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A quintessential Mexican ingredient, Healthy Homemade Chorizo Sausage Recipe provides all the flavor of its fattier counterpart without the fat and calories! This easy chorizo sausage recipe is ready to cook and add to your favorite recipes in just minutes...
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👩🏻🍳 Tamara Talks - Recipe Inspiration
I grew up on Mexican chorizo. It was ALWAYS in our tacos and frequently in our scrambled eggs as well. I loved it then, but it usually resembled fatty orange grease with very little in the way of solids.
I found the well-known brand that frequently ended up in the cast iron skillet when I was growing up. Here's a list of the ingredients: Pork salivary glands, lymph nodes and fat, chorizo seasoning, pork, vinegar, soy grits, sodium nitrite. YUCK!
Over the years, and in my quest to cook healthy Mexican food, I have found some healthier chorizo options - particularly the house made chicken chorizo at Sprouts and the San Manual chicken chorizo.
However, I am one that wants to know exactly what is in the food I eat... especially with sausage. It has been on my "to do" list for years (literally) to make my own Healthy Homemade Chorizo Sausage Recipe.
So here we are just days into 2020. The "New Years Resolutionaries" are out in force, and I'm hoping they'll find this easy Mexican chorizo sausage recipe!
🥖 What is Mexican Chorizo?
While Spanish chorizo and Mexican chorizo share some ingredients, they are very different. Most importantly, Mexican chorizo is a RAW sausage, while Spanish chorizo is cured and dried (it can be eaten uncooked). Please don't confuse the two!
Mexican chorizo is a heavily spiced sausage that gets its color from red chiles and paprika. Not all recipes include annatto, but I love its earthy flavor and brilliant red hue, and chose to include it in my chorizo recipe.
Traditionally, chorizo involves grinding the meat, toasting, hydrating, blending and straining dried chiles, then stuffing casings. I have completed this arduous task with the help of the sausage attachment on my KitchenAid.
The process is time consuming, and I have never cooked chorizo in the casing. My easy chorizo sausage recipe is EASY. Haha.
I suppose one might say this is "cheater" chorizo because I start with ground turkey, chicken, or lean pork (rather than grinding my own), and add ground spices rather than starting with dried red chiles.
The end result provides all the Mexican flavor you're looking to add to your healthy breakfast recipe or Healthy Mexican Seafood Soup, and you don't have to squeeze it out of the casings before cooking!
📋 Ingredients You'll Need
- 2 pounds ground turkey, chicken, or lean pork
- 4 tablespoons red chile powder
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
- 2 teaspoons annatto powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon each cinnamon and cloves
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- ½ cup white or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Combine thoroughly (hands are best!).
- Form into a ball, then divide into zip bags or containers. This chorizo sausage recipe makes about 2 pounds. I divide it into 4 bags of approximately ½ pound each, then freeze 3 for later use.
- I have used very lean ground turkey, ground chicken thighs, and lean ground pork, as well as a combination of lean ground meat in this recipe. They're all good.
- The chorizo may be lean enough to require spraying the pan with cooking spray. I usually do.
- How long can I store my chorizo - I usually ½ pound in the refrigerator (for up to a week), and freeze the remainder in ½ pound bags for up to 3 months (longer in a deep freeze).
- After disposing of a bunch of freezer-burned food recently, I invested in reusable sous vide bags with a pump. They're great!
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I love having fresh homemade chorizo ready to use, but I especially love grabbing an already made zip bag from my freezer! The chorizo is so quick and easy to make with readily available ingredients... why not give it a try?
📖 Recipe
Easy Lean Mexican Chorizo Recipe
A healthy homemade bulk chorizo sausage ready to cook in minutes before adding to your favorite healthy Mexican recipes!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground turkey (see notes)
- 4 tablespoons red chile powder (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
- 2 teaspoons annatto powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon each cinnamon and cloves
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- ½ cup white or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix thoroughly.
- Divide into zip bags or containers for now and later!
- Enjoy!
Notes
I use 93/7 lean ground turkey. I have also found similarly lean ground pork and ground chicken. The chorizo all tastes great, and will beat the macros on store bought!
I use a combination of ancho or chipotle chile powder and New Mexico red chile powder. Avoid using generic "chili powder" as it is a spice mix rather than pure red chile powder.
You can minimize the heat level by choosing chile powder on the milder side (New Mexico chile powder comes in mild to hot varieties). You can also cut some of the heat with more paprika and less red chile powder.
I use about 2 ounces chorizo per person when adding to eggs, grits, etc. That means my recipe yields 16 servings. You may choose to add more or less.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Amount Per Serving: Calories: 96Total Fat: 5gCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 11g
🍲 How to Use Chorizo
How to Use My Homemade Healthy Chorizo
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Super quick and healthy chorizo and egg breakfast tacos come together in just a few minutes and are a great way to start your day!
I'd love to hear from you!