Look, it’s not really my chorizo, it’s practically a recipe someone gave me and I think I just added more heat and – surprise, surprise – more smoked pimentón (Spanish paprika). That’s pretty much how I roll. I simply add more heat and smoky flavour to everything – although this approach is not recommended for baking a cake. I’ve tried a few other chorizo recipes and found them not chorizo-y enough or too salty or too something else that made me less than excited, so I’ve been using this recipe over and over again. If you haven’t noticed by now, I have a bit of a thing for good chorizo. And I’m talking Spanish chorizo not Mexican. Although they both have their place, this recipe is for the cured Spanish version. And it’s the porky pearl of my chorizo dreams.
I’ve shared it with heaps of people – the finished product, not the recipe – and everyone’s said it tastes like Spanish chorizo. I guess that’s because it stays true to the formula of keeping it simple and honest.
One highlight for me recently was handing a chorizo to a pig-farming salami-making guru friend of mine, Tammi, and her saying I’ve nailed it. I guess now she might understand my lack of interest in her salami recipes.
The first time I made a batch of chorizo, the butcher made the mix too fatty. Tammi and I recommend 25 per cent pork fat to meat. If you buy a packet of natural sausage casings, prepare a small batch initially, then get more ready if you have left-over sausage mix.