I gave this recipe a TC designation because after following all the steps I was rewarded with 8 links of good homemade chouriço.
I’m not new to the sausage making process. I have made fresh chourizo which I chose to not encase and I have made the close smoked cousin, linguiça sausage. This particular recipe intrigued me for the delayed addition of salt.
One thing that I don’t love about homemade Portuguese sausages is that the colour of the meat always has some grey undertones. I thought that the delayed salting might correct this. It did not.
Sausage making is a meditative type of project. It’s also a very rewarding endeavour that is worth the preparation and potentially messy cleanup.
I chose to hand cut my meat and funnel stuff by hand as these were the traditional methods for this sausage and result in the most authentic looking links. Other than the golden rules of sausage making (sanitize your work area and all the equipment used; keep the meat cold at all times during the sausage meat preparations) I also suggest that you cue in your favourite music, podcast, or audiobook. Prevent interruptions. Wear gloves and change them periodically washing your hands before donning another pair. Wear an apron and goggles might also be helpful. “Dexter-ize” your environment! I used a sausage pricker to remove air and marinade from the first link with projectile squirts of marinade escaping in all different directions. In order to avoid having to “Dexter-ize” my working space, I took my links placed on a rack in a sheet pan outside and did the pricking in open air. My sprayed grass provided immense entertainment for Truffle, my 94 lb Saint Berdoodle.
My resulting chouriço sausages were tender but very mild tasting despite adding more salt in after the cooked meat tasting before stuffing. I used cherrywood smoke flavour “bisquettes” and the smoke flavour was sufficient. Although my home taste testers thought there was enough salt, I felt these could have used another 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of salt. Next time, I would use all hot paprika and perhaps another 1/2 tablespoon of amped up red pepper sauce and definitely no water.
This sausage was great for using as an ingredient in other recipes calling for chouriço sausage. I used one link in the Portuguese Sausage Frittata very successfully. As a stand-alone sausage I would make these again following my recommendations herein. When I purchase chouriço sausage, I choose the hot flavoured one. That is the kind of chouriço sausage that I want to make at home next time.