There will be no hog casings or meat grinders in this homemade chorizo post. All you really need is ground pork, some dried chili peppers, and the simple belief that it’s easier than it sounds.
So consider this the express version of chorizo making, designed for people who don’t have time to make their own chorizo.
You’ll still end up with a final product that’s superior to commercial grade chorizo, and this recipe comes with the added bonus of being adaptable to the dried chili peppers you have on hand.
Homemade chorizo Recipe
Unlike the dried and cured Spanish version, Mexican chorizo is sold fresh and typically flavored with the very foundation of Mexican cuisine…dried chili peppers.
Luckily there is tremendous leeway on the type of chili peppers you can use. In other words, it’s hard to go wrong when you combine reconstituted chili peppers and sausage so I highly recommend just going for it.
I’m using a half Ancho, half New Mexican combo:
That’s four Ancho dried chilis and five New Mexican chilis. I’m a big fan of Ancho peppers so I use them every chance I get, but using all New Mexican chilis, or even all Guajillo chilis, is a viable option.
The other thing to keep in mind is that Anchos and New Mexican chilis are mild by nature, so this will be a less fiery version of chorizo. If you want to amp up the heat you can always add in a few Chiles de Arbol or even some Cayenne.
Start by wiping off the peppers with a damp towel. Then cut off the stems and de-seed the chilis, but don’t worry about getting rid of every last seed.
I usually roast these in a 450F oven for 1-2 minutes, partly to enhance flavor and partly for the aroma that fills the kitchen. You can also flash them on a hot skillet for 30-60 seconds and get a similar effect. Just be sure not to burn them or they will turn bitter.
Add the chilis to a bowl and cover with the hottest tap water you’ve got. Let the chilis reconstitute for 20-30 minutes. (More info on reconstituting dried chilis.)
If they float to the surface you can use a small bowl or plate to keep them submerged.
Drain the chilis and discard the soaking liquid. Add them to a blender along with 1/2 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 Tablespoon salt, some freshly cracked pepper, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, and a splash of water.
Blend until you’re left with a thick paste. You can always add another splash of water if it’s having trouble blending.
Okay, a quick word on sausage…
Like it or not, sausage is made possible by fat. So if you are starting with super lean ground pork and want to avoid adding fat to it then most likely you’ll be disappointed with the result.
One route is to buy fat separately and add it to the ground pork. Back fat is frequently used and can sometimes be purchased from local butchers. (More info on back fat in our home rendered lard post.)
Or you can start with ground pork that has a higher fat content. That’s what we are doing here and it fits well with our express version model.
See all the fatty bits? That’s enough to send us into Mexican chorizo territory, but of course you are welcome to up the fat content even more if you want to. I was quite happy using just this ground pork so I’ll probably be sticking with this method for the foreseeable future.
Okay, add the blender mixture to the ground pork and combine well using a spoon or your hands.
And that’s it. Easy right? You’re left with two pounds of deliciously seasoned express chorizo that gives you instant access to a wide range of Mexican dishes.
You can store this homemade chorizo as you would fresh sausage. And since we are bypassing the intestinal casings for this batch, breaking it up into 1/2 lb. chunks and storing in Ziplocs works just fine. I keep one in the fridge where it will last for a few days, and put the others in the freezer.
I’ve been using this chorizo all week to make some epic breakfast burritos; I’ll put up a recipe for those next week. I also want to try out a chorizo jalapeno pizza, and down the road I’ll put up a recipe for an express batch of green chorizo.
In the meantime, don’t forget that this recipe is willing to be customized based on what you have in your kitchen. It’s as if this chorizo is willing to do just about anything to make its way into your fridge 🙂
Buen Provecho.
This is the express version of homemade chorizo. Don't forget that there is lots of leeway in the chili pepper combo you use.
- 2 lbs. ground pork
- 4 Ancho dried chilis
- 5-6 New Mexican dried chilis
- 1/2 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon salt
- freshly cracked pepper
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- splash water
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Start by wiping off the dried chilis with a damp towel. De-stem and de-seed the chilis, but don't worry about getting rid of every last seed.
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Roast the chilis for 1-2 minutes in a 450F oven, or you can flash them on a hot skillet for 30-60 seconds.
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Place the chilis in a bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let the chilis reconstitute for 20-30 minutes. You can use a small bowl or plate to keep them submerged.
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Drain the chilis and discard the soaking liquid. Add the chilis to a blender along with 1/2 onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 tablespoon salt, some freshly cracked pepper, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, and a splash of water. Blend until you have a thick paste.
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Add blender mixture to 2 lbs. of uncooked ground pork and combine well using a spoon or your hands.
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I store these in 1/2 lb. chunks using Ziplocs. I keep one in the fridge where it will keep for a few days and store the others in the freezer.
Cook as you would traditional sausage. I use a skillet over medium-high heat and give it 3-5 minutes on each side.
Chile de Arbols or Cayenne can be added if you want a more fiery version.
Starting with a higher fat content ground pork will make it taste more like "sausage". You always have the option of adding additional fat.
Don't worry about tracking down Mexican oregano if you don't have any. You can use traditional oregano or omit it altogether.
I ca’t wait to try this! I love chorizo and think it will be fun to make!
Thanks for the recipe, Patrick!
Yeah go for it Peg, it is super easy 🙂
This is my mom’s chorizo recipe, minus the oregano. This tastes so much better than the store bought type.
I made this & added to scrambled eggs; yummm! I also plan on frying it, then adding to refried beans made from frijoles de la olla. This will then be used to make tostadas.
Thanks so much for this recipe! As I previously stated, this is just like my mom’s. She never wrote it down, so after she died, I had no idea how to recreate it. Love the flavors, & it wasn’t greasy. I’m in hog heaven!
Great, thanks much for the feedback Esther! I’ve been in hog heaven for the past week too 🙂
Chorizo bean tostadas sound awesome….
I’m really excited to make this! Looks simple enough–I have had a hard time finding dried peppers at my local store though, will have to check out the bigger stores in a different area to get them.
Yeah it’s super simple Erin and always good to have some chorizo in the fridge. Hmmm…any Latin markets in your area?
Can you use regular sausage, like Jimmy Dean, instead of ground pork? I’ve not had much luck making chorizo with ground pork. Also, the last batch I tried to make, I could really taste the cloves and it was not pleasing to me, I think I’ll leave it out next time. Thanks for the recipe!
Hola Patty! I know what you mean when you say you haven’t had much luck making chorizo with ground pork. Sometimes it doesn’t taste like sausage right? I think that usually happens when the fat content of the ground pork is low, so don’t forget that you could always experiment with adding some back fat to the ground pork.
But your idea of using something like Jimmy Dean should work too. Keep in mind though that those products typically have already been seasoned quite a bit, so you might not need to add any additional salt to the batch. But I would think that loading it up with the chili flavor would make it taste pretty darn good! Let me know how it goes!
Hi Patrick, I finally got around to making the chorizo with Jimmy Dean mild sausage. It took me a while to find the chiles (I live in NW Florida so they are not easy to come by, but I finally found a Mexican grocery store). It came out pretty dang good tasting! I’m gonna play around with the Chiles in the next batch. It wasn’t quite hot enough for me even though I added some ground Chile de arbol. Thank you for the recipe!
Wow that is great news, thanks much for getting back to me about the results! And now you’ve got a Mexican market that you can always go back to, even better!
Hmmm if you are looking for more heat then you could always consider some Chile Pequins if you’re not getting results from the Chile de Arbols. Pequins are super fiery and most likely the Hispanic market would carry them. I’ll put a link below that gives a few more details on them. Cayenne would also be a quick way to add some additional zing. Cheers Patty!
Chile Pequin Salsa
Doubled this recipe with 2#s pork, and 2#s venison. Turned out great, I even put some in casings.
Pork + venison — nice!
Can I leave out the salt? We are on low sodium diets.
The paste seemed like a lot for two pounds – it would have made it very wet. Is that correct? I did not use it all because I did not want wet chorizo. Also, I tried your trick of adding lard to one pound of lean ground pork. I added three tablespoons, do you think that was enough? So this is two questions, plus one I posted just a minute ago, which was: Can I leave out the salt, or is it necessary for the curing process? We all have high blood pressure over here. That is why I am trying making it instead of buying it.
Thanks.
Hi thanks for getting in touch!
It shouldn’t be too goopy so you can leave out some of the paste if you want to. I try to add as much flavor as I can without it becoming goopy so you can definitely use less if you want to.
Can I ask which lard you’re using? Or are you using back fat? Just curious because I’m not a huge fan of shelf-safe lard and I probably wouldn’t add that in — but back fat or high quality lard are good options.
And yes, you are welcome to leave out the salt as it’s not crucial to the recipe as there is no curing going on, it’s just in there for seasoning. Of course, without the salt it’s going to be a little more bland.
Okay I hope this helps a bit, let me know if you have any other questions! Cheers.
The next day some of the paste seemed as if it had been absorbed, so I added the rest of it. I was too impatient and I did not want to waste or store it. I did use an off-the-shelf lard because I had already made two long trips to the Mexican grocery, Fiesta, and I did not want to go all the way back. I divided it into two one pound bags, so I will see which is better. I would have used a higher fat ground pork, but the leaner one was lower in sodium.
The brand lard I used is Morrell Snow Cap lard.
I am going to cook a little bit tomorrow and see how it tastes. Thanks.
Okay thanks much for the update I hope it worked out for you. I tend to stay away from shelf-safe lard and think it’s worth seeking out some farmer direct lard if possible or of course, rendering your own. Cheers.
This is perfect, I can’t wait to dig in! Do you have any suggested recipes to try this with? I’m thinking tacos or a hash but wanted to know if you had any preferred dishes for the Chorizo to feature in.
Thanks David! Here are some great options for using the chorizo:
Chorizo Breakfast Burritos
Chorizo and Eggs
Pickled Tomatillo and Chorizo Pizza