The market · Meat · Southern Europe

Chorizos

Spanish pork sausage coloured and flavoured with pimentón and garlic.

smoky · garlicky · rich

What to do with it

Ana Etxarri's ChawanmushiChorizo would season itRosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleChorizo would soften its edgeTolu Adeyemi's Jollof, party styleChorizo would season itMira Kowalski's Pierogi ruskieChorizo would season it
Classics built on it
GalicianLacón con grelosCured pork shoulder boiled with turnip tops, chorizo and potatoes, and served on one great platter with olive oil and pimentón.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridCocido madrileñoChickpeas, meats, sausages and vegetables simmered for hours in one pot, then served in turns: the broth with noodles, then everything else.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridCallos a la madrileñaBeef tripe stewed slowly with chorizo, morcilla and jamón in a thick, sticky, pimentón-red sauce.No one here has made it yetAsturianFabada asturianaLarge, buttery white beans stewed slowly with smoked chorizo, morcilla and pork belly until the broth thickens.No one here has made it yetAsturianChorizo a la sidraSmoked Asturian chorizo simmered in dry cider until the sausage is soft and the cider has cooked down to a sharp, red, rich sauce.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Cooking chorizo
Soft and semi-cured; for frying, stews and bean pots.
Cured
Dry; sliced and eaten like salami.
Mexican chorizo
Fresh and loose, with chilli and vinegar — a different thing.

Goes with

chickpeapotatoeggred pepper

Knowing it

Where to buy
Spanish delis.
Worth knowing
Start sliced cooking chorizo in a cold pan: it gives up its red, paprika-scented fat to cook everything else in.

Kitchens that keep it in

Galicia — Spain's green, rainy north-west corner, on the Atlantic above PortugalGalicianSpain's great seafood coast — octopus, mussels, scallops and barnacles — with a green, rainy inland of pork, turnip tops, soft cows' milk cheeses and pies baked to share.6 classicsCastile and Madrid — the high central plateau of Spain, the mesetaCastilian and MadridThe kitchen of the high, dry meseta: suckling pig and lamb roasted in wood-fired ovens, chickpeas and garlic soups for hard winters, and a capital that eats out, late and standing up.10 classics

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