Homemade Mexican chorizo is easy to make for spicy chorizo sausage that's loaded with lots of bold chili flavor, great for pork or beef, delicious.
Homemade Mexican Chorizo Recipe
We're making homemade Mexican Chorizo in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen, my friends, and it is fantastic! If you've never made homemade chorizo, it's time to start because I think you're going to love this recipe.
What is Chorizo?
Mexican chorizo is a spicy sausage used in many well known Mexican dishes. There are many different types of chorizo in the world, each varying from region to region.
Spanish-style chorizo is well known, though different in preparation, as it is a cured sausage, where Mexican style is more commonly served fresh, or uncured.
It's an incredibly versatile ingredient. You'll find it used to make tacos and burritos, breakfast tacos, mixed into scrambled eggs, topping for tostadas, and so much more.
You can find it in many grocery stores in the Mexican aisle. Store bought is great, and there are many brands available for you to try.
However, you'll fall in love with making your own as you can better control the overall flavor and texture of your sausage.
Let's talk about how to make Mexican chorizo, shall we?
Mexican Chorizo Ingredients
- Ground Pork. Ground or chopped pork is more traditionally used in most recipes. You can use other meats, like ground beef, chicken, turkey, even tofu, though pork remains the most popular.
- Paprika. I like smoked paprika or hot paprika, though any paprika will work.
- Cayenne.
- Ancho Powder. You can use rehydrated anchos, pureed, or freshly ground whole pods.
- Guajillo Powder. You can use rehydrated guajillos, pureed, or freshly ground whole pods.
- Garlic Powder. Fresh minced garlic is great, too.
- Cumin. I prefer to toast and grind my own cumin seeds for more pronounced flavor.
- Oregano.
- Coriander.
- Mexican Cinnamon.
- Ground Clove.
- Red Wine Vinegar.
- Salt and Pepper.
How to Make Mexican Chorizo - the Recipe Method
The Pork. Add the ground pork (or other grounds meats) to a large bowl.
The Seasonings. Add all of the seasonings and vinegar.
Hand Mix. Hand mix the ingredients into the meat until uniformly mixed. It gets its red color from all those spices.
Boom! Done! Your spicy Mexican sausage is ready to go! At this point you can package and freeze it, or you can cook it up and get to making all sorts of wonderful spicy recipes. What are you making?
How to Cook Chorizo
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.
Garnish and serve. Perfect for making chorizo tacos, burritos, Mexican tortas, adding to soups, stews, stuffed peppers, just about any of your favorite spicy foods.
Recipe Tips & Notes
Best Pork for Chorizo. Fatty pork is best for this recipe, like ground pork shoulder or pork leg, or a good 70/30 ground pork mixture.
You can use leaner pork for a lower calorie version, though you may sacrifice flavor.
Consider grinding your own pork to make your own special blend.
Other Meats. You can use other meats to make this recipe. Beef is particular popular, and fattier parts are more flavorful, but you can also make it with ground chicken, turkey, beef, and even tofu.
Green Chorizo. This is a version made with tomatillos, cilantro, chili peppers and garlic.
Other Seasonings. Recipes vary from cook to cook. Other popular ingredients I have seen include pork fat or lard, dried chiles, cinnamon, cloves, red peppercorns, onion, mustard powder, Mexican oregano, other chile powders, and others.
Storage Information
Store your uncooked Mexican chorizo rojo in the freezer in sealable freezer bags or containers. It will last months in the freezer.
I like to wrap mine in plastic in sausage shapes like they sell in stores. However, you can also flatten the meat into baggies to optimize your freezer space.
No casings are needed to enjoy it.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my recipe. Let me know if you make it and how you spiced it up. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you.
Cookbook Recommendations
If you love traditional Mexican cooking, I love these cookbooks with recipes from all over Mexico. Definitely recommended.
- Mexico: The Cookbook (affiliate link, my friends!)
- Made in Mexico: The Cookbook, by Danny Mena (affiliate link, my friends!)
My Favorite Chorizo Recipes
Try Some of My Other Popular Mexican Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Homemade Mexican Chorizo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds ground pork fatty is best, or use ground beef or other ground meats
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon cayenne
- 1 tablespoon ancho powder
- 1 tablespoon guajillo powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon Mexican cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste (1 teaspoon each)
Instructions
- Add the ground pork (or other grounds meats) to a large mixing bowl.
- Add all of the seasonings and vinegar. Hand mix the ingredients into the meat until uniformly mixed.
- Store until ready to use or cook immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 9/30/22 to include new information and video. It was originally published on 10/13/21.
Jon says
Although I have not tried yours (I will) I have a couple the I use quite a bit. We are currently living in Mazatlan and most of the commercial stuff here is ground too fine and lacks much spice. . There are some markets where good stuff can be found.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Jon. I'm sure you'll be able to get some great quality chorizo there.
Kozmo says
Mike, I'm I just started collecting ground peppers for this. You ever try merguez? I just learned about it. It's a spicy North African sausage. I'd love to see a recipe for lamb merguez.
Mike Hultquist says
I have, Kozmo! I love it. Yes, I should do a series of spicy sausage making.
cfbcfb says
It's pretty darn good. Theres a place near me that does charcuterie and one of the things she makes is lamb merguez. Delicious.
Rusty Zimmerman says
Mike, I have some enchilada sauce left over can I use it to season the chorizo
Mike Hultquist says
Rusty, that would actually work quite nicely. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Rusty Zimmerman says
Mike The chorizo is excellent, I used your recipe for red enchilada sauce, and added 2 tomato,Mexican oregano when I made the sauce. 2 cups of red enchilada sauce to 4# of ground pork
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear, Rusty! Very nice!!!
Robin says
This is the 3rd time I’ve made this delicious chorizo! I’ve tried so many recipes over the years and this knocks it out of the park, nothing beats it! No changes necessary. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Mike Hultquist says
Outstanding! Glad you like it, Robin. I swear by this recipe!
jamie parisi says
I have 2 pork butts thawing for chorizo. avg size 10 pds. What proportions would i use for green chorizo?
Mike Hultquist says
Jamie, I need to test exact proportions for green chorizo, but for 10 pounds of pork, I would use 10 roasted poblanos, 10 cups packed cilantro (chopped), 2 cups vinegar, and then the same seasonings used in this recipe (x 6). I hope this helps.
Gina says
Very good seasoning mix. I added spices to shredded tofu and it was really tasty!
Mike Hultquist says
Wonderful! I love your version! Very nice.
Brenda Brydges says
Mike, I made this recipe yesterday and gotta tell you, I loved it. Tis perfectly spiced. I didn't have the Guajillo so added extra ancho. I also used hot paprika since it's all I buy. Thank you! My only hope now is that you will make a similar spicy Italian sausage also... Perfect!
Mike Hultquist says
Perfection!! Glad you enjoyed it, Brenda! Glad to help! Homemade chorizo is so good!!!
Eve Mitchell says
It's good to know that you can actually puree chorizo to make it smoother. My husband loves meat and grilling, and he said that wants to try cooking pork chorizo sometime this week. Our kids are really picky, so I'll help him find a recipe that they might be able to enjoy. http://www.sabrosurafoods.com/our-products/
Mike Hultquist says
Absolutely, enjoy. I have a number of recipes with chorizo on the site.
Agustin Medina says
I know you encourage us to experiment with ingredients to taste, but it would be helpful if you gave the basic quantity to use to start out. Is that possible? Thank you.
Mike Hultquist says
Agustin, all of my exact measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Please let me know if you can't find it.
Christine says
Thank you for this recipe! We don't eat sugar, which seems to be an ingredient in EVERY packaged chorizo. Making it myself somehow never occurred to me as an option. Looking forward to adding chorizo back to my ingredient list!
Shopping tip: Asian markets with meat counters always seem to have the best prices on ground pork.
Mike H. says
Thanks, Christine - enjoy!
I.M. Ball says
Thank you for the recipe to make chorizo, We don't have it here is S.Africa.
So I can now make all those recipes that need .
Blessings. I.M. Ball
Mike H. says
I am happy to hear that - enjoy!
tony miskowiec says
Excellent, made a batch this am. Now that I am retired I spend 6&1/2 months in Phoenix and 5&1/2 months in Northern MN at the cabin. In AZ the stores have a decent mixture but I always have to add something for my taste. In northern MN it's good luck, nobody up here wants that. So it is important that I have a way to make my own. Thanks Mike.
Mike Hultquist says
Agreed, Tony. So good when you can really customize it. I know, I need this on hand ALWAYS. Thanks for commenting!