Homemade Texas red chorizo is easy to make and so much better than anything store-bought.
I live in Austin, TX where chorizo is a big thing and appears on almost every Mexican restaurant menu. The flavors of this homemade Texas red chorizo are big and bold and the color is a deep red. It’s also delicious and so much better than store-bought chorizo. Make your own homemade chorizo in only 30 minutes. You will be glad you did.
Prepare the Chiles for the Chorizo
Dried Ancho and Guajillo chiles are available at most markets. Remove the stems and seeds and place them in a fry pan. Roast the chiles over medium high heat until they become fragrant and begin to darken (about one minute). Turn the chiles over and roast the other side (another minute). Remove the chiles from the pan, place them in a bowl and cover them with water. Let them soak until soft (about 20 minutes).
Prepare the Meat
While the chiles are soaking, cut the pork shoulder into 2″ pieces. Cut the back fat into small pieces and grind it all together using a meat grinder with a 1/4″ plate. Set aside.
Put it All Together
Drain the soaked chiles and place them in a blender with the apple cider vinegar, onion and garlic. Blend until smooth (about 45 seconds). Add the mixture to the ground meat along with all of the remaining spices.
Gently mix it all together with a gloved hand. Be careful to not squeeze the meat as that will change the texture of the chorizo. Just stir it together. Store extra chorizo in FoodSaver bags in the freezer.
Cook over medium heat until done (165°F). It can be difficult to tell when it’s done because chorizo will not brown like ground beef. But it will dry out a bit. Use a thermometer to be sure.
Other Great Recipes to Try
- Brisket Breakfast Tacos
- Carnitas Tacos
- Pork Belly Tacos
- Shrimp Tacos in Adobo Marinade
- Texas Hot Links
- Fire Roasted Salsa Roja
- Brisket Queso
- No Bean Texas Chili
Chorizo
Equipment
- 1 Meat Grinder with a 1/4" plate
Ingredients
Dried Chiles
- 4 each Ancho chiles stemmed, seeded
- 4 each Guajillo chiles stemmed, seeded
- 4 tbs Apple cider vinegar
- 10 each Garlic cloves chopped
- 1 each Yellow onion chopped
Meat
- 1.5 lb Pork shoulder boneless
- .5 lb Pork back fat
Spices
- 1 tsp Cumin ground
- 1.5 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tsp Paprika
- .5 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 4 tsp Kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp Coriander ground
- .5 tsp Cinnamon ground
Instructions
Prepare the Chiles
- Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles. Place them in a fry pan and roast the chiles over medium high heat until they become fragrant and begin to darken (about one minute). Turn the chiles over and roast the other side (another minute). Remove the chiles from the pan, place them in a bowl and cover them with water. Let them soak until soft (about 20 minutes).
Prepare the Meat
- While the chiles are soaking, cut the pork shoulder into 2" pieces. Cut the back fat into small pieces and grind it all together using a meat grinder with a 1/4" plate. Set aside.
Put it All Together
- Drain the soaked chiles and place them in a blender with the apple cider vinegar, onion and garlic. Blend until smooth (about 45 seconds).
- Add the mixture to the ground meat.
- Add all remaining spices.
- Gently mix it all together with a gloved hand. Be careful to not squeeze the meat as that will change the texture of the chorizo. Just stir it together. Store extra chorizo in FoodSaver bags in the freezer.
- Cook over medium heat until done (165°F). It can be difficult to tell when it's done because chorizo will not brown like ground beef. But it will dry out a bit. Use a thermometer to be sure.
