If you’re a big fan of Mexican-style meals, put Homemade Chorizo on your must-make-recipes list! This flavorful pork sausage can be enjoyed in breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.
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Easy Mexican Chorizo
Have you ever made your own sausage? If that sounds like an overwhelming task, don’t worry! We’re not smoking or extensively curing anything today. Preparing Homemade Chorizo is actually a really simple process, that only requires ground pork, chiles, vinegar, and a selection of spices.
And oh my gosh, is the result delicious. It’s got just the right amount of spice, which you can easily adjust to fit your preferences. Also, keep in mind that this ultra-flavorful Mexican pork sausage can be used in so many dishes. You can sprinkle it in pasta, make tacos with it, etc. Eating it as is works too, though!
Growing up in Texas, chorizo was plentiful and could be found at every grocery store. Now that I live in Florida, I have discovered that if I want Chorizo, I have to make it myself. Thankfully it’s easy to make!
What is Chorizo?
Mexican chorizo is a kind of sausage made from ground pork (and sometimes a mixture of ground pork and beef).
It is different from Spanish chorizo, which has been cured and keeps its shape when sliced. Mexican chorizo, on the other hand, is a fresh ground sausage, and must be cooked before it can be eaten.
Mexican chorizo is commonly served with eggs for breakfast, but is also used in tacos and tortas. My favorite way to serve chorizo is browned in a skillet with eggs and then served in tortillas for amazing breakfast tacos.
Recipe Ingredients
What goes into making chorizo? There are a couple of main ingredients and a whole bunch of spices:
- Dried Chiles: 5 dried guajillo chiles and 2 dried ancho chiles, with the stems, membranes, and seeds removed. You can also usually find these sold in the Spanish aisle of big grocery stores.
- Vinegar: I personally prefer to use apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar works just as well.
- Seasonings: I like to use bay leaves, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, onion powder, ground thyme, salt, garlic powder, ground black pepper, and ground cloves.
- Ground Pork: You can use lean ground pork if you want, but meat with a higher fat ratio usually makes the best chorizo.
- Cooking Oil: I generally stick to olive or vegetable oil.
How to Make Homemade Chorizo
Preparing the chorizo itself will take you no time at all. Once you have the ground pork combined with the chile mixture it will take awhile for the meat to marinate, but it’s well worth the wait.
Boil the Chiles: Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the guajillo and ancho chiles to the pot and let them boil for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Drain the chilis from the water, reserving a few tablespoons of the water the chilis cooked in.
Blend the Chiles and Spices: Add the chilis to a blender along with the apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, onion powder, thyme, salt, garlic powder, pepper and cloves and blend until smooth.
Mix the Ground Pork and Sauce: Add the pork to a large bowl and add the sauce onto it. Add the oil and mix the sauce and meat until well combined.
Let the Mixture Marinate: Cover and let the meat marinate for 8-24 hours. Refrigerate the meat for up to 2-3 days (depending on the best by date on your raw meat) or freeze it in an air tight container (like a freezer friendly ziplock with extra air removed) for up to 6 months until ready to cook. Thaw before cooking if frozen.
Cook: To cook, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the chorizo. Let it cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.
Tips for Success
Super easy, right? Here are some more tips and tricks on making the best chorizo:
- If the Chile/Spice Mixture is Too Dry: Or if it is not pureeing until smooth, add 1 tablespoon of the water that you boiled the chiles in as needed, until puree blends smooth. You do not want the puree to be thin, just add a little extra liquid if needed for your blender to be able to blend the pepper mixture. Discard any of the remaining water you don’t use.
- Will Ground Beef Work? Yes! You can substitute ground beef for pork if you’d like to. It won’t technically be traditional chorizo, but it will still taste great.
Serving Suggestions
Chorizo is so tasty as is, but you can serve it with, or in, other meals too:
- Tacos: Taco Tuesday just got so much more flavorful with the addition of this chorizo – chop of some veggies and heat up some tortillas, and then you’re good to go!
- Eggs: Have you ever tried Chorizo and Eggs? If you haven’t, you’re definitely gonna want treat yourself to this delicious breakfast! We love to serve our chorizo and eggs wrapped in fresh warm tortillas. Add a little fresh homemade Pico De Gallo and hot sauce — YUM!
- Burgers: Chorizo makes for AMAZING burger meat. Trust me on this one.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
To store in a plastic wrap encasing, lay a sheet of plastic wrap on a countertop then add 4-5 tablespoons of chorizo to the end of a side then roll it up and tie the ends to secure.
This chorizo can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days, depending on the best by date on your raw meat.
To reheat, pour some olive oil in a pan and cook on medium or low until the meat is warmed through.
Can I Freeze Homemade Chorizo?
Chorizo can also be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. Let thaw for 2 days in the fridge before cooking.
Homemade Chorizo
Ingredients
- 5 dried guajillo chiles, with the stems, membranes and seeds removed
- 2 dried ancho chiles, with the stems, membranes and seeds removed
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 ½ pounds ground pork
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
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Instructions
- 1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the guajillo and ancho chiles to the pot and let them boil for 8-10 minutes or until soft.
- 2. Drain the chilis from the water, reserving a few tablespoons of the water the chilis cooked in.
- 3. Add the chilis to a blender along with the apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, onion powder, thyme, salt, garlic powder, pepper and cloves and blend until smooth.
- 4. If mixture is too dry and not pureeing until smooth, add 1 tablespoon of the water that you boiled the chiles in as needed, until puree blends smooth. You do not want the puree to be thin, just add a little extra liquid if needed for your blender to be able to blend the pepper mixture. Discard any of the remaining water you don’t use.
- 5. Add the pork to a large bowl and add the sauce onto it. Add the oil and mix the sauce and meat until well combined.
- 6. Cover and let the meat marinate for 8-24 hours. Refrigerate the meat for up to 2-3 days (depending on the best by date on your raw meat) or freeze it in an air tight container (like a freezer friendly ziplock with extra air removed) for up to 6 months until ready to cook. Thaw before cooking if frozen.
- 7. To cook, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the chorizo. Let it cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning. Serve as is or in tacos or with eggs.
Notes
Nutrition
Categories:
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes
- Mexican Chicken Adobo
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Cheese Enchiladas
- Air Fryer Chicken Fajita Salad
- Mexican Casserole
- Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- Cheese Enchiladas
- Beef Picadillo
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Definitely sounds interesting. I wonder if it renders as much fat as store bought chorizo does? To me, that IS the purpose of chorizo. It takes a small amount to add flavor to other foods. Refried beans(tostadas and side dish), fried potatoes, queso fundido.
Yes it will, as long as you make sure to buy a full fat ground pork, not a lean version.
How spicy? Eye watering? Toungue burning? My tastebuds are not the same after Covid. Thank you.
It is not overly spicy, ancho chiles are mild in heat, they add more of a smokey quality. Guajillo will add a moderate amount of heat, usually a little milder than a jalapeño. If you want a lot of heat in your chorizo, you can add a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce to your mix. It will add a lot of heat! Or add some cayenne pepper!
How many lbs of pork
Hi Tori, 1 ½ pounds ground pork.
This one is a keeper with the pepper puree. I also added a pinch of cinnamon and used fresh garlic.
Oh my. The purée is incredible. The mixed sausage is now marinating in my fridge. Can’t wait to use it in 24 hours.