Mexican Sausage with Tequila
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.
Ingredients:
24 New Mexico dried red chiles
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 lbs ground pork
8 cloves garlic, minced or passed through a press
2 Tbsp dried oregano leaves, crushed
1 Tbsp salt
1 cup tequila
1/2 cup red chile powder
Instructions:
Preparing chiles puree: To soak and soften chiles, cover with boiling water and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Combine the softened chiles with 1 cup of the soaking liquid in a blender. In small batches, puree until smooth, about 4 minutes per batch. Do not overblend or the chile puree will become bitter. Strain the puree through a wire mesh sieve. Add additional cooking liquid to make 3 cups of puree. Set aside.
Seasoning meat: In a nonreactive bowl, mix together the beef, ground pork, garlic, oregano, and salt. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Marinating: Pour tequila over the seasoned meat. Using your hands, mix tequila into the meat until thoroughly combined. Marinate an additional hour. Mix the chile powder and chile puree into the seasoned meat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
Saute the tequila chiorizo 10 minutes in a heavy skillet over medium heat until cooked. Chorizo will keep between 3 to 5 days tightly wrapped in plastic and refrigerated at between 32°F to 37°F. If desired, freeze 1-lb portions of the chorizo in freezer bags up to 2 months.
Makes about 4 lbs or 12 servings.
From Celebracion by Regina Cordova.