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Spain's
Hottest Chorizo . . . in the Making
 What
is Spain's hottest chorizo? And how is it made? Well first we
have to visit "La Carniceria de Julian" - the longest
established butchery in the small rural village of Orce. This
family run business has been producing all manner of cured sausages
for generations; real authentic strings of chorizos hang behind
the counter, the hot and mild versions distinguished only by the
colour of the hand tied string around them - red for hot, white
for mild.
Chorizo
production in Orce village is constant all year round such is
the popularity of these cured sausages, customers enter the butchers
and buy the chorizo by the kilo and they are highly popular during
fiesta holidays (of which there are many) Julian supplies local
restaurants, bars and hotels as well as Orce Serrano Hams with
a full selection of Spanish cured meats, one morning whilst choosing
Serrano hams from the secadero Julian noted that we purchase much
more "chorizo picante" compared to the milder version.
Well spotted... and of course he asked why. We then went on to
explain that the chorizo is highly popular amongst customers and
that many English people enjoyed good hot and spicy food.
Almost
instantly a new chorizo was born - now commonly known as the Orce
"Fire" chorizo. Some weeks later a date was set for
production of the first batch, a recipe was devised to create
the hottest chorizo that certainly the locals had ever tasted
- and us!
The
recipe did take some perfecting but with Julian's wife at the
helm it did not take long for her expertise to produce something
that is a little special.
Chorizo
Production:
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Step
1:
The
meat, for every chorizo there are two cuts of pork required,
Pancetta (belly pork) and Magra (pork loin) only pure
cuts of meat are used.
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Step
2:
The
mix, a combination of cayenne pepper, ground pepper, red
pepper, garlic, white wine, onion and a "secret"
ingredient for this chorizo!
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Step
3:
Mincing,
while the special ingredients are being mixed the cuts
of meat are minced in the machine. The establishment is
home to all manner of spotlessly clean stainless steel
machines each designed specifically for its purpose.
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Step
4:
All
of the ingredients are mixed together in what is effectively
a big whisk - timing is crucial at this point, the ingredients
need to blend together but a consistency needs to be maintained.
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Step
5:
The
mixture complete, brilliantly red in colour with a wonderful
spicy chorizo aroma - now its time to make sausages.
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Step
6:
The
mixture is then placed into another machine, a very clever
pressurised drum with a nozzle; it takes some practice
to capture the art of Andalucian sausage making!
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Step
7:
Out
comes the mixture, at this point the chorizo resembles
one very long sausage. The skin used to house the sausage
mixture comes from American Ox.
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Step
8:
Hand
tied, the speed in which the sausages are tied every few
inches to create multiple chorizos is quite impressive.
Now we have strings of chorizo ready for curing.
The chorizos are now hung in the secadero or curing house
rooms for around three weeks. During this time they will
cure perfectly and will end up as an impressive display
of red behind the butchery counter. So what do the locals
make of this super hot variety? Well, many of the villagers
are a bit partial to the new sausage so much so extra
quantities are being made. Beforehand you would hear Julian
say "Chorizo? Picante or dulce?" (Hot or sweet)
now it's "Chorizo? Picante, dulce or fuego?"
(Fuego meaning "fire")
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Step
9:
A
big thank you to Julian and his wife Conche for letting
us get involved and giving us permission to publish this
material and photography, also to the staff who despite
being very busy were happy to accommodate us and all our
questions.
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Orce
"Fire" Chorizo available now <click
here>
©
Copyright 2008 Orce Serrano Hams - www.orceserranohams.com
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