What Makes Argentine Chorizo So Addictive?
We discovered these incredible sausages while shopping in a WalMart in Mazatlan, Mexico and are we ever glad we did! Much different from Mexican or Spanish Chorizo, you will want to add this fine specimen to your sausage arsenal. (Everyone should have a sausage arsenal!)
Things to know:
What is chorizo in Argentina?
Argentinian chorizo is a fresh, uncured pork (or beef/pork mix) sausage seasoned with garlic, paprika, and wine, known for being juicy and flavorful, and is a staple at asados (barbecues) and as street food. It’s most famously served grilled in a sandwich called a choripán, split open and topped with chimichurri sauce. Unlike Spanish chorizo, it’s not cured, and unlike Mexican chorizo, it’s not typically spicy with vinegar and chiles.
How is Argentinian chorizo different?
While Argentinian chorizo is seasoned with wine, paprika, and garlic, Mexican chorizo is seasoned with vinegar and chile peppers, making it quite spicy. The spice in Mexican chorizo means that it is usually enjoyed as ground meat in eggs or other dishes, while Argentinian chorizo is typically eaten in sausage form.
How to eat Argentinian chorizo?
The most traditional way to serve Argentinian Choripan is on a section of French-style bread that’s crusty enough for you to rip up the roof of your mouth. A hot dog roll just isn’t going to cut it here. Baguette holds up nicely to all of the juices from the chimichurri recipe, grilled chorizo, and salsa a la criolla.
What is the number one selling sausage in America?
While pinpointing a single “number one” is tricky due to different categories (breakfast, dinner, hot dogs), Johnsonville is a dominant brand, especially for breakfast and bratwursts, and hot dogs (frankfurters) are the most consumed type of sausage overall in the U.S., with brands like Nathan’s Famous and Oscar Mayer leading that specific market. Other major players include Hillshire Farm, Eckrich, and Jimmy Dean, with hot dogs and breakfast links being incredibly popular forms.
What is a sausage arsenal?
We have no idea what he is talking about.
Ingredients
2 1/4 pounds pork shoulder
3/4 pound bacon ends (or chopped bacon)
2 pounds venison or beef
30 grams kosher salt
5 t coarsely ground black pepper
3 T paprika
3 to 5 garlic cloves, minced, about 2 T
3/4 cup red wine
1. Get out about 10 feet of hog casings, rinse thoroughly and soak them in warm water.
2. Cut the meat and bacon into chunks you can fit into your meat grinder.
3. Mix the salt with the meats and bacon until every piece has a little on it. Chuck the meat into your refrigerator overnight if you want, but let it sit in the fridge at least an hour or so; this helps develop myosin in the mixture, which helps the texture of the finished sausage.
4. When you are ready to grind, add all the other spices and mix well. Put the meat in the freezer until it is between 30°F and 40°F. Put your grinder parts (auger, dies, blades, etc) in the freezer, too, and put a bowl in the fridge.
5. If you have multiple dies for your grinder, grind one-quarter of the mixture through a very coarse die, say, 9 mm. Grind the rest through a 6.5 mm die. If you don’t have anything larger than a 6.5 mm, which is the standard “coarse” die, just use it.
6. Once the meat is ground, put it in a large bin or bowl and add the wine. Mix well with your (very clean) hands for 2 to 3 minutes — a good indicator of temperature is that your hands should ache with cold when you do this. You want to to mix until the meat binds to itself. You can also do this in a stand mixer set on its lowest setting, but I find you don’t get as good a bind as you do when you do it by hand.
7. You now have chorizo. Now you need to stuff the links. Stuffing sausage is easier with two people, one to fill the links, the other to coil. Stuff the links and pinch or twist off links about an inch longer than bun length.
8. Let the links set overnight, then the next day, heat your smoker to 250F. You may consider using a smoke tube also if you are using a pellet smoker to get more of that amazing smoke flavor. Smoke the links for about an hour, until they hit 165F internal. You can now freeze them for later use, or chuck them on a bun with some chimichurri. ENJOY!
Chimichurri is a fantastic accompaniment to any meat. Red Chimichurri takes it to the next level. After tasting this masterpiece, we will never make “regular” chimichurri again!
Equipment used:
Yoder YS640S Smoker
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