Chorizo chuquisaqueño

Ingredients

Sausage

• 900 gpork shoulder, coarsely minced
• 200 gpork back fat, chopped small
• 4 tbspground ají panca or mild red chilli
• 1 tbspground ají amarillo, or hot paprika
• 8 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 2 tspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano
• ½ tspground cloves
• 2 tspsalt
• 120 mlwhite vinegar
• 2m natural hog casing, rinsed and soaked

Pickled vegetables

• 1red onion, sliced thin
• 2carrots, cut in fine matchsticks
• 1small white cabbage, shredded
• 150 mlwhite vinegar
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar
• 1locoto or other hot chilli, sliced

To serve

• 10crusty bread rolls
• 1 tbspoil, for frying

Directions

1. Mix the pork, fat, both chillies, garlic, cumin, oregano, cloves, salt and vinegar thoroughly with your hands. Cover and refrigerate overnight — the vinegar and chilli need that time to work through the meat, and a chorizo mixed and cooked the same day tastes raw and flat.
2. The next day, fry a spoonful and taste for salt and heat, then adjust the rest of the mixture.
3. Fill the soaked casing loosely, twist into sausages about 12 cm long and tie the ends. Prick each once or twice.
4. Toss the onion, carrot, cabbage and chilli with the vinegar, salt and sugar and leave for at least an hour, turning now and then. It should stay crunchy — this is a quick pickle, not a preserve.
5. Fry the chorizos in a little oil over medium heat, turning, for 20 to 25 minutes until browned all over and cooked right through. Keep the heat moderate: high heat blackens the paprika and turns it bitter before the middle is done.
6. Split the rolls, put a whole chorizo in each with a good handful of the drained pickled vegetables, and eat straight away.

Technique

• The overnight rest is the recipe. It is when the vinegar acidifies the meat and the chilli oils spread through the fat, and it is the difference between a Sucre chorizo and a generic sausage.
• Keep the mince coarse. Fine mince turns pasty when it is this heavily seasoned, and the texture is half the point.
• This is a fresh sausage, cooked through the day after it is made. It is not a cured chorizo and must not be treated as one — it goes in the fridge and is eaten within two days.

Substitutions

• Sweet smoked paprika for the ají panca, with a pinch of cayenne to make up the heat.
• Beef and pork half and half, which some Sucre butchers do.
• Cider vinegar in place of white; slightly softer and no worse for it.

Variations

• Served on a plate rather than in bread, with boiled potatoes, llajua and the same pickle alongside.
• The same mixture rolled into patties and griddled, when there is no casing to hand.

History

From Sucre in Chuquisaca, sold at markets as a weekend breakfast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chorizo chuquisaqueño?

Chorizo chuquisaqueño is a charcuterie & cured from Bolivia: spiced pork sausage fried and served in bread with pickled vegetables. From Sucre in Chuquisaca, sold at markets as a weekend breakfast.

How long does Chorizo chuquisaqueño take to make?

Chorizo chuquisaqueño takes 40 min plus 12 hours resting of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes 10 sausages, serves 5. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Chorizo chuquisaqueño?

Yes, within limits. Sweet smoked paprika for the ají panca, with a pinch of cayenne to make up the heat. Beef and pork half and half, which some Sucre butchers do. Cider vinegar in place of white; slightly softer and no worse for it.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chorizo chuquisaqueño?

The overnight rest is the recipe. It is when the vinegar acidifies the meat and the chilli oils spread through the fat, and it is the difference between a Sucre chorizo and a generic sausage.