Many of you may have read my post about Sweet Potato Hash and Scrambled Eggs. Inside that post I boasted about some amazing chicken chorizo I have picked up from my local butcher at Sprouts market. I love chicken chorizo. Heck I tend to favor all chorizo. As a native to Arizona and the southwest if I did not have an affection for spicy culinary dishes I might begin to question my authenticity. For those of you who love the taste of the southwest like I do, but may not have the resources at your local butcher to obtain these goods I am going to assist you in your culinary quest to obtain the needed ingredients to make your very own chicken chorizo recipe, a deliciously authentic version of a famed spicy, southwest sausage.
What you will need to start with is chicken. As little as one pound of chicken should do it and you can have it as a mixture of ground chicken breast and chicken thighs. Call me sexist but I love some really good thighs; tender, juicy, and full of amazing flavor. Your local butcher can also assist you in this as he might be doing the majority of the work for you. However, if you happen to have a meat grinder at home, voila, you can accomplish this at home on your own. The butcher will be more than happy to grind this for you upon your request, they are one of the least utilized experts in stores. If you can wrangle a butcher they will share with you a great deal of secrets, if you befriend one, well then you have additional added benefits.
One you have your ground chicken this is where the fun begins, we will begin to season said chicken with the chorizo mixture. You see chorizo is just the smorgasbord of spices used to season the meat, think adobo. Here are the warm spices that will really kick up your chorizo and provide an amazing flavor. I prefer organic, but the list is all the same:
Chorizo Seasoning Recipe Ingredients List
1 tsp Ancho chili
3/4 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp coriander or cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 clove
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt (you can use Sea Salt, I love pink salt for all the naturally occurring vitamins and minerals and the taste is very mild and adds a sumthin-sumthin to your cooking)
1 tsp garlic (you can opt for fresh diced 3 cloves if you like, this really deepens the flavor)
Now that you have all these fabulous ingredients you will need to mix them altogether. Again, I am a bit old fashioned and I buy some of my seasons whole, a mortar and pestle will be your greatest ally to grind these amazing flavors together. If you do not have a mortar and pestle, reach for your food processor to grind away. Be sure not to heat these up or you will lose integrity with the flavor. Once all of your seasonings are fully blended together we will add to the meat. Again if you are grinding at home with a meat grinder lets go ahead and grind, while the rest of us who have opted for the butcher to do our dirty work, we will be elbow deep in meat. If you have an aversion to touching raw meat please grab some marigolds.
Lightly sprinkle the seasonings across the top of the meat, leave some aside as you will begin to turn the meat and sprinkle alternately so that all of your chicken is evenly coated. Continue to do this until all of your meat is thoroughly covered and mixed together. Feel free to continue to mix if need be to ensure all of your chicken is clad in these warm spices. Once you have encased all of the meat in the chorizo seasoning mix, place in a separate container to be refrigerated overnight. Your seasonings will begin to soak in and enhance the chicken for that authentic chorizo taste. You can roll into a ball and wrap with saran wrap, butcher paper, freezer paper, or place in Tupperware. After sitting at least overnight, we prefer a solid 24 hours, your chicken chorizo is ready to serve up.
Cook the chicken as you would any other normal ground meat product. Be sure to apply traditional food safety so that the chicken is cooked thoroughly or at least 165 degrees.
