I am familiar with the hard type of cured Spanish chorizo but while I was visiting mom in LA, we went to La Espanola Meats and came home with a softer sort of chorizo that I made into a delicious chickpea salad. I see that virtually all recipes calling for Spanish chorizo just use that term, they do not specify further. Further, looking at La Tienda’s site, they offer “cooking” chorizo (which is what I guess I bought in CA) as well as “slicing” chorizo, the hard cured type. I want to find the softer Spanish chorizo here, preferably in person not online. But hard to search/ask when I feel so illiterate.
Any info about Spanish chorizo types? Bonus points for sources, preferably in person within a reasonable distance of DC.
This is a good article explaining types of chorizo. Is it possible you bought Mexican chorizo, which is always soft? Even the semi-cured cooking chorizo from Spain has a harder casing than is usual for Mexican chorizo.
Spanish chorizo is a dried cured sausage, where Mexican chorizo is made from fresh ground pork. It is super easy to make the fresh at home (plus you can change it up however you like). Here is one of the simpler methods…
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
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As you’ve already discovered, Spanish chorizo comes in two forms. Firstly, the more common hard salami like version, which is sliced and is ready to eat. And, second, the softer chorizo for cooking, which is the texture of other sausages that need to be cooked (“sausage links” as I think Americans might call them).
Here’s one of the products my local supermarket sells as eating version
That’s a very informative link, thx. Maybe I bought the semi curado type. It didn’t feel as raw and fresh as Mexican/Honduran/El Salvadorian chorizo which is widely available in stores here. Look and feel was more like a bratwurst.
Yes, the recipe called for cooking briefly in a skillet with warm chickpeas and spices. When cutting it up, it didn’t seem raw like Mexican chorizo. Also, it stayed intact rather than crumbling.
Interesting, thx. What I bought was definitely not Mexican chorizo but this recipe looks fun to try and probably much better tasting than some of the crappy supermarket chorizo that is out there. Once the international market I frequent had a tasting of various fresh chorizo - Mexican, Salvadorian, Honduran. There was a little heated debate amongst tasters as to which were spiced better. I grew up with Mexican so that tends to be my favorite.
I also prefer Mexican, but if you want more of that Spanish flavor you can swap out the ancho/cumin/cinnamon with various paprikas and up the salt. The sky is the limit on how you change things up.
There are a bunch of chorizo recipes on YouTube (even for cured Spanish links). I chose Rick’s as he has never let me down… but I don’t think I have ever made it exactly the same way twice. (c;
Euro Grocery at the intersection of Pershing Drive and Washington Boulevard in Arlington has fresh Argentine chorizo, which is a soft uncooked sausage that sounds similar to what you describe. It’s delicious. Euro Grocery is also a great source for picanha, the cut of beef most favored for grilling in Argentina and Brazil.
