We’ve had trouble getting our hands (and tastebuds) on chorizo sausage lately at grocery stores in our community.

At one time, our local Aldi store sold packaged chorizo. These days, that’s not the case. We can’t find it any of our other grocers either.

So, when a Mexican food recipe called for chorizo when I was planning meals recently, I surveyed some recipe options online and decided to try using ground pork and spices to make my own version of chorizo.

If you have a super-specific flavor of chorizo that you prefer, this won’t be for you. I can’t guarantee this will meet all tastes, but I tried it, and my wife Molly and I liked it. Molly even said she preferred it to store-bought chorizo because it was slightly less spicy. (We love Mexican food, but we aren’t big spicy-food fans overall. We turn down the heat when possible on recipes. Keep that in mind when making this recipe!) I also found this combination even less greasy than pre-packaged chorizo we’ve purchased in the past.

Try this combination out if you’re making a recipe that incorporates chorizo, and let us know in the comments below what you think!

 

Homemade Chorizo (spicy Mexican sausage)

What You Need

1 pound ground pork sausage (You can use multiple kinds of ground pork and blend if you’re adventurous or highly experienced with meats.)

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chile powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons cider vinegar

 

What You Do

1. In a large bowl, mix all the seasonings into your ground pork sausage until combined well.

2. Cook in a cast-iron skillet on medium heat, about 10 minutes, until slightly browned.

3. Add to other recipe ingredients as desired. This is the recipe that required our chorizo.