Recipe: Texas Chorizo

In Australian butcher cases there is a cured meat sausage called chorizo, but sources tell me that its chorizo in the Portuguese style.

In Texas breakfast tacos, chorizo is a spicy, so chili-laden that it’s brick red, uncured fine mince.  Unmistakable for any other meat. It’s usually greasy as hell, too, but this recipe is not.

This recipe is from Robb Walsh’s The Tex-Mex Cookbook (and before that comes from a recipe published in the 70’s by El Chico Restaurants) with some small changes by me that take the recipe a little closer to what you’d get in an Austin taco stand.

It’s really really fast to make, especially if you just grab some pork mince from the butcher instead of cutting & grinding your own.  Robb recommends getting fatty boneless pork chops, cut into pieces, instead of mince, if you’re asking.

El Chico’s Chorizo +

I just dump everything into the food processor and process until its mixed well.  Then into the skillet or freezer.

Makes 1 1/4 cups

.5 K pork mince
4 tsp Real Chili Powder (or whatever you have labelled “chili/chilli powder”)
6 tsp spicy paprika
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 T red wine vinegar
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped into quarters – you want about a half-cup in volume as onion size is relative.

If you’re feeling crazy you can dial up the chili powder or add cayenne to taste.