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Chorizo
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Chorizo ( in American Spanish or in Castilian Spanish), Chourizo in Galician, Chouriço ( in Portuguese) or Xoriço ( in Catalan) is a term encompassing several types of pork sausage originating from the Iberian Peninsula.
Sometimes it is mispronounced as "choritso".
Chorizo can be a fresh sausage, in which case it must be cooked, but in Europe it is more frequently a fermented cured smoked sausage, in which case it is usually sliced and eaten without cooking.
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Encyclopedia
Chorizo ( in American Spanish or in Castilian Spanish), Chourizo in Galician, Chouriço ( in Portuguese) or Xoriço ( in Catalan) is a term encompassing several types of pork sausage originating from the Iberian Peninsula.
Sometimes it is mispronounced as "choritso".
Chorizo can be a fresh sausage, in which case it must be cooked, but in Europe it is more frequently a fermented cured smoked sausage, in which case it is usually sliced and eaten without cooking. Spanish chorizo and Portuguese chouriço get their distinctive smokiness and deep red color from dried smoked red peppers (pimentón/pimentão or colorau).
Chorizo can be eaten as is (sliced or in a sandwich), simmered in apple cider or other strong alcoholic beverage such as Aguardiente, barbecued or fried. Like breakfast sausage, it is used as an ingredient of other dishes. It also can be used as a partial replacement for ground beef or pork.
Spanish chorizo
Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with smoked pimentón (paprika) and salt. It is generally classed as either picante (spicy) or dulce (sweet), depending upon the type of smoked paprika used. There are hundreds of regional varieties of Spanish chorizo, both smoked and unsmoked, which may contain garlic, herbs and other ingredients. Chorizo comes in short, long, hard and soft varieties. Some of which are suited to being eaten as an appetizer or tapas, whereas others are better suited to cooking. Leaner varieties are typically better suited to tapas, eaten at room temperature, whereas fattier versions are generally used for cooking. A general rule of thumb is that long, thin chorizos are sweeter and short chorizos are spicy, although this is not always the case.
Portuguese chouriço
Portuguese chouriço is made with pork, fat, wine, paprika and salt. It is then stuffed into tripe (natural or artificial) and slowly dried over smoke. There are many different varieties, changing in color, shape, seasoning and taste. Many dishes of Portuguese cuisine and Brazilian cuisine make use of chouriço - Cozido à portuguesa and Feijoada are just two of them.
In and around Lisbon it is popular to eat partially sliced chouriço that has been flame cooked over alcohol at the table. Special glazed earthenware dishes with a lattice top are used for this purpose.
Portuguese style linguiça, can also be found in New England, San Francisco Bay Area and Hawaii , generally known as Portuguese sausages. In the heavily Portuguese-ethnic areas of Southeastern New England, there is much debate over the merits of the two; chouriço (pronounced locally as "shu-REES") is considered the spicier, more accepted alternative to the subtler flavor of linguiça, although many restaurants, especially pizzerias, use the terms interchangeably. (A general rule in area pizzerias is that chouriço is ground on the pizza, whereas linguiça is usually sliced in a manner similar to pepperoni. Both are very popular toppings.) Other popular meals include chouriço and chips (a sandwich on a long roll filled with sliced or ground chouriço and French fries, especially popular in Fall River), chouriço and eggs (a variation on the Spanish chorizo con huevos), and are a common ingredient in New England clam bakes and clam boils.
In Portugal there is also a blood chouriço (chouriço de sangue) very similar to the Black Pudding, amongst many other types of Enchidos, such as Alheira, Linguiça, Morcela, Farinheira, Chouriço de Vinho, Chouriço de ossos, Cacholeira, Paia, Paio, Paiola, Paiote, Salpicão and Tripa enfarinhada.
North America
Based on the uncooked Spanish chorizo fresco, the Mexican and Caribbean versions of chorizo are made from fatty pork (however, beef, venison, kosher, and even vegan versions are known). The meat is ground rather than chopped and different seasonings are used. This type is better known in the United States and is not frequently found in Europe.
Most Mexican chorizo is a deep reddish color, but a green variety can be found in the area of Toluca, Mexico. Mexican chorizo comes in two varieties fresh and dried, the fresh being much more common. Chorizo can be made from a variety of meat cuts, including lips, lymph nodes, and salivary glands . The meat is finely ground and stuffed in plastic tubes to resemble sausage links, though traditionally natural casings were used. Before consumption, the tubes are usually cut open and the nearly paste-like mixture is fried in a pan and mashed with a fork until it resembles finely minced ground beef.
In the United States, chorizo is generally known as a food for breakfast, although Mexican restaurants in both the United States and Mexico make tacos, burritos, and tortas with cooked chorizo and it is also a popular pizza topping. Chorizo con huevos is a popular breakfast dish in Mexico and areas of Mexican immigration in the United States. It is made by mixing fried chorizo with scrambled eggs. Chorizo con huevos is often used in breakfast burritos or taquitos. A popular Mexican recipe in which chorizo is used as an ingredient is to combine it with pinto or peruano refried beans. This is done by simply frying the chorizo and then combining it with refried beans. This combination is often used in tortas as a spread, or as a side dish where plain refried beans would normally be served. In Mexico, chorizo is also used to make the popular appetizer chorizo con queso, which is small pieces of chorizo served in or on melted cheese, and eaten with tortillas.
Tapas bars that serve Spanish-style chorizo have appeared in some United States cities.
Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic
In Puerto Rico and in the Dominican Republic, chorizo and longaniza are considered two separate meats. Spanish Chorizo is a smoked, well seasoned sausage nearly identical to the smoked versions in Spain. Puerto Rican and Dominican longanizas however, has a very different taste and appearance. Seasoned meat is stuffed into pork intestine and is formed very long by hand. It is then hung to air-dry. Longaniza can then be fried in oil or cooked with rice or beans. It is eaten with many different dishes. http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1329/595212251_07f43d7838.jpg
South America
In Argentina and Uruguay, chorizo is the name for any coarse meat sausage. Argentine chorizos normally contain pork meat and do not tend to be terribly spicy. Some Argentine chorizo producers occasionally add other types of meat in order to improve the flavor, such as cow meat.
In Chile, a fresh chorizo is known as a longaniza. In Argentina, Uruguay and Chile a fresh chorizo, cooked and served in a bread roll, is called a choripán.
In Brazil there are many varieties of Portuguese style chouriço and linguiça used in many different types of dishes, such as the Feijoada.
Goan chouriço
In Goa, a former Portuguese colony (for 451 years) in present day India, chouriço has made a deep impact among the local community. Here chouriço are deep red pork sausage links made from pork, vinegar, chili, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric and other spices and are extremely hot, spicy and flavorful. These are enjoyed either plain, or served with potatoes, or pearl onions, or both. They are also used in a dish called pulav (i.e. sausage pulav). They are never consumed raw due to health concerns, although if aged well, they do stand up.
One can find three kinds of chouriço in Goa: dry, wet, and skin. Dry chouriço is the one aged in the sun for much longer periods (e.g. 3 months or more). Wet chouriço has been aged for about a month. Skin chouriço, also aged, is rare and difficult to find. Skin chouriço consists primarily of pork skin and some fat.
All three chouriço come in variations such as hot, medium and mild. Other forms of variations that exist depend on the size of the links which range from 1 inch (smallest) to 6 inches. Typically the wet variation tends to be longer than the dry variation.
In Goa, tourists often refer to chouriço as "sausage" which causes it to be often confused with "Goan Frankfurters". These are very different from chouriço. In looks, they are similar to sausage links as found in the United States and they taste similar to Portuguese sausage links, known as Linguiça. The meat is a coarse grinding that has primarily a peppercorn flavor.
Philippines
Longaniza (Filipino: longganisa) are Philippine chorizos flavoured with indigenous spices. Longaniza making has a long tradition in the Philippines, with each region having their own specialty. Among others, Lucban is known for its garlicky longanizas; Guagua for its salty, almost sour, longanizas. Longganisang hamonado (Spanish: longaniza jamonada), by contrast, is known for its distinctive sweet taste. Unlike Spanish chorizos, longanizas can also be made of chicken, beef, or even tuna.
While longganizas are fresh sausages, there are also cured sausages in the Philippines which are called chorizos. They are available either in the Spanish style, and Chinese, and are used in dishes which have Spanish and Chinese influences, such as Philippine-style paella, and pancit Canton.
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