Homemade Chorizo Sausage

I can't get decent chorizo sausage here in Doha, to be honest I can't get any chorizo sausage here, so I decided to make my own. I used pork mince, as I had some in the freezer but for all my Halal friends, you can make it with chicken mince instead.

Traditionally it's made with oregano and cumin, but you can use whatever herbs and spices you like, I had some smoked paprika so chucked that in as well. The recipe below makes a fairly mild chorizo, if you like it spicier, up the chillies or leave the seeds in, if you like it very mild, reduce them.

I made free form chorizo, basically the meat mixture without casings, so it's not a traditional sausage, but rather a mixture that can be used on a pizza, in a Mexican chili, wrapped in pastry or in this case, on a tortilla with the typical Mexican fixings like sour cream, salsa, and a dollop of habanero sauce. 

Mexican Chorizo Sausage Meat (in tortillas)

• 500 grams minced pork (or chicken)
• 10 large dried chillies, seeds and stems removed
• 2 large cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
• 1 medium red onion, chopped finely
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar, warmed in a pot
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• to cook, olive oil and 1 teaspoon sugar, plus tortillas, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, red pepper and chili sauce

Method

1.   Place the chillies in a glass bowl, and put the onions and garlic on top. Pour on the warm vinegar and cover with plastic wrap, let sit until the vinegar cools to room temperature.

2.   Pop the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.

3.   Put the pork mince, oregano, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper into a bowl and pour on the pureed chili mixture, Mix thoroughly with your hands until well combined. This is the basic chorizo mixture and can be frozen as it is ready to use in recipes (unless you started with frozen mince, then you should cook it before freezing).

4.   To cook the chorizo, heat some olive oil in a pan over medium to high heat and fry the meat mixture until cooked, taste and adjust seasoning - I added some ground black pepper, some sugar (to offset the vinegar), and some chili flakes. 

5.  Served spooned onto tortillas and add toppings to taste.