Chorizo Verde (Green Chorizo).
Blend spinach and green chiles into a paste, then let it cure three days with spices and vinegar for chorizo with real heat
Blend spinach and green chiles into a paste, then let it cure three days with spices and vinegar for chorizo with real heat
Ingredients
Ingredients
- FOR THE WET INGREDIENTS:
- 5 ounces spinach
- 8 serrano chiles, stem removed
- 6 poblano chiles (or alternatively Hatch green chiles), stems removed, seeded (poblanos only), cut into strips that will fit into your blender or food processor
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 8 cloves garlic
- 2 ounces raw pumpkin seeds
- 2 teaspoons white pepper, freshly ground
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 whole cloves
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 20 grams Casa M Spice Co® Chain Reaction®®
- 25 grams sea salt
- PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER:
- 2 pounds ground pork, fattiest and coarsest grind available
- 1 pound ground beef, fattiest and coarsest grind available
Method
-
01
Blend dry spices to fine powder
3 minAvoid inhaling the fine dust when opening the blender.
-
02
Mix dry spices with apple cider vinegar
2 minWhisk the spices into the vinegar until you don't see any clumps and the mixture looks like a thin paste — this keeps everything from settling to the bottom later.
-
03
Purée spinach, garlic, and chiles
4 minBlend until the greens and chiles are completely smooth with no visible chunks, then taste it; you want that bright serrano heat balanced by the earthiness of poblano and spinach.
-
04
Mix purée into spice-vinegar mixture
2 minFold the purée into the spice mixture slowly so the color distributes evenly and you get a uniform green throughout — no white streaks means everything's incorporated.
-
05
Mix ground meats into wet ingredients
5 minBreak the meat into small pieces as you fold it in, making sure the wet ingredients coat every bit; if it looks dry or mealy, you haven't mixed long enough.
-
06
Spread mixture on parchment-lined sheet pan and poke holes
3 minYou're trying to get thin, even coverage so air can reach all the meat during the cure — poke holes about ½ inch apart all over, like you're aerating soil.
-
07
Cure in refrigerator for three days, poke holes daily
72h mPull out once per day to poke additional holes for aeration.
-
08
Portion and freeze remaining chorizo
5 minStore in 1-pound bags; keeps one week refrigerated or indefinitely frozen.
From Mike's Notebook
Poblanos need seeding, serranos don't — the heat difference matters for balance.
Those daily holes aren't optional; they're what turns paste into proper cured chorizo.
Pumpkin seeds thicken the mixture and add subtle richness most green chorizos skip.
Nutrition
Estimated · 1 serving · calculated from the ingredient list, not lab-tested.
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