Homemade Chorizo
2 pounds boneless pork with some fat
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons
dried oregano 1 teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper 2 teaspoons
cumin seed, crushed very fine
1 tablespoon
sea salt 4 to 6 tablespoons powdered
red chile, preferably New Mexican, Californian, or mixed or 4 to 6 tablespoons powdered
red chile and pureéd chipotle en adobo
1 to 2 teaspoons chile seeds, reserved from whole chiles (optional)
1/4 cup
paprika 1/2 cup red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
2 tablespoons port wine
Cut the pork into small pieces and grind them in a food processor with short pulses so as not to purée them. Transfer to a bowl.
Combine the garlic, oregano, pepper, cumin, salt, chile powder (if you like spiciness, use the larger amount of chile), chile seeds, paprika, vinegar, and port for a traditional touch.
Add the spice mixture to ground pork, working it in with your hands until it is well colored. As Maria Torres Yzabal says in the traditional Sonoran recipe, "Add enough paprika that your hands are stained red." Otherwise, the chorizo will cook up grayish. Do a quick taste test by frying a little patty of chorizo to see if the seasonings are to your taste. Remember that the flavors will intensify as the chorizo stands. Let the chorizo mellow in a covered glass bowl in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. It freezes well, in small packages.
You can use already ground unseasoned pork, which supermarkets have available, in a pinch. It is not quite the same, but it is very good. This way you can quickly make up a homemade batch of chorizo, which is much better than the store-bought.
