Spanish Vs Mexican Chorizo: Is There A Difference?

The seasoned pork sausage chorizo is a staple of many Spanish and Latin American cuisines. It's often included in dishes like hearty chili con carne and can also be utilized as a flavorful booster in meaty dishes like sloppy Joe's or even in a fresh feta and chickpea-based salad. However, not all chorizo is created equal, and the variety of chorizo that you choose can have a big impact on your experience with the savory sausage.

There's a panoply of chorizo varieties out there, thanks in no small part to Spain's colonial history. Now, many regions of the world claim their own styles of chorizo, from Paraguay to India. But of all the unique variations in the sausage, the Spanish and Mexican styles are two of the preeminent chorizo types out there.

Aside from their similar composition, though, these two sausages are quite distinct. The Spanish variety is dried, cured, and smoked and usually has garlic and smoked paprika. The Mexican variety is often fresher and more crumbly than its counterpart, since it's not smoked. So if a cured chorizo is your aim, shoot for the Spanish version; if you prefer a fresher, spicier chorizo that you need to cook first, then buy Mexican chorizo.

Spanish and Mexican chorizo are two totally different types of sausage

Though you could most easily differentiate Spanish and Mexican chorizo by simple yet defining characteristics, there are other ways in which these two chorizos stand apart from each other. Aside from the fact that both are typically pork-based sausages, you'd be forgiven for classifying Mexican and Spanish chorizo as different kinds of sausages entirely.

A classic Spanish chorizo uses garlic, herbs, white wine, and smoked Spanish paprika (typically made of pimento peppers, this spice also makes a great burger seasoning). This herbal, savory, and spicy blend of flavors is the perfect partner to Spanish chorizo's smokiness, brought on by the curing and smoking process that cooks the meat within. By virtue of it being a drier (and already cooked) sausage, Spanish chorizo is a staple in tapas-style dishes, where it can be sliced and served alongside other snacks.

Mexican chorizo, meanwhile, often uses chili peppers alongside other herbs and spices for a more piquant kick, contains pork fat as well as the ground meat, and also has vinegar or another acidic ingredient, making the flavor composition quite distinct from its Spanish cousin. And while Mexican chorizo might be aged, the sausage is still unsafe to eat and must be properly cooked before you can eat it. Because of this, hot crumbled Mexican chorizo works best not in tapas but rather as the meat component of larger dishes like tacos or huevos rancheros.

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