Homemade Green Chorizo

As promised, here’s the easiest way to make some homemade green chorizo.  I’ve been eating this all week and I think it’s a good option for anyone who likes a bit of chorizo with their eggs, or in some tacos, or on pizza 🙂

We’re using the same express style that we used in our Red Chorizo recipe so it’s worth checking that out if you haven’t read it yet, but I’ll hit all the key points in this post too.

Homemade Green Chorizo Recipe

Remember, it’s the fat that makes sausage taste like sausage.   And one of the advantages of building your own batch is that it makes it easy to control how much fat you have in your chorizo (sausage).

Back fat is frequently used to increase the fat content of sausage.   For reference, here’s what pork back fat looks like.

That’s two pounds of back fat that we used to render some lard at home.  More details on that here.

But remember, this is the express version of homemade chorizo.  So instead of driving to a butcher to buy some back fat, you can get by using a fatty cut of ground pork.

That’s two pounds of ground pork shoulder with plenty of fatty bits.  Using a cut like this puts us in the sausage realm while keeping the fat content lower.

If your choices for ground pork look monochrome without any white bits then you might want to consider adding some fat, or finding a different cut of ground pork.

Okay enough fat talk, this is green chorizo after all so what makes it green?  Poblanos and serranos give it a healthy dose of spice, while cilantro and parsley give it a vibrant, lighter flavor.

Roasting the poblanos takes the longest so it’s best to start with that.   Give them a good rinse and put them in the oven at 400F.

They’ll need about 20-25 minutes total roasting time.  You are welcome to flip them over once halfway through.

Once roasted, pull off as much of the skin as you can but don’t worry about getting every last bit.

Cut off the stems and de-seed the poblanos.  It’s okay if you have a few seeds straggling behind.

Add these to a blender along with:

1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 bunch parsley
2-3 serrano peppers
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
freshly cracked pepper
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
splash of water

You can discard the bottom, thicker stems of the cilantro and parsley.

Blend until combined but it’s okay to leave it a little bit chunky.

Add the blender mixture to 2 lbs. of ground pork.

Use a spoon or your hands to thoroughly combine the pork and the poblano mixture.

And since this is the express version we aren’t going to bother building links out of this batch.  Ziplocs with a half pound in each will work just fine.

Put one in the fridge where it will keep for a few days, and put the others in the freezer where they’ll be good for at least a month.

And if you can’t wait to try it then build a little patty and fry it up in some oil or butter.

You can cook it as you would any other sausage.  Give it 3-5 minutes on each side over medium-high heat and crumble it into bits if you want it to cook faster.

You’re left with a vibrant, spicy chorizo that will work wonders in tacos and egg dishes.  And pizza 🙂  So good!

Give this green chorizo recipe a try, it’s a versatile meat to have in your fridge and gives you quick access to loads of satisfying meals.  Sound good?

Buen Provecho.