Chorizo

Categories: Sausages | Food and drink stubs | Filipino cuisine

Chorizo is a pork sausage originating from Spain. It is made from coarsely chopped fatty pork and usually seasoned with chili and paprika. The mild Spanish paprika used is what gives this sausage its characteristic flavor. It can be found as picante (hot) or dulce (mild). Some varieties are hung in cold dry places to cure, as happens with jamón serrano (ham). The Pamplona variety grinds the meat further.

Better known in the Western hemisphere are the Mexican and Caribbean versions. In these versions, the pork is ground rather than chopped and different seasonings are used in addition to chili.

The growing popularity of tapas bars in the United Kingdom and the United States has made chorizo popular, and it is now an essential item at delicatessen counters in supermarkets.

Chorizo can be eaten as is (sliced or in a sandwich), simmered in sidra, 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.

In Argentina and other South American countries, chorizo is the name for any coarse meat sausage. Argentine chorizos normally contain pork meat and do not tend to be terribly spicy. When served in a bread roll they are called "choripanes" (s. "choripán").

There is also a Portuguese sausage, also made from pork but with different seasonings, called chouriço.

In slang

In Spanish slang, chorizo also means "thief", from Caló chorar ("to steal").de:Chorizo es:Chorizo fr:Chorizo ja:チョリソ simple:Chorizo