Mike’s Hot Spicy Food Recipes

Chorizo hamburgers

  In Arizona chorizo is spicy ground meat made from pork, you can buy it by the pound at most grocery stores. Food City which caters to Mexicans and Latinos has some really good chorizo; their hot chorizo is 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 in hotness, although most gringos will probably be able to eat their mild chorizo. Bashas sells a mild version of chorizo.

You can also find chorizo in Latino stores called “Carniceria” which is Spanish for butcher shop or meat market. You will see “Carniceria” on lots of stores in the Latino and Mexican parts of town. Don’t worry if you can’t speak Spanish. They usually can speak the English numbers very well.

The stores also sell chorizo sausages but I never use that stuff.

  • 1 pound of ground chorizo
  • 2 tablespoons of dehydrated onions (optional)
  • a little water.
Mix the chorizo and dehydrated onions. Perhaps add a little water for the onions. Chorizo doesn’t have much fat it in it, but the dehydrated onions will suck up that fat. If their isn’t enough fat, you may want to add some extra water for the dehydrated onions to absorb.

Microwave for 8 to 10 minutes.

Remember undercooked pork may harbor a parasite that causes trichinosis. Pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 155 degrees in order to ensure that the parasite is killed.

Makes two big hamburgers.

If you want to make your own chorizo here is a recipe I found on the web for making chorizo from the State of Sonora


Instead of the eggs, you can add a cup or so of Mexican beans to the fried Chorizo. Mash them well while they fry, and you have "Frijoles Refritos con Chorizo", excellent when eaten like grits or potatoes, and also excellent as a taco, burrito or sandwich filling. Chorizo is also good to flavor up a red chile sauce, a stew, or anything else that could use a bit of good Mexican bite.

To Begin Chorizo: In a large bowl place:

  • 2 Lb. ground pork.
  • 3 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 6 Tbl. pure ground red chile
  • 6-20 small hot dried red chiles; tepine, Thai dragon, pico de gallo or the like, crushed
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbl. dry leaf oregano
  • 2 tsp. whole cumin seed, crushed
  • 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • 4 Tbl. good cider or wine vinegar
  • 2 1/2 Tbl. water

Have everything cool. Break up the meat, sprinkle evenly with the rest of the ingredients, cut in with two forks until evenly mixed, then knead a bit with your hands until well mixed. At this point the chorizo will keep for at least a couple weeks in your refrigerator, or let it season for a couple days in your refrigerator, then wrap it in small packages, (3-4 oz. is about right for two people), and it will freeze fine for months. It can also be stuffed into casings and smoked like any other pork sausage.

 

Mike’s Hot Spicy Food Recipes