Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Cha-Cha Chorizo " Stir Fired" Rice

There is an old saying attributed to a Prussian Prime Minister about sausages and laws....you don't want to see them being made.

I tried making my own sausage from scratch this weekend. If I was going to make my own sausage, I wanted to make my favorite sausage, chorizo. And if I was going to make chorizo, I wanted to try something out of the ordinary and over the top.

I turned to Smoke & Spice by Cheryl and Bill Jamison.

To me, Smoke & Spice is a foundation for anyone interested in learning how to barbecue or how to improve what they are already doing. (Not to mention, it's a James Beard Award winner.) I first stumbled across the Jamison's when I found their Poultry Perfect Rub recipe on the BBQ FAQ circa 2004 when I first started on my BBQ journey, which is my favorite poultry rub to make from scratch. Their most famous recipe has to be the Renowned Mr. Brown for smoking pork butts, a true classic. The Southern Succor Rub is one of my favorites for pork. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in BBQ.

So I had a high degree of confidence making their Cha-Cha Chorizo. The orange and jalapeno gives it a twist.

Cha-Cha Chorizo
Reprinted with Permission from Bill & Cheryl Jamison

1 3/4 pounds pork butt, with fat, ground by your butcher or with a meat grinder at home
3 tablespoons chili powder, preferably Gebhardt's
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup cider vinegar
Juice of 1 orange
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne or ground chile de arbol
1/2 teaspoon canela (Mexican cinnamon) or other cinnamon

At least an evening before you plan to smoke the sausages, start the preparations. In a large bowl, mix together the sausage ingredients. Refrigerate, covered, overnight or for a couple of days.
The full recipe in the book gives instructions for smoking these using a tangy mop sauce, but I was just after raw chorizo.

I formed mine into eight 1/4 lb links which is about the size of a bratwurst. I took two of mine that haven't been smoked yet and made this super simple yet amazingly good side dish for dinner. It reminds me of "dirty rice" from Louisiana but had a citrus and southwestern kick. This dish would not be the same using a normal Mexican chorizo.


Cha-Cha Chorizo Stir Fired Rice
NibbleMeThis

1/2 lb Cha-cha Chorizo sausage
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup broth
chopped cilantro for garnish

Cook the rice according to directions using the broth and water. Allow to cool.

Set up the grill for direct heat and get to 350f. Place a wok on the grill and brown the chorizo.

Add the cooked rice and "Stir Fired" it (my term for grilling ala stir fry) for another 60 seconds.

While I was doing that, Alexis cooked her first protein on her Big Green Egg - Grilled Shrimp. She used shrimp that our eldest son brought back from his Florida trip and seasoned them with chili powder and homemade paprika. Grilled them for 2 minutes a side at 400f.

We garnished the rice with cilantro, served it up with deep fried corn and grilled oranges and wow, what a plate.

It was all good but the rice was a huge hit. We've had it two nights in a row.

The roasted orange squeezed over it all was a nice splash of taste!

Thanks to the Jamison's for permission to reprint the chorizo recipe. Check out their website to check out this and their other books. You can also sign up for their free newsletter.

Standard Review Disclaimer applies but I paid full price for the book and have no affiliation with them. I just like their stuff!