Spanish Style Chorizo

Note: This recipe appeared in the Spanish Heritage Society of cookbook titled Comida de Ami Cios in1990. Permission was given to publish this recipe in the Club Espanol cookbook by Carmen Cano Propin.
 

Sausage: Since the Middle Ages sausage making has been a means of curing and preserving of fresh meat with herbs and spices. Sausage is made from pork, beef, sheep, goat and game poultry, etc. Today, although fresh meat can be kept from spoiling with refrigeration, the cured sausage that dates back to the Middle Ages still continues to be a popular modern day food.

 

7 pounds lean pork belly, cubed

3 pounds pork butt fat, cubed

8 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons peppercorns

3 tb black cayenne red pepper

1 tb crushed red pepper 

1 tb finely minced garlic 

1 teaspoon cumin 

1 teaspoon crushed oregano 

2 tablespoons sugar 

1 teaspoon fennel seed 

3/4 cup brandy

1 teaspoon ascorbic acid or I teaspoon saltpeter 

6 feet medium hog casing
 

Grind the meat and fat separately, throughout coarse disk and mix together. 

Sprinkle the remaining ingredients on the meat and mix thoroughly. Cure the sausage in the refrigerator for twenty four hours. Prepare the casings. Stuff the casings and tie off into four-inch 1inks. Hang the sausage to dry for about eight weeks.
 

Clean casings as follows: Rinse under cool water to remove salt. Let soak for an hour. Rinse again over cool water, then get the end of casing, hold firmly over the end of faucet nozzle, then water on gently, then a bit, more force. This wi1l flush out any salt and pin point any breaks in the casings. In place of cayenne pepper, you may use pimiento molido and white wine in place of brandy. To make longaniza, add 1/4 cup white vinegar. Makes 10 pounds.