A Spanish dry-cured sausage with paprika and hot chili that you make yourself
A few thin slices of hot chorizo on bread, and cocktail hour has begun. Its firm meat, colored by the paprika, has an intense, spicy flavor that livens up tapas and stews alike. Making it at home takes a meat grinder, casings, and a little patience while it dries.
What Is Hot Chorizo?
Hot chorizo is the spicy version of Spanish chorizo: a dry-cured pork sausage seasoned with a carefully balanced blend of spices. Paprika gives it its color, and hot chili gives it its heat.
It’s enjoyed in thin slices with bread, as tapas, or cooked in stews, where it lifts the whole dish.
From the Romans to Pimentón
Chorizo is a traditional sausage that has evolved over the centuries into an institution in Spain. Its origins go back to Roman times, when meat curing was already well developed. Smoked garlic sausage follows an entirely different method: it is smoked and then poached, whereas chorizo is dried raw.
Its current form, however, dates from the 16th century, after chili peppers brought back from the Americas by Spanish explorers arrived in Spain. Ground into paprika (pimentón), either sweet or hot, it gave rise to several varieties of chorizo, including hot chorizo, prized for its bold, spicy flavor.
The Main Ingredients in Hot Chorizo
The meat combines pork shoulder, which forms the meaty base, and pork belly, which brings fat and flavor. The mixture is stuffed into hog casings.
Paprika provides the color and the characteristic spicy flavor. Hot chili intensifies the heat, whole black peppercorns heighten the kick, and cumin brings a warm, earthy note.
Garlic, oregano, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs round out the aromas. Salt takes care of both seasoning and preservation.
This recipe follows the traditional method, without nitrite curing salt: the salt quantities, temperatures, and times given are what ensure preservation and must be followed to the letter, with impeccable hygiene. If you prefer an extra margin of safety, you can replace part of the salt with 0.6% nitrite curing salt, measured according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
A recipe by Christophe BASTOUILH
Equipment
- Meat grinder
Ingredients
- 1150 g pork stew meat
- 500 g pork belly
- 50 g paprika
- 3 garlic cloves
- 7 g black pepper whole
- 5 g hot chili pepper
- 4 g cumin
- 5 g oregano
- 5 leaves of bay
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 35 g salt
- Hog casings, 30 mm diameter
Instructions
- Soak the casings in a bowl of cold water for 1 hour.
- Cut the meat into pieces, remove the rind from the pork belly, and take out any bits of cartilage or bone.
- Place in a mixing bowl.
- Grind all the spices very finely with the salt and pepper. Add them to the meat and mix so that the seasoning is evenly distributed.
- Pass the meat through a meat grinder fitted with an 8 mm plate.
- Slide a casing onto the sausage stuffing tube (19mm) and tie a knot in the end of the casing, then push the meat through, holding the casing with your hand to keep it steady and maintain an even diameter.
- Let dry in a humid place (70% humidity and a temperature of around 12°C) for at least 3 weeks.
