Homemade Mexican Chorizo

OMG! I made homemade Mexican style chorizo and it was easy! AND it seems healthier than whatever is in the packaged one at the store. Yum yum! Want to try it?

Here is what I did. I bought some organic ground pork. I have no idea what the fat content is, but it seems very very lean. Oh well, that's ok. Cuz I also bought some LARD (for another recipe)! Wooo! I haven't done that before. I was always scared of lard. Maybe I still am.

I looked up a couple of recipes for homemade mexican chorizo on the internet and then made up my own version. Here is my approximate method:

Toast 2 dried New Mexico or Guajillo chiles and 5 chiles de arbol on a griddle or comal. Add to 1/4 c vinegar and let soak. Then toss that into a blender with 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 shallot, dash of cinnamon, pinch of dried oregano, tsp of salt, tablespoon of cumin powder and tablespoon of red chile powder. (you can add less cumin - I love cumin) Blend up until smooth and mix into 1/2 lb ground pork. Test out by taking a little pinch and frying up in a pan to taste. Let the mix sit for a day or two to develop flavor.

Typically the chorizo you buy at the store is super greasy. Like I said, I think the pork I used was really lean. If so, you can add lard when you are mixing or just cook it up in lard or oil when you make it. I will just add oil to the pan when I am cooking. I like it less greasy.

How to enjoy it? I love a breakfast of chorizo mixed in with scrambled eggs with some cilantro on top. Delish! I tried to make little patties out of it but it fell apart. Maybe add a raw egg before making the patties? I am not yet a meatball wizard so I'll have to work on that.

I just had some for lunch - I fried it up in the pan as crumbles and added it to spinach for a fabulous salad. All it needed was a little squeeze of lemon. Totally satisfying.

Try it and let me know what you think!