Chorizo . It is a typically Spanish meat product. It can be considered that there are no sausages in other countries where paprika and garlic coincide as the main ingredients , the basis for the preparation of chorizo.
Summary
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- 1 Preparation
- 2 Traditional manufacturing process
- 3 Chorizo in Mexico
- 4 EL Chorizo in Colombia
- 5 EL Chorizo in Chile
- 6 Physicochemical
- 7 Organoleptic
- 8 Production
- 9 Nutritional value
- 10 Sources
Preparation
Chop the raw materials into thick pieces. Mix and marinate with the remaining components, leaving it to rest and macerate for 24 hours, at 51C after which it spends 50 days of curing in the cellar. Sausage in pork gut 40-60 mm caliber.
Pork meat represents the most important and valuable material in the pork industry; Pure type sausages are prepared exclusively from pork, and mixed types are not legally sausage if they do not contain pork. All the muscular masses of the pig are usable for the pork butchery. This industry. of so many varieties of types, it requires different qualities of pigs and meats, the adult pigs, well fattened, with firm muscles and outstanding grain, provide good meats for canned sausages, such as chorizos.
The advantages of pork in sausage come mainly from its greasiness. In hard sausages such as chorizo, the fatness prevents internal dehydration of the meat and the sausages are juicy, tender, etc., to eat, in addition, the moisture of the muscle fiber facilitates fermentation by industrious microbes to reach the sausage. seasoned.
Traditional manufacturing process
The traditional chorizo manufacturing process includes the following phases: Minced meat and bacon , mix with the rest of the ingredients and rest the dough in a cool place overnight; Subsequently, the dough is introduced into pork guts, tied and exposed to the air in a natural environment, choosing suitable places based on their temperature and humidity characteristics. During the maturation period, there are drying processes and the firmness of the texture, while the aroma develops, the result of the sum of the natural aromas and those resulting from microbial activity on the components of the sausage mass. .
The chorizo has similarities in the Hispanic world although in Spain , it is a kind of cured sausage, well aired, well smoked, and which is made from, although not exclusively, minced pork and marinated with spices, being the paprika is more characteristic as it happens with chorizo cantimpalos or simply cantimpalo, which is the most distinctive element of chorizo compared to other sausages, and which is what gives it its characteristic color red . The skin of this type of sausage is usually calf casing .
Known outside Spain are the Mexican and Caribbean versions , in which pork is not minced and the marinade is different. In Argentina, some of the typical chorizo sausages are: the “barbecue chorizo” (which is made without “curing” -no drying or smoking- since it is almost “fresh” for cooking in the roasts) and the “chorizo bonbon” which is a reduced (and often more spicy) variety of the barbecued chorizo.
Initially in Argentina , Paraguay and Uruguay , and later also in Bolivia , Chile , Peru , the barbecued chorizo is eaten in the form of choripán (chorizo sandwich between two halves of a loaf – almost always white and round bread -). You can add condiments, among which are chimichurri, Catalans , mushrooms , pickles, aji , mayonnaise , picantina, etc.).
In addition a version of the choripán is known, with the cooked chorizo ”butterfly”. That is, cutting the chorizo longitudinally, without completely separating both parts. The name “butterfly” is due to the morphological analogy that presents the chorizo cut with a butterfly. In Peru this version of choripán is better known, but it is not called a “butterfly” but simply choripán, just plain.
In Argentina there are varieties of chorizo similar to the Iberian ones , among these the most frequent are the “red chorizo” and the “candelario chorizo”.
Chorizo in Mexico
Chorizo is an important element in Mexican cuisine, as it comes to be included in any meal throughout the day. The tortilla is almost always present when the chorizo is eaten. The city of Toluca has specialized in the elaboration of this sausage, but it is also manufactured by an endless number of small family businesses in various parts of the country.
There is a variety of presentations of the red chorizo, so called, although the color may vary a little to be closer to the orange color. The term chorizo, informally tends to be interchanged with the term longaniza , although longaniza is more frequently considered a longer sausage, while chorizo is a sausage that in its commercial appearance is more segmented; the length of these segments may also vary slightly. In the gastronomy of Mexico , there is also green chorizo , although this tends to be more regional and less known.
In the colloquial language and Mexican slang, the term chorizo can mean from an innumerable series of something (for example: “… presented a chorizo of excuses.” To albures with phallic connotations, ie “Chorizo-plas”, “Chorizo en potatoes “,” Cura Mel Chorizo ”among others. A variation of the term, perhaps better said, a contraction is choro, which practically means a Speech or sermon (hinting at something long in duration).
EL Chorizo in Colombia
In Colombia , typically in the Antioquia region, it is accompanied with arepa and potato , it is common to find them in inns and stands on the highways . They are also often made from well-dressed butchery leftovers.
EL Chorizo in Chile
In Chile , chorizo is popularly called longaniza, although it is a variant of it, and the city of Chillán is characterized by the manufacture of longaniza and chorizo, due to the strong immigration that the country received from the Spanish during the late XIX century and beginning of the XX .
Physicochemical
Humidity between 20% and 40%. Fat on dry matter: Maximum 57% Protein on dry matter: Minimum 30% Hydroxyproline on dry matter: Maximum 0.5% Total carbohydrates expressed as% glucose on dry matter: Maximum 1.5% in Sarta and Achorizado formats, and maximum 3% in Cular Chlorides format, expressed as sodium chloride on dry matter: Maximum 6% pH between 4.8 – 5.6. Total residual phosphates: Maximum 5,000 ppm of P2 O5
Organoleptic
Consistency . They have firm resistance to pressure, not excessively hard or soft and uniform throughout the entire piece.
Cut aspect . When cut, it has an intense red color dotted with reddish white due to the presence of pigmented pieces of fat. The dough will be totally bound, that is to say, it will be homogeneous, compact and free of pieces of fat whose size is greater than 0.5 cm in diameter.
Smell . The internal aroma is an integration of different components from the maturation process of meats, slightly acidic, smooth and of medium intensity, in addition to those of the added authorized spices, without any of them prevailing.
In the mouth juiciness and cohesiveness is appreciated, it will be easily chewy, not very fibrous and free of unwanted elements such as fascia, bone fractions, nodes or tendons; as a whole, pleasant palatability, without spicy flavor.
Production
In the elaboration of the chorizo the basic ingredients are a minced lean pork (except in the chorizo from Pamplona and in the one from Soria that also have beef), fat in different proportions (hence its caloric and nutritional value is very variable), salt, garlic and sweet and / or spicy paprika. Depending on the region of origin, other condiments are added that make them characteristic. Quantities vary based on manufacturing practice. Once the ingredients are selected, they are mixed, trying to carry out this operation in a vacuum to avoid incorporating oxygen since the fat oxidizes (becomes rancid) and acquires bad color and flavor.
The mixture has to be stirred regularly and it is left to marinate for 24-36 hours. After this time, the mixture is stuffed into natural or artificial casing and finally, the chorizos are hung to ripen and dry. Some undergo a smoking phase to achieve a characteristic drying, odor and taste. There are also white sausages that do not contain paprika. When it comes to industrial processing, in addition to the aforementioned ingredients, various authorized additives are usually added: nitrates or nitrites (necessary to generate the characteristic red color of chorizo and to avoid botulism, serious food poisoning);
Nutritional value
Its nutritional value depends on the ingredients used in its preparation (amount of fat, type of meat -pork, wild boar, etc.), but in general, all of them are quite caloric foods given their high fat content. They provide proteins of high biological value and practically lack carbohydrates . Due to having been subjected to drying processes, the water content is low (44%). It stands out for its high contribution of sodium , and to a lesser extent, of other minerals such as iron (easily assimilated) and zinc . Regarding its vitamin intake, the B vitamins are highlighted (niacin, B12 , B2 or riboflavin and B1 or thiamine ).
For many years, the slaughter of pigs has had an important influence on both diet and family finances. Thanks to him, the families ensured the highest and even the only contribution of protein throughout the year. In addition, the characteristics of pork make it more suitable for the elaboration of a variety of products such as sausages, among which chorizos stand out. These are of an extra category when their composition only includes meat from animals of this species.
