, if not many, weeks.
The Ingredients needed to make your own homemade Mexican Chorizo are easily found nowadays in many supermarkets or online.
There are many recipes using Mexican Chorizo, like Chorizo in a red salsa, chorizo with scrambled eggs, chorizo with diced potatoes, cooked for chorizo tacos, Cowboy Beans Soup, added to Tinga Poblana, etc… it will spice up your plate. Enjoy the recipe.
How to make Chorizo Recipe
Curing time: 1 day
This recipe yields 20 chorizos of about 3 inches.
- Wipe the peppers clean. Remove stems and cut lengthwise. Remove seeds and place in a bowl. Cover with hot water. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- Meanwhile, grind the spices and dry herbs using a spice grinder.
- Discard water and place the peppers in a blender. Add the vinegar and garlic cloves and puree until smooth.
- Place the pork meat and fat in a large bowl. Add the ground mixture of herbs and spices. Mix well. Add the chili sauce and combine until well mixed.
- Place in your refrigerator for a day to the season in a well-covered glass container.
- After a day, stir the mixture and wrap it in small packages, it will freeze well for months. It can also be stuffed into casings.
How to stuff the chorizo into the casings:
- Soak the casings in warm water until soft and pliable, at least 1 hour.
- Run lukewarm water through the casings to remove any salt.
- Tie a double knot in one end of the casing, and then cut off a length of casing. Gather all but a couple of inches of the casing over the nozzle of the sausage stuffer or funnel.
- Start pressing the sausage mixture through, supporting the casing with your other hand. Pack the sausage as tight as you can, but not to the point of bursting. When you have filled almost all the casing, slip the casing of the nozzle.
- For a coil, tie the sausage where the stuffing ends.
- Place the sausage on a clean table and start to make links.
- Pinch the rope into links and twist in alternating directions at the indentations. Using butcher’s twine or corn husks tie the rope of sausage at intervals.
- Randomly pick the casings with a thin toothpick or the tines of a fork to release any air that’s trapped.
- Hang the chorizo for a day in a dry room free of dust or insects.
Now your chorizo is ready!! Cook, refrigerate, smoke or use your food saver if you plan to freeze it.
HOW TO MAKE MEXICAN CHORIZO RECIPE
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. ground pork
- 6 ounces ground pork belly fat
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 8 guajillo peppers
- 6 ancho peppers
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons paprika
- 6 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/3 tbsp ground black pepper
- ½ tbsp ground cumin
- 3/4 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon dry marjoram
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 6 whole cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- Enough butcher’s twine or corn husks to tie the chorizos
- Sausage casings
Instructions
- Wipe the peppers clean. Remove stems and cut lengthwise. Remove seeds and place in a bowl. Cover with hot water and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, grind the spices and dry herbs using a spice grinder.
- Discard water and place the peppers in a blender. Add the vinegar and garlic cloves and puree until smooth; set aside.
- Place the pork meat and fat in a large bowl. Add the ground mixture of herbs and spices. Mix well. Add the chili sauce and combine until well mixed.
- Place in your refrigerator for a day to season in a well-covered glass container. This step will enhance the flavor.
- After a day, stir the mixture and wrap it in small packages, it will freeze well for months. It can also be stuffed into casings.
HOW TO STUFF THE CHORIZO INTO THE CASINGS:
- Soak the casings in warm water until soft and pliable, at least 1 hour.
- Run lukewarm water through the casings to remove any salt.
- Below are the casings and corn husks strips after 1 hour of soaking in warm water, the funnel, and the chorizo mixture.
- Tie a double knot in one end of the casing, and then cut off a length of casing. Gather all but a couple of inches of the casing over the nozzle of the sausage stuffer or funnel.
- Start pressing the sausage mixture through, supporting the casing with your other hand. Pack the sausage as tight as you can, but not to the point of bursting. When you have filled almost all the casing (or used up all the stuffing), slip the casing of the nozzle.
- For a coil, tie the sausage where the stuffing ends.
- Place the sausage on a clean table and start to make links.
- Pinch the rope into links and twist in alternating directions at the indentations. Using butcher’s twine or corn husks tie the rope of sausage at intervals.
- Randomly pick the casings with a thin toothpick or the tines of a fork to release any air that’s trapped.
- Hang the chorizo Mexicano for a day in a dry room free of dust or insects. If you wish you can cover it with a cheesecloth. This step will help to cure the meat. Some of the vinegar will drip at this stage.
Now your Mexican chorizo - Chorizo Mexicano is ready!! Cook, refrigerate, smoke or use your food saver if you plan to freeze it.
Notes
Nutrition
Authentic Mexican Chorizo recipe – Chorizo Mexicano
¡Buen provecho!
I've tried a few different recipes over the years and think this one is the best. I do have a #10 sausage stuffer but I see no reason to stuff it in to casings. Most recipes call for it to be loose and many markets sell it in bulk form. I used a 4.3# pork butt and 2# of back fat. The extra fat is what is needed for that beautiful grease to run down your arm. THAT is what makes good chorizo. I store it zip bags, one pound at a time. I cook three to four ounces every morning with two eggs, a jalapeno and some onion. Throw that in a flour tortilla with some cheese and you have the start of a wonderful day.
Mike Guappo,
Hello Mike,
I'm so glad to know you enjoyed the recipe, it was giving to my by one of my younger sister many years ago while she was studying about the Chemistry of foods. When you use the casings and hang the chorizo for a couple of days, the flavor changes after being cure without refrigeration for that time. The flavors are enhanced, I hope you try it sometime.
Saludos and happy cooking!
PS, Now, I want some chorizo with eggs! 😉
Toluca is the place to go to for the best Chorizo in Mexico. Tacos and Tortas yes, but Chorizo is a Toluca speciality. Once a year there is even a Chorizo festival here.
Hello Andrew,
Yes, one of the best chorizos can be found in Toluca. Also, in the nearby town of Lerma.
I just made this and agree it's delicious. The salt is definitely on the high end but it's what you need if you want to dry it raw. However if you just want to eat it as fresh chorizo, you can cut it to a third (i.e., 1 tsp per pound or 2 tsp for this recipe). I'll make it again.
My husband’s breakfast every day. Except corn tortillas only!
I made this for one pound of packaged ground pork, so I cut the spices in half. I'm from Texas but live in Arizona, no good chorizo to be found out here. Everybody in Texas uses Chorizo De San Miguel, it's the best. I found the taste similar, but the taste of the pork seems to be better than the san Miguel. They probably use junk pieces of meat. Next time Ill use my grinder and stuffer with some pork butt and make a larger quantity with natural casings. Thank you!
If you're in the Phoenix area, the best place for good chorizo (and hot, huge, fresh tortillas made with lard) is Carolina's at 1202 E Mohave Street.
I haven't tried your recipe yet, since I just came across it. I am from Texas, La Frontera as we call it. Across the state of Coahuila and the cit of Piedras Negras. I read your recipe and since I to have a Kitchen Aid I intend to try this recipe, have tried others before and typically use a chorizo called APCO, from San Antonio. I grew up with that but am always searching for more authentic, regional or home made recipes. I will try this and let you know how it came out, thanks for sharing. Mi abuelita viene de Monterrey pero llego a los EEUU muy chica que nunca cocino con las recetas de su mama que fallezo durante su juentud. !Gracias!
Hola Mely, quiero tratar esta receta de chorizo, yo vivo en Montreal y no encuentro por ningún lado buen chorizo,
mi pregunta es si es necesario usar los casings, podría solamente guardarlos en bolsitas de plástico, sacarles el aire y congelarlos sin curar?
Hola Lety,
Si los puedes hacer, aunque como no se curaría bien el chorizo, trata de dejarlo en el refrigerador ya preparado y sin embolsar por unos dos días. Vas a ver que va soltando líquido, ese líquido se lo quitas, y ya después lo guardas en bolsitas en el congelador.
gracias, lo voy a tratar
Mely, thanks for your recipe!! We have loved it, and we make it a few times a year in bulk, here’s our quantities (note the addition of the chipotle peppers):
16 lbs. ground pork
2 lbs. ground pork belly fat
8 tablespoons salt
30 guajillo peppers
22 ancho peppers
6 chipotle peppers
2 cups white vinegar (may need to add more)
1 cup paprika
20 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
6 bay leaves (I now use powdered bay)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons ground cumin
4 tablespoons Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons dry marjoram
4 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons dry thyme
15 cloves
3 teaspoons ground allspice
Hello, Paparon
Thank you for sharing this valuable information with our readers.
I have an abundance of ground pork from a pig we slaughtered recently, and decided to try my hand at making chorizo. I am so glad I found this recipe! The blend of spices and peppers made the perfect flavor. Even more tasty than the chorizo at the local market. I let it sit in the refrigerator for a day and then cooked it instead of stuffing into casings. We ate it in tacos. Next time I will cut the salt a little if I don’t plan on stuffing it, but I will use this recipe again and again. I am so happy I can make my own chorizo now! Gracias Mely!
Hello Margaret,
Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know about your experience using the recipe for Mexican Chorizo. I’m so glad to know you like it. Check all the recipes using chorizo here in the blog. RECIPES WITH CHORIZO
So if I didn’t add the extra fat (couldn’t find any) how long will it keep uncased in the fridge? I want to leave it in there long enough for the vinegar to separate so I can drain it. Thanks!
Hello Michelle,
It will keep well for about 2-3 days. Then you will have to freeze it.
Hello, will be making this chorizo this weekend, do I use the skin from the pork belly or just the fat?
Thank you
Hello Wanda,
Only the fat part.
Hello,
Not sure if my message from today was posted, but I just want to say thank you for your fast response. I made my chorizo today and can’t wait to see what it will look like tomorrow! I didn’t use the casings, but I think that I’m suppose to leave it in the fridge for a few days.
Wanda
Mely, all I can say is wao!!! My chorizo was delicious!!! The best I have ever tasted, never again buying it canned or already packaged. I followed the recipe just the way it’s written, The only thing I changed was the vinegar. I used only half a cup as I didn’t use the casings. For those of you that are concerned about how long to leave it in the fridge to cure, I left it for 4 days but used it on the 3rd day to make my tacos. It didn’t dripped a lot of vinegar at a time, so what I did I used paper towel every day to suck up the vinegar. I would use the paper towel all over it to absorb as much as possible. I don’t think I have to go to my local Mexican taco truck anymore more :). My husband loved it to as well my co-workers. This was my first time making chorizo and the first recipe that I found while looking for one and it will be the only one from now on. I’m in love with it. This batch is now almost gone and I’m ready for a second round!
Thank you Mely! From Spfld MA
Wanda
Hello Wanda,
I’m so happy to know you liked the chorizo recipe. Thank you for coming back and sharing all your tips.
Made this a few days ago with small changes to the recipe and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days, pouring off liquid daily. This made the mixture not so wet. I also put in half the salt called for based on a previous review. I also used 10 lbs of ground pork and times the recipe accordingly. I didn’t add the extra fat because my pork was a bit fatty to begin with. It is the best Chorizo I have ever eaten. Thanks for the recipe.
Hello Heidi,
Thank you for coming back and write about the changes you made to the recipe. I’m sure it will be of help to other readers. I’m so glad to know you like it.
Hello! –
I am vegan and do not consume any animal products. But a recipe like this can be easily adapted to whole food plant based eating. There are numerous meat analogues now on the market that can be used. But cooked beans can also be used as the medium. The magic is in the spicing and flavoring no matter what the base medium. I intend to make this because of the wonderful mix of spicing. I can tell already my family will love this recipe. THANK YOU so much for posting this for us! 🙂
Hello G. E. Boroush,
I hope you come back and let us know about your vegan version of chorizo. Happy Cooking!
My mother and I made chorizo using this recipe and were surprised as to how easy it is to make at home. We will never buy chorizo ever again. Next time we will also be adding Pasilla and Cascabel chili peppers to this recipe to give it a kick of spice. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us!!!
Hello GregN
Thank you for trying the recipe. Enjoy!