www.sausagemaking.org

Good morning all.
Looking to step into "chorizo world"
Search shows "Search found 241 matches: chorizo"
Know that possibly 50 - 60% of these posts are from members comments to questions etc. Thinking that of the members still active here are the some favourites that you swear by that you might pass on as a head start for me. I have good mincer, separate stuffer, can smoke now and have a reasonable curing fridge so happy to try any and all suggestions. Many thanks in advance.
Spudie OZ

Are you wanting to make fresh or dried? Spanish or elsewhere?

Thanks NCPaul for your reply, in answer to the questions - not really sure.
All I know is that I have had a long held desire to reproduce "Chorizo" of any kind.
Your previous post - viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13690 - where you show cased Chorizo Aromatico from the book by the Marianski brothers, this restarted me back on that quest.
Knowing I was pretty naïve on all things "chorizo" I started researching with a purpose. I read, watched what the internet pushed at me but I stopped dreaming & decided to looked at what info I had collected over time and decided that I should start with making a selection from known to me experts, some of these appear on this Forum, also a few that I have followed on line as well. I listed these in what I thought would be the easiest to advanced to make.
Previously I did have availability of ingredients but this appears to be solved.
I guess I'm pretty much ready to get started. Just need that point to be better defined. Would appreciate some guidance from the experienced Chorizo makers on this fantastic forum. I'm ready and willing
Sorry for the long response but hey thats where I am at the moment. Really appreciate any assistance.
Spudie - Perth Oz

If it's a classic dried Spanish chorizo that you're after, Jeffrey Weiss's book Charcuteria - The Soul of Spain would be my go-to for a recipe. If you are unable to get a copy, post back here and I'll find a way to get a couple of recipes to you.

However, I can assure you that you'll not regret buying the book.

Phil

I’ll second that book recommendation
My very best chouricos are hand cut, not minced, but it is much more time consuming for large batches. Once you’ve got the hang of it try hand cutting your meat and hand stuffing with a forcing cone - I knew a 90yr old that did a whole pig weighing 90kg with only a knife, a forcing cone, a bowl, and a friend of a similar age! Anyway a hand cut chourico will have a different texture, and will have virtually no connective tissue because you’ll have removed it during the prep.
The ‘sabia’ that mentored me always put a little bit of olive oil in the mix when using hand cut meats as she felt that it reduced the risk of air pockets in the sausage.
Personally I prefer my chourico made with bell pepper paste (massa de pimentao) rather than dried paprika which is commonly available in Portugal, but much less so in Spain and which is one of the reasons for regional variations. It’s easy enough to make, but very hard to know how much salt there is in it. If you buy it from supermarkets it will have the salt content listed (usually 20%). Again, once you know what a paprika based chourico tastes like try a version make with bell pepper paste. As the bell peppers are brined for a few days and not cooked my feeling is that this is where LAB gets into the meat (and a consequence I often don’t use a culture).

Picture of hand-cut/hand-stuffed chourico:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8p984q6x ... uw9td&dl=0

This is my 'go to' chourico that I developed in 2015
I now cure at about 6C following comments on this site
I also add bay leaf powder rather than using leaves
For batches larger than 5kg I machine grind and machine stuff

Portuguese-style, rustic chourico: Hand cut, hand stuffed, smoked.

Pork Shoulder 3200 diced
(Total) Salt 60.0
Cure 2 8.0
Dextrose (glucose), 0.2% 7.0
Sugar, 0.2% 7.0
Garlic 40.0
Massa de Pimentao 175g (35g salt est)
White wine 50ml
Water 50ml
Olive oil 50ml
Bay leaves 20 fresh or dried
Casings Hog

13/10/15 hand diced to 12-15mm (meat)/6-8mm (fat), all ingredients mixed except bayleaves (no culture added), bayleaves pushed into mix, refrigerated 2 to three days
15/10/15 stuffed using hand funnel, removing bayleaves, refrigerated overnight
16/10/15 transferred to curing chamber 22C±1, 87%±3 for 3 days
19/10/15 smokehouse 72hrs, 6 10 hour "burns", oak sawdust
22/10/15 curing chamber, 14C±1, 83% Humidity (not controlled)
18/11/15 Ready for eating

Thanks for posting this Swing Swang - the photo alone is enough to make me want to make it. I was unaware that (traditional) Massa de Pimentao is a fermented product and note that many recipes bake or even boil the peppers. I assume that this produces a very inferior product? I've seen mention of salting times from 3 days to 14 days; what would you consider the optimum?

Good morning Wheels. The requirement in the Alentejo region of Portugal is to salt the uncooked bell pepper slices for a minimum of 5 days, however in traditional homesteads this was/is done for much longer as this link indicates so a certain degree of fermentation has to be happening - also as it's clean peppers that are used they start the processing in an unwashed/or lightly wiped state. When traditional uncooked massa is made it is often stored in a cool/dark place under a layer of olive oil for several months before use so a certain degree of development has to be going on.

It is possible to make a fast massa by baking bell peppers then skinning and pureeing with salt and it works incredibly well, especially if you want a smooth paste for things like piri-piri chicken. It's what I do when cooking on holiday. I would be happy to use it for charcuterie but would then always use a curing agent, whereas for a long-salted massa I don't.

https://cookpad.com/uk/recipes/368965-p ... a=see_link

I usually salt for 5-8 days, I actually don't think that it matters too much.
The really big problem with using homemade stuff is unless you have access to a lab (I don't) then you have no idea of how much salt there is in it which is significant - I 'guess' at 20% which seems about right then adjust by taste following a 'prueba' (Spanish term for taste test).
Some of my pork/back fat is sold on to someone who makes commercial venison charcuterie and we'd never be able to use a traditional massa in the UK which is a shame.

Thanks for the replies.
Just saw in my previous post that I mentioned " Previously I did have availability of ingredients but this appears to be solved." should have been I had no show in H... finding ingredients" that is now solved.
I have ordered the book "Charcuteria - The Soul of Spain" saying possible ETA is early Dec.
The book looks huge - is it true. With a book of that size it must cover a fair range of Charcuteria. Description appears to cover the lot - good deal for price. Would like to see a preview of the mentioned Chorizo if possible, but not essential as at this time I'm starting collection of ingredients to start with a couple I have selected. Can I post copies here without copy write issues? Maybe a link to site is that alright. Would really appreciate anyone of you guys comments.

Swing Swang, have copied your recipes for future use. I ferment peppers as a usual seasonal task so am used to that task. My wife will not eat anything that has been "pickled" with vinegar so I do what I have to do.

thanks and regards Spud Oz

Good morning from Oz
Quick question for Moderators - maybe these posts should be in "Sausage Recipes" . my mistake - sorry.

Below are three recipes that are amongst my selected testers. Reasons for doing these 1st are that I can follow the process on video and the recipes adapt easily to the spreadsheet I use. Also I can easily adjusted for taste and scaling. Intention is to make 1000g test batches per recipe. Mexican being #1.
Respect that these are not mine and that the writer has allowed these to be printed from on - line.
On my spreadsheet the writer is given full recognition.

Would love your thoughts please.

Chorizo Zamorano
https://twoguysandacooler.com/chorizo-zamorano/

Mexican Style Chorizo Sausage
https://twoguysandacooler.com/mexican-s ... o-sausage/

Panamanian Chorizo Criollo
https://twoguysandacooler.com/panamania ... o-criollo/

Spud in Oz

Swing Swang, many thanks for all the information.

Spudie - In my opinion Two Guys and a Cooler are a reliable source of info and recipes.

Phil

Thanks Phil, makes me feel ok about starting there.
Next will be yours from Local Food Hero's - have you changed anything since you 1st posted recipe and process. Will then follow from others sorted from here. Hoping to be able to devote some serious time to this project. rgds Spud Oz

Jeffrey Weiss - "Charcuteria - The Soul Of Spain" just arrived.
All I can say after a 30 min flick through is WOW !
Better half has made the smiling comment, "no excuses now old fellow"
Challenge accepted
Spudie Oz