Sub for Chorizo?

[lyndalou]

I want to make a chorizo and lentil soup in the next day or two. I am having aproblem finding fresh chorizo. What would you sub for the chorizo?

 

[Andy M.]

Andouille, linguica, kielbasa.

 

[pacanis]

Did you check everywhere?
I was buying some Lil Smokies one day and saw that they had packages of "chorizo style" sausages where the package stuff was. They came packaged like some hot dogs do. They might have even been made by Hillshire Farms. They were pretty good in the po-boys I was making. Up until then I had been looking where the fresh sausages and brats were.

 

[Hammster]

You can also make your own chorizo. If you don't have a meat grinder, or meat grinder attachment for a stand mixer, you can use your food processor to chop up the meat. Be sure to put the meat cubes in the freezer for a little while until they are just slightly icy so the meat doesn't warm up during the grinding/chopping. Note that you don't have to use Ancho powder. Any tasty chile powder will work just fine.

Chorizo:
1 pound ground pork butt
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Ancho chile powder
4 Cloves Garlic -- minced
1/2 bunch fresh oregano -- chopped (1 tbsp dried will work just as well)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons vinegar

Grind, or chop, the cubed meat and then season the ground meat with the seasoning mix. Cook a small test portion to determine if the seasoning is to your taste. I find chorizo can take a lot of seasoning, so it's good to taste and add more seasoning if you need it.

 

[jennyema]

Andouille, linguica, kielbasa.

Those are subs for cured chorizo.

Fresh chorizo is crumbly sausage.

I make my lentil soup with cured chorizo, though.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

While I am pretty sure that Chorizo and lentil soup would call for a cured sausage, I'll give you my recipe for fresh Chorizo anyway. For a cured sausage substitute I would suggest Kielbasa over the other recommendations, which would be the closest to cured Chorizo.

I make my own Mexican (fresh) Chorizo. I have been making it myself for years because the commercial Chorizo just turns to grease when you cook it. I've made it with beef, pork, and turkey. I will make it with goat (traditional) when I can find some. You would think that goat would be easy to find in a neighborhood that's 75% Latino and Pilipino, but it's not! Recipe to follow:

CHORIZO

• 2 pounds ground beef, goat, pork, or turkey
• 4 cloves mashed garlic
• 6 Tbs chili powder
• 2 Tbs oregano
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 Tbs water
• 2 Tbs vinegar
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, divide into quarters, roll each quarter into a log, and tightly wrap each log with plastic wrap, twisting the ends to secure. Freeze the logs you aren't going to use right away.

If you like it mild, use Ancho chili powder, if you like it spicy, use New Mexico chili powder

 

[Andy M.]

Those are subs for cured chorizo.

Fresh chorizo is crumbly sausage.

I make my lentil soup with cured chorizo, though.

True. I was thinking of things that would work in a soup rather than trying to approximate the original ingredient.

What would you suggest?

 

[jennyema]

True. I was thinking of things that would work in a soup rather than trying to approximate the original ingredient.

What would you suggest?

I use a cured chorizo. Or linguica like you suggest.

 

[buckytom]

i would go with kielbasi, then add some paprika to help approximate the chorizo taste.

 

[Steve Kroll]

There are two kinds of Chorizo that I know of. It should be noted that they are not the same sausage (much like a Spanish tortilla bears no relation to the Mexican tortilla).

One is a crumbly Mexican sausage that comes in a plastic casing. The other is a hard Spanish sausage that is laced heavily with paprika, and is used in many Paella recipes.

Since the recipe mentioned is a Mediterranean dish, my guess is that it's the Spanish Chorizo that the recipe is asking for. I think any kind of hard sausage could reasonably be substituted, though the flavor will not be the same. Andy mentions Linguica, Andouille, and Kielbasa. Linguica is similar in flavor and would be the best substitute, with Andouille the second best. I think Kielbasa would be a last resort, but is probably by far the easiest to find.

 

[Zereh]

There are two kinds of Chorizo that I know of. It should be noted that they are not the same sausage (much like a Spanish tortilla bears no relation to the Mexican tortilla).

One is a crumbly Mexican sausage that comes in a plastic casing. The other is a hard Spanish sausage that is laced heavily with paprika, and is used in many Paella recipes.

Yes, they are vastly different.

I find that the Mexican variety is always way too greasy for our tastes (and it sometimes has a weird texture issue, it's like it dissolves into tiny little granules in a pool of red grease ).

Love the cured Spanish chorizo though! And I've had good luck with all of the linguica (Portuguese) I've tried as well.

 

[lyndalou]

The recipe calls for ground chorizo, so I guess I'll use fresh kielbasa which is available at my supermarket.

Thanks everyone.

 

[janina]

I agree with Steve; the linguaca, the Potugese cousin, should provide some of the smoky paprika notes you're looking for. I'm curious, are you trying to make a Puerto Rican style dish? If so, the Goya brand Chorizo links should be in your local supermarket with the Goya products generally grouped together. The link is only about 5 inches long in a plastic packaging.

 

[janina]

Oops, sorry I didn't see that you had just posted. It appears you are indeed looking for the Mexican variety of chorizo. The homemade chorizo recipes provided may be your best bet here, as Mexican chorizo's flavors are quite unique--and the vinegar does lend a zing to its flavor, and the chile powder vice paprika in linguaca and the Spanish chorizo will definitely impart a differet flavor. But hey, I think the Spanish or Portugese smoky tasting sausages sound like a good match with lentils, and while it may be different, it could be delicious. Good luck!