Lean homemade Mexican chorizo is a delicious, rich addition to any meal. I use it mostly as a seasoning for eggs, soups, or tapas. Mexican chorizo is a soft crumbly sausage which is distinctly different from Spanish chorizo which is a dried, firm sausage popular in Spain.

Unfortunately I never really know what parts of the pig are in a store bought chorizo. I do know that I searched high and low for a packaged chorizo without soy. I’m sensitive to soy so I don’t want it snuck into my food. You can buy chorizo from a butcher and it usually tastes fabulous but I can’t really ask about which parts are included in my broken gringa Español. “Are there snouts and hooves in my meat?” I know, I know, I hate to think about what goes into any sausage, actually.

I am concerned about the amount of saturated fat that I eat and lard is a saturated fat.

Mexican chorizo has added lard and yes lard makes Mexican cuisine, Mexican cuisine but I want to manage the fat in my diet for optimum health so I choose to avoid lard. The ideal solution was to make my own lean chorizo at home. I drew inspiration from Honest Cooking but modified the spices. I left out the warm spices of cinnamon and clove and used ground New Mexico and California chilies. I can be lazy in the U.S. so I bought the ground chilies but I also wanted to double the spices recipe and keep the chili powder in my pantry so I used all dried ingredients. In Baja, the dried whole chilies can be purchased everywhere so I would recommend soaking the dried chilies in hot water for an hour before combining them with the other seasonings. Substitute 4-5 dried chilies for 2 tablespoons of ground chili powders. I used garlic powder but you can substitute fresh garlic, 2 cloves or more.

You can ask the butcher to grind a pork loin or lean looking chops for you if you can’t find ground pork. Pointing with a smile and a few Google translated key words usually works for me.

Helpful español: Try, “Necesito esta carne de cerdo molida por favor.” I need this pork meat ground up, please. Molida is ground meat.  Cerdo is pork.

I purchased this meat grinder to bring to Baja to grind my own pork, beef and chicken.

Chorizo recipes:

Mushroom Chorizo Tapas @Whatsfordinnerdoc.com, my original blog.
Chorizo, chard and potato chowder
Chorizo Crashed Potatoes

[lt_recipe name=”Lean Mexican Chorizo ” servings=”Multiple” prep_time=”3 HOURS” total_time=”3 HOURS TO OVERNIGHT ” difficulty=”Easy ” summary=”Homemade leaner pork chorizo. Lower fat, soy free alternative to store bought Mexican chorizo. Perfect for seasoning tapas, soups, or eggs. Delicious mixed with potatoes or roasted vegetables for tacos. ” print=”yes” image=”http://mybajakitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/image-5-225×300.jpg” ingredients=”16 ounces lean ground pork ;3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar;1 tablespoon cumin seeds;1 tablespoon ground California chili;1 tablespoon New Mexico chili;1 tablespoon Spanish smoked paprika;1 tablespoon garlic powder;1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano ;1 teaspoon onion powder;1 teaspoon salt;1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper;1 teaspoon dried thyme;1 bay leaf crushed ” ]Combine all spices in a mortar and grind until leaves and cumin seeds are crushed. Combine spice mix, vinegar and ground pork and mix by hand or place in a ziplock bag and gently squish until combined. Store in the refrigerator at least 3 hours to allow the seasonings to mingle. [/lt_recipe]

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