Remember the group of neighbours with whom we share a progressive dinner from time to time? Well, we’ve had two such dinners since my last post about them, one was at the cottage of one of the neighbours and the other was just a couple of weeks ago back in the city. The one at the cottage had a European theme and because we had it at the cottage, we left it pretty loose for interpretation and it was fantastic! We were in charge of the hors d’œuvres and appetizers and because it was held dock-side we did an antipasto platter with lots of meat, cheese and roasted vegetables. We snacked on them for a few hours while the Bœuff Bourguignon simmered in the kitchen. For dessert, the other neighbour had the most incredible S’mores with belgian chocolate bars and decadent chocolate chip cookies (instead of graham crackers) by the fire pit. We slipped in dessert just before the skies opened and the rain poured and poured!
The most recent progressive dinner had Latin America as the theme and boy did it ROCK! We started with Cassava and cheese fritters, delicious empanadas and of course, nachos with guacamole and salsa. JT and I had the main and we went all out. I wanted Argentinian because I just love how they adore their meat! I made home-made Argentine Chorizo, we grilled steaks AND ribs! (OK, I confess, I just really wanted to make sausage and that’s why I picked this platter!) We also roasted small yellow potatoes (we were going to have Fried Papas Criollas but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it) and stir-fried a variety of coloured peppers; I even caramelized some onions in case someone wanted to eat Choripan (chorizo in french bread with caramelized onions and peppers) and of course we had Chimichurri sauce (both hot and not!). We had WAY too much food and now we’re enjoying variations of this feast for lunches, dinners and snacks! Dessert was a very tasty and refreshing lime ice cream.
The Argentine Chorizo sausage recipe is slightly different than other Latin American recipes in that it contains nutmeg; it’s not a lot but it does give it a slightly different flavour. I used this recipe with some minor alterations. What I didn’t skimp on was the garlic, it seems like a lot, but it’s not and it’s totally worth it! I made a sweet version and a hot version (sweet was longer and hot were the short ones) and I think both went over excellent. Even though I did use some pork belly, it was still a little dry but more than a couple of people said they preferred it to a greasy sausage. I know I will experiment with other flavours in the near future (like spinach, chicken and feta for example!)
Argentine Chorizo
Makes about 6 mild Chorizo (15 cm or 6″ long) and about 10 hot Chorizo (8 cm or 3″ long)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup red wine (we used this wine)
- 1 entire head of garlic
- 5 whole cloves, crushed
- hog casings
- 1 kg of pork
- 400 g of beef
- 150 g pork belly
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp (heaping) nutmeg
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp hot chilli pepper flakes (reserve for hot portion)
Directions:
- On low heat, gently boil the wine with the whole head of garlic and crushed garlic for 15 to 20 minutes and allow to cool. Strain and reserve the liquid (discard the garlic) should be about 1/2-3/4 cup.
- Cut the pork, beef and pork belly into small cubes and pass through the meat grinder set on coarse grind. Mix meat with hands until well blended.
- Pour the cooled wine over meat mixture and mix thoroughly. Combine all of the spices together with the exception of the hot chilli pepper flakes and sprinkle over meat mixture. Add the finely chopped garlic and mix into meat well. Divide the meat into two equal portions and set one portion aside. Over the second portion, sprinkle the hot chilli pepper flakes and mix well with hands. Refrigerate both hot and mild sausage meats overnight to allow flavours to develope and mature.
- Prepare your sausage casing by rinsing in cold water for at least 30 minutes. Any unused portions may be resalted with seasalt and frozen for future use.
- Untangle a reasonable portion of the casing and feed it onto the sausage stuffer attachment, tie a knot at the end. Then in small portions, slowly feed the meat mixture through the sausage stuffer into the casing making sure that it’s relatively evenly filled (it should really fill on its own). Tie off the other end and twist into portion sizes. Poke a lot of small holes throughout the sausage to allow any air bubbles to dissipate (this step will also prevent the sausage from bursting open when grilling). Allow the sausage rest in the refrigerator uncovered for 2- 3 days before cooking or freezing. Once the casing has time to dry out, you should be able to cut the sausages into individual pieces without unravelling the casing.
- Grill on a charcoal grill over indirect heat for 30 minutes or until internal temperature is 71° C or 160° F. Serve hot off the grill with french stick and mustard.
Notes:
- Whenever I grind meat, I always prepare a medium-sized bowl which I submerged in an ice bath to ensure the meat remains cool as I work it through the grinder. My hands are always cold, so I don’t worry about mixing the meat but if your hands are hot, you may wish to use a wooden spoon.
- To gage how much casing you’ll need, just tell the butcher how much meat you have, I had about 2 kg (4.4 lb) and he portioned out the casings which ended up to be about 2X too much. He suggested I could salt it and freeze it for next time. Casing are not expensive.
[…] found many different recipes for Argentine chorizo online, with the main commonalities being a mixture of pork and beef at about 4:1, the […]
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[…] and chimichurri are a delicious way to dress up an American hot dog or Italian sausage. Here is a recipe to make your own Argentinian chorizo. You could also use morcilla, blood sausage, to make […]
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Hi Eva, when boiling the wine and garlic head you also mention to add the crushed garlic as well. I’m wondering if this should be the crushed cloves instead of the crushed garlic?
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Hi Al, thank you for your comment. Actually there is a whole head of garlic as well as cloves that are crushed and cloves that are chopped! It’s a lot of garlic but chorizo generally is quite garlicy. Here is the original recipe http://www.ochef.com/81.htm
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Your progressive dinner parties always leave me salivating, Eva, and this one is no different. Seeing “Argentine chorizo” in this post’s title caught my eye but then when I read that you made it, well, I immediately started thinking of where my meat grinder parts were stored. I love this sausage recipe and have never thought to use pork belly to increase the fat amount. I use pancetta but I like your idea and will definitely give it a try. I, also, envy your sausage making capabilities. I’ve just about given up on making links, preferring to make patties instead. I’ve even convinced Zia to stop making links, though I’m not too sure how her family feels about it. 🙂
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Thank so much for your kind words, I must say I really enjoyed making the sausages. The patties are practical because they sit flat in the freezer, I may try it next time, although my name would be mudd since I bought the stuffer specifically.
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Hi Eva! I saw some of your sausage making comments on Facebook and was really looking forward to checking them out. This looks incredible – I’ve always wanted to make sausages. My old colleagues in France gave me a Kitchenaid as a leaving present too, so I want the sausage attachment and I’ll be good to go! Would LOVE to give this a try… it doesn’t even sound difficult, but I bet the end results are just tasty as anything.
Will be looking out for the sausage attachment… My father in law has a manual funnel thing for making sausages but that seems like way too much effort :D.
By the way – a small typo in your recipe… you said 1.1 g of pork… I’m guessing you mean 1.1kg, right?
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Thanks for you cimment Charles, what a lovely gift from your colleagues, it’s such a versatile appliance. Yes, that is a typi and thank you.
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Sharing your post with my son’s FIL as he will make it!
Thanks for your visits to my blog and likes and good words. I always enjoy stopping by to see what is going on in your kitchen!
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Thanks so much Ruth, i truly appreciate your visits as well. Im hoping to make chicken, spinach and feta next.
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So great! I love how you jump in and are always willing to try new things Eva ~ it increases your joy and your repertoire and we get to benefit too! I’ve never seen casing in the raw before… tangled like Christmas lights indeed. You make it sound easy but mine would probably miss the mark altogether and end up all over the floor – lol. Your progressive dinners are the best. Keep up the inspiration.
p.s. the chimichurri sauce caught my attention right away — love.
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Thank you so much for yoyr lovely words Kelly. I definitely got my fearlessness from my dear Mom. She used to say “what’s the worst that could happen?”
The chimichurri was delicious.
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Oh gosh, I don’t think I would sniff the casings either, but I would sniff the kitchen air to see if I could detect an odour. Saying that, I love sausages and have no problem at all with natural casings.
Do you know the length of your casings so you know how much to order for next time? I guess the butcher overdid it because who knows, maybe some people need some practice casings?
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Hi Genie, no i didnt know the length if the casing, it comes all tangled up like christmas lights. How much you use also delends on how full you fill them. I did screw up one short length by turning the mixer to #2 speed and it filled way to fast rupturing the casing. From the batch I purchased, I suspect I’ll get 4-6 more kgs of sausages. The cost was only $4 Canadian dollars so I wasn’t overly concerned, plus being able to freeze it for another time means it’s not being wasted. To be honest, I dont think the butcher knows for certain either.
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Eva, I am totally blown away by these photos! I have never even tried making sausages at home. I know it’s not easy to dose the meat into the casing which can break during the cooking process… Really, sincere congratulations! Your sausages look extraordinary!!!
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Hi Sissi, it was much easier than expected. Thank you for your compliment.
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i mean i dont even know what to say! It looks divine!
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Thank you kindly Jessica.
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I’m so impressed Eva! What an undertaking…homemade sausage, casings and all. They look fantastic! I always love hearing about your progressive dinners. 🙂
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Thank you so much Kristy they turned out better than expected. The dinners are really quite fun.
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Your sausages look fantastic Eva! One day I would love to come to one of your parties, if I’m invited of course. They look like so much fun! 😀
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Thank you Lorraine, you’d be most welcome!
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Oh, my gosh, I want to be a part of your progressive dinners! Homemade chorizo? Wow, it sounds terrific!
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Thanks Liz, now that eould be a blast!
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I’m super-impressed that you made your own sausages! My husband loves chorizo and he would be so thrilled if he came home and found I’d made these for him. I’ve been fearful of making sausages and I’m quite sure I don’t have the equipment. Those progressive dinners of yours sound like the best nights – interersting and wonderful food, great company and good locations xx
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Thanks so much Charlie, I’m really pleased with the way the turned out. Indeed, the progressive dinners are wonderful and it’s so nice that we are in such close proximity.
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Well done, Eva, homemade sausage making is not for the faint-hearted. These both sound really good.
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I’m flattered Maureen, thank you!
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Homemade chorizo…how cool is that! They look very professionally prepared, Eva.
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Thank you Angie, I appreciate the compliment.
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Sausages with the casings is much too ambitious for me to manage on my own, I think though you make it sound simple. I’ll just enjoy those fresh links vicariously.
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Thanks so much Maria, they did turn out well.
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Very professionally looking sausages. That’s one of the things I never attempted to make. Your instructions are clear and you make it sounds very doable, one of these days I may just give it a try.
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Thank you kindly Norma. It was fun and the results were so good that I know I’ll make them again.
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