madbaker | A second attempt at chorizo

This week's Resolution Recipe: Spanish Chorizo.

1000 g pork
200 g back fat (I used lamb fat, which was interestingly dry compared to pork fat.)
3 g curing salt #2
2.2 g sugar
6.5 g pepper
2.25 g oregano
13 g paprika
10 g smoked paprika
2 g chipotle powder
30 g fresh garlic, minced
1/8 tsp T-SPX culture (0.15 g)
33 g salt

Chop the meat and fat. Mix the rest in thoroughly and stuff into hog casings. Cold smoke for several hours, then hang for 8 weeks.

What worked: They took longer to dry, due to the deluges we had. Usually a month is good enough but they were still wetter than I wanted. I just took them down yesterday and the texture was perfect. Nice, red appearance, with bits of fat throughout.

What didn't: I would have liked it hotter, since I was shooting for chorizo-as-ingredient rather than chorizo-to-nosh-on. Also, all the heat was in the mid-to-back end with nothing up front. I'm shooting for a more constant heat. Lee the Pepper Lady suggested adding in some "Paradiso" chile powder, which I will try next time.

Will I make it again? Certainly. I want to get it right, and I like having chorizo in the freezer as an ingredient.