Sausage is a universally loved meat. The Germans have their bratwurst, the Spaniards have morcilla, the French their boudin. Throughout culinary history sausages have been made as a way to utilize all parts of the animal so that nothing goes to waste. They can be eaten fresh or cured and air-dried.
This recipe is for fresh Mexican chorizo. I stuff it into casings, but if you want to skip this step, it can be used in many dishes as a loose sausage. It is delicious in scrambled eggs or rice dishes.
A meat grinder is required for this recipe, so if your stand mixer is collecting dust, this is a great excuse to fire it up. The sausage making attachment comes with two sizes of extruders, necessary if you want to make sausage links, and only costs about $10.
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2010.