Dad’s Mexican-Style Pork Chorizo

Mexican-style chorizo is different from the hard, cured Spanish-style slicing sausage. Mexican chorizo, a soft, raw sausage, is often cooked with skillet potatoes, added to refried beans and soups, or simply browned and eaten in a taco, to name just a few ideas. This chorizo recipe is very flavorful, with mild to medium heat. If you want it spicier, add a handful of chiles de árbol (stems removed). Be sure to allow the chorizo to sit in the fridge for at least 48 hours before using it, to give the spices time to infuse the meat. Portion the chorizo into resealable quart-size freezer bags and freeze what you can’t use within a week. For the best results, place the meat grinder attachment and blade in the freezer for an hour before beginning the grinding process.

6 ounces whole dried guajillo chiles

2 ounces whole dried ancho chiles

6 to 12 chiles de árbol, optional for more heat Apple cider vinegar

6 to 7 pounds pork butt (do not remove fat) 5 large cloves of garlic, peeled

1 teaspoon ground cumin 11⁄2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground oregano

1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Rinse the chiles in cold water. Fill the bottom of a 5- or 6-quart steamer pot with apple cider vinegar to just below the steam basket. Add the dried chiles to the steam basket, cover and steam until soft and pliable, about 40 minutes. After the first 20 minutes, stir the chiles, turning them to bring the bottom chiles to the top and top to the bottom — then cover and steam for 20 more minutes. Remove the steaming basket from the pot, and set it aside to allow the chiles to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, cut the meat into about 2-inch chunks (do not trim away fat). Run the cubed meat through a meat grinder. Place in an extra-large mixing bowl and set aside.

Remove the stems and seeds from the guajillo and ancho chiles and just the stems from the chiles de árbol, if using. Pour 13⁄4 cups of the steaming vinegar into a blender. Toss in the garlic cloves, spices and a third of the softened deseeded chiles. Pulse until smooth. Add the next third of the chiles plus two ladlefuls of the steaming vinegar. Pulse until

smooth. Add remaining chiles plus enough steaming liquid to achieve a thick tomato-sauce consistency. If you run out of vinegar from the steamer, use additional apple cider vinegar. (If necessary, blend the chiles in batches.)

Combine the chile mixture with the ground pork, using your hands to incorporate well.

Heat a small frying pan on medium and pour in the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, carefully drop in 3 tablespoons of the chorizo, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage until it’s lightly browned and slightly crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate; allow to cool for 2 minutes, then taste and adjust seasoning on remaining raw chorizo if needed.

Cover the chorizo bowl with plastic wrap and leave it to rest in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours (preferably up to 7 days) before packaging it into smaller zip-top baggies for freezing. Meat can be kept in the freezer, well wrapped, indefinitely and kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Recipe is copyrighted by Anita L. Arambula and is reprinted by permission from “Confessions of a Foodie.”