Whatcha Cooking today?

[pepperhead212]

I didn't like the chorizo recipes with cinnamon, either, and many had way too much vinegar - this was only 3 tb/5 lbs meat. The cloves in that recipe was only 1/4 tsp to 5 lbs of meat, so it was barely noticeable - much like it is in many other sausages. Most recipes I tried were overseasoned - this was the first recipe I tried, back in the late 70s, and still my favorite.

[karstopography]

7B55AC67-4CC2-4DF6-9254-5A94A31E96C7.jpeg

Old standby, spaghetti (bucatini in this case) and meatballs. I never seem to make this exactly the same, the sauce might have more garlic or less onion or have wine in it and the meatballs could be mixed with basil or parsley or even spinach. But, we like it any way.

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

The lovely and long suffering Mrs. Gotch's Kale Crisp:

thumbnail_IMG_1729.jpg

Center Cut Boneless Po'k Chops, grilled to (near) perfection:

thumbnail_IMG_1731.jpg

Mmmmmmm!!!

The Gotch

[Sue_CT]

There is no cinnamon or cloves in Tormato's recipe, lol. But if you are not open to it, you are not open to it. You might read it though, even if you don't want to taste it first.

[worth1]

I didn't know @Tormato had a recipe.
Cinnamon and or clove and vinegar is practically the foundation for chorizo in my neck of the woods.

Not related to above statement.
You wanna see someone totally mess up a bowl of chili watch Chef Jean on YouTube.

[worth1]

The reason for telling you @Sue_CT was to introduce you to how the dried chilies were done.
Plus other useful tips.
There are several Mexican cooks all women that I follow from time to time.
Every one of them make some sort of chorizo and they are all different.
Every one has vinegar in differing amounts.
The Spanish chorizo is like a pepperoni dried and eaten raw.
The best one comes from the Iberian hog.so they say.

[Sue_CT]

Well no, Tormato does not have a chorizo recipe that I know of, because my addled brain somehow substitued him for Pepperhead, lol! It is Pepper heads recipe I used! Sorry, Pepperhead!

Chorizo - about 1 lb

1 lb pork, a little fat
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp Hungarian paprika, or chiles, of your choice
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp oregano, a little more, if Mexican oregano
large pinch each of cumin and cloves
cayenne to taste (optional)
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tsp apple cider or red wine vinegar

He psoted it about 3 weeks ago here, I think on this thread.

[pepperhead212]

I thought you got another recipe from Tormato to try, since you found out you like chorizo!

[Sue_CT]

Worth probably still wouldn't care for then because it does contain cloves, although I think that could easily be omitted.

[worth1]

You can actually keep taking away and adding stuff until it isn't what the intended product is supposed to be.
Not saying it isn't good.
Just like in the video by chef Jean I posted.
I actually watch all his videos but he went way out of his zone on that one.
I even told him it looked good but wasn't chilie con carne.
He had no problem with that.
As for chorizo there's really nothing a person could do to it to make me like it and still call it chorizo.
Leave out the vinegar cinnamon clove and add a cure then stuff it into casings and you would be close to a type of knackwurst.
Then I would like it.

[Sue_CT]

Is Mexican orgeno much different than regular oregano? I have tons of regular oregano and I hate to waste money. Is it worth spending more just to get the Mexican version when already have the other kind?

[karstopography]

https://www.isabeleats.com/mexican-oregano/
Breakdown on the difference between the oregano.

[Danny]

You can actually keep taking away and adding stuff until it isn't what the intended product is supposed to be.
Not saying it isn't good.
Just like in the video by chef Jean I posted.
I actually watch all his videos but he went way out of his zone on that one.
I even told him it looked good but wasn't chilie con carne.
He had no problem with that.
As for chorizo there's really nothing a person could do to it to make me like it and still call it chorizo.
Leave out the vinegar cinnamon clove and add a cure then stuff it into casings and you would be close to a type of knackwurst.
Then I would like it.

I doubt there is any one absolute authority on any food being this or that officially, it is whata person likes and calls it. Just as in the statement above, re chorizo, you just contradicted yourself and proved my first sentence.

Food can be a contradiction. Look at the difference between Spanish chorizo and Mexican chorizo, both are chorizo, yes?

There are so many regional variations and as recipes get passed along there are changes. Might as well argue as to what authentic Mexican food or Italian or russian or Asian food is, LOL. Depends on what you are eating, and where you are both in time and space.

[Danny]

https://www.isabeleats.com/mexican-oregano/
Breakdown on the difference between the oregano.

Good explanation at the link.

Mexican oregano can be grown, Sue, in your garden. It is a tough plant and easy to grow.

[Sue_CT]

karstopography, that was helpful, thank you. On amazon most brands seem to contain lots of little stems and hard sticks that need to be picked out, it seems to be the most common complaint. Is there a brand that is better than others? Savory spice has it but at 4x the price.

[worth1]

There's a Poco Loco right on the way home from work.
The Mexican market I shop at has oregano but it doesn't say Mexican oregano and it doesn't look like Mexican oregano.
HEB is always out and I'm down to my last bag
People suck it up as fast as it comes in.
I'm going to check out Poco Loco and see if they have any.
I used to buy the stuff in huge bottles but can't find them anywhere.

[worth1]

You can actually keep taking away and adding stuff until it isn't what the intended product is supposed to be.
Not saying it isn't good.
Just like in the video by chef Jean I posted.
I actually watch all his videos but he went way out of his zone on that one.
I even told him it looked good but wasn't chilie con carne.
He had no problem with that.
As for chorizo there's really nothing a person could do to it to make me like it and still call it chorizo.
Leave out the vinegar cinnamon clove and add a cure then stuff it into casings and you would be close to a type of knackwurst.
Then I would like it.

I doubt there is any one absolute authority on any food being this or that officially, it is whata person likes and calls it. Just as in the statement above, re chorizo, you just contradicted yourself and proved my first sentence.

Food can be a contradiction. Look at the difference between Spanish chorizo and Mexican chorizo, both are chorizo, yes?

There are so many regional variations and as recipes get passed along there are changes. Might as well argue as to what authentic Mexican food or Italian or russian or Asian food is, LOL. Depends on what you are eating, and where you are both in time and space.

I really don't understand what your point is at all.

[Danny]

The point is, I guess, food is what you make of it and nothing in food is the "absolute authentic" as people trade recipes or move from a locale and recipes and methods change to fit in with those changes too. Life and food are adaptable, wonderfully so. Recipes get adapted to a new area where ingredients may not be available or tastes are differing, doesn't make them not what they were so much as what the food is now, to that person or culture.

Think how Hispanic, Italian or Asian foods have traveled and become different versions before the internet made possible to source more ingredients from far away.

[worth1]

That's why I kept stressing Mexican chorizo.
Leave out those key ingredients and you'll have every Mexican in the country knocking on your door.

[pepperhead212]

I have bought some Mexican chorizos at my local Mexican store, just to sample them, and a couple of them were almost identical to the one I make - just that hint of vinegar and cloves, but more of the other spices, and no cinnamon. One I got down in Avondale years ago (before the store was in my town) had a hint of cinnamon - not too much, but I don't want cinnamon in everything I'm using chorizo in! It's like those storebought Indian masalas I tried many years ago, and they all tasted like they had raw cinnamon in them, and that was the most noticeable flavor in any dish I put it in! It wasn't until I started making them myself, and toasting all the spices, that the cinnamon became understated, and blended together with the other spices into more or less a single flavor, but not tasting like it has pumpkin pie spice added!