Chorizo santarrosano

Ingredients

Sausage

• 1 kgpork shoulder, coarsely minced
• 250 gpork back fat, chopped small
• 1large bunch spring onions, sliced very fine
• 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 2 tspdried oregano
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 100 mlbeer or dry white wine
• 2m natural hog casing, rinsed and soaked

To serve

• arepas
• lime wedges
• ají — chopped coriander, spring onion, chilli, vinegar and water

Directions

1. Mix the pork, fat, spring onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and beer thoroughly with your hands. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Fry a spoonful the next day and taste for salt before filling anything.
3. Fill the soaked casing loosely and twist into sausages about 12 cm long, tying the ends. Prick each once.
4. Leave the sausages uncovered in the fridge for a few hours so the surface dries and will brown properly.
5. Grill over medium coals or fry over medium heat, turning often, for 20 to 25 minutes until browned all over and cooked right through.
6. Rest five minutes, then serve with a hot arepa, a wedge of lime and plenty of ají.

Technique

• Spring onion rather than dry onion is what makes this a santarrosano. Use the green parts as well as the white, and slice them fine so they disappear into the meat.
• A fresh sausage, refrigerated and eaten within two days or frozen. Nothing here is cured.
• Keep the heat moderate. The high fat content means a hot pan flares and the outside chars long before the centre is done.

Substitutions

• Beef for a third of the pork, which some Risaralda makers use.
• Aguardiente in place of the beer, a splash of which is traditional in the coffee belt.

Variations

• Served with chicharrón, arepa and beans as part of a bandeja paisa.
• Sliced into a stew rather than eaten whole.

History

Named for Santa Rosa de Cabal in Risaralda, a coffee-belt town whose sausage makers sell it from roadside grills.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chorizo santarrosano?

Chorizo santarrosano is a charcuterie & cured from Colombia: fat pork sausage with spring onion, grilled and served with arepa and lime. Named for Santa Rosa de Cabal in Risaralda, a coffee-belt town whose sausage makers sell it from roadside grills.

How long does Chorizo santarrosano take to make?

Chorizo santarrosano takes 40 min plus overnight 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 santarrosano?

Yes, within limits. Beef for a third of the pork, which some Risaralda makers use. Aguardiente in place of the beer, a splash of which is traditional in the coffee belt.

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

Spring onion rather than dry onion is what makes this a santarrosano. Use the green parts as well as the white, and slice them fine so they disappear into the meat.