[USA] Chorizo Corner (Section 2) Chapters 4 - 6

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Chuckwagon
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[USA] Chorizo Corner (Section 2) Chapters 4 - 6

Post by Chuckwagon » Mon Aug 13, 2012 22:01

This topic is "locked".
Sorry fellow members - due to restraints in length of "chars", you'll have to post your comments about this topic in Hyde Park under "New Topic: Chorizo". Here's a quick link: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?p=11402#11402

Section 2

Chapter 4 Onward to Yucatan:

We now go further south, where the spicing changes gradually from the Mexican reliance on chiles but the flavor of Spain is still imitated. In Yucatan and in Central America, some of the dried peppers used farther north are replaced with a much-favored local spice called annatto (achiote in Spanish). The ground spice has a subtle flavor described as... well, no one seems to be able to describe its flavor. Surprisingly, annatto is used to give cheddar cheese its characteristic yellow-red color. That color is probably one of the reasons why it`s used here, but I still suspect that there`s a taste. I just can`t quite put my finger (or tongue) on it.

The following recipe was developed from a number of Spanish-language recipes, including:
http://www.recetas-mexica...rg/tag/achiote/
http://www.recetas-mexica...zo-de-campeche/

My own recipe is as follows. If achiote paste is not available in your local market, please use the recipe which follows. To be honest, there were few recipes available on line or on my bookshelf. Here`s my best shot.

Chorizo Estilo Yucatecano:
Original Recipe...........Ingredient..................1 Kg (Total) Recipe.....1 Kg (Meat Basis) Recipe
2 lbs. (or 1 kilo).........pork butt (20% fat) ......................... ......874 gm........ .........(same
2.5 gm.. ..... ..............non-iodized salt......................................2.2 gm.......................as
.. ..... ... .. ..... ......................... (dissolve in the juice+vinegar).................................... original)
2.5 gm.... ..................cure #1 (dissolve in the juice+vinegar)...2.2 gm..........
1.0 gm....... ...............pepper (black) .......................................0.9 gm..........
20 gm...... .................garlic (6 medium cloves - fresh) ...........17.5 gm..........
9.0 gm..... .................chile- ancho ...........................................7.9 gm..........
4.4 gm..... .................chile-pasillo ...........................................3.8 gm..........
10.0 gm.... ................chile- chipotle .......................................8.7 gm..........
25 gm... ....................Recado de achiote (annatto paste).....21.8 gm..........
40 gm.... ...................Seville (bitter) orange juice.................35.0 gm..........
30 gm..... ..................Cider vinegar.......................................26.2 gm..........

All chiles listed are dried chiles. Remove the stems and seeds and, if you wish, toast them to develop the flavor, then grind. If you can`t find dried chipotle peppers, canned can be used if washed thoroughly, then dried off with a paper towel. They taste slightly different because of the pickling process. Either way, they taste good. ...smoky. Vary the chiles as you wish. Color and flavor will change slightly (part of the fun).

The achiote paste is commonly available in 100 gram packages in the Hispanic sections of grocery stores. ...or use the recipe below. The paste sometimes comes in cubes, like bouillon does. This recipe is scaled to use a single 25 gram (approximately) cube.

For a reasonable approximation of Seville orange juice, mix 30 grams of orange juice with 10 grams of lime juice. Use a good quality Texas or California orange juice and Mexican (Key) limes. Florida oranges, in my opinion, are too sweet and watery, and don`t quite have enough of the citrus flavor required here.

Yucatecan Recipes
To give a feel for what the local cooking in Yucatan is like, I decided to include a recipe for the well-known baked pork dish, Cochinita Pibil. We first had this dish at the popular Houston restaurant, Merida, back in the `70s. The dish`s popularity has grown widely, fostered by such cooking shows as Rick Bayless` "Mexico, One Dish at a Time." There are quite a few variations, but all are based on annatto. Have a look at some of the more readable ones:
...selection from E. QUIN - "De Mi Colección de Recetas"
http://foodhoe.blogspot.c...-cochinita.html
http://www.dianaskitchen.com/page/pork/pibil.htm "The Cuisines of Mexico" by Diana Kennedy
http://www.vinagrebarrili...comexicana.html
http://mx.answers.yahoo.c...28121951AAmiWFu
http://www.recetas.net/receta.asp?id=2557YT
http://whatscooking.us/2008/06/10/cochinita-pibil/
http://www.cookingindex.c...inita-pibil.htm
...and then try mine, which is an average of many of the above. The definitive recipe for cochinita pibil does not exist. This effort started as a search for THE recipe, and ended with a simple, reasonable version. ...hopefully. I like it, anyway. What else can I say?

My search encompassed internet and cookbook recipes in Spanish as well as English. It ended with a recipe for achiote paste that beats the commercial version because there`s no MSG, masa filler, or preservatives. Interestingly, it`s still an easy recipe.

Here`s some background, then the generic recipe for achiote paste, followed by the generic recipe for cochinita pibil and marinated onions, plus a serving suggestion. Enjoy. I am indebted to the website, http://foodhoe.blogspot.com for the paraphrased background information. They, in turn, credit Rick Bayless for it. Whatever you think of him. Bayless does a wonderful job of awakening the English-speaking world to Mexican dishes and tastes.

Traditional dishes are that way- - no set recipe. Through the ages, mothers and grandmothers have interpreted traditional recipes according to food availability and their families` own tastes. Here`s my effort. Viva tradición!

Achiote Paste Background
Achiote paste consists of ground annatto seeds mixed with spices, salt, garlic, and lime or Seville orange juice to form a paste. It originates in the Yucatan region of Mexico. The red color comes from annatto seeds, which have been in use since well before Colombian times, not only in food but also as a dye for fabrics and body paint. Commercial packages are available and are widely used in Latin America. However, like many processed foods, they contain non-traditional additives such as MSG, filler, and food coloring. Thus, we need a recipe for achiote paste.
The word Cochinita refers to baby pig, and the Mayan word pibil means buried oven. This dish typically would be a pig, marinated in achiote seasoning, wrapped in banana leaves and pit-cooked, served in yellow corn tortillas with pickled red onions and salsa. It is, of course, possible to cook this dish in a modern oven. The pit-roasted flavor is missing, but the result is still good.

Achiote Paste (Recado Rojo) Recipe
This recipe is derived from eight recipes, some in Spanish and others in English. Typical values are listed, as well as the range, so you can see how forgiving the recipe is (and how widely its practice varies). A number of other recipes that called for obviously non-authentic ingredients such as lemons or tequila were tossed out as suspect.

The recipe has, of course, been adapted to Yucatan from the original recipes used in Spain. The main variation is substituting Seville orange juice (or a mix of three quarters orange juice to one quarter lime juice) for straight lime juice. For lime juice, the small Mexican limes are recommended, rather than the larger ones grown in Florida which are called Persian limes. ...your choice.
Recommended..........Range..........Ingredient
2 Tbsp........................(basis)..........Annatto seeds (buy pre-ground powder if available)
5 cloves......................4 - 24..........Garlic, fresh, minced
1-1/2 tsp....................0 - 1-1/2......Coriander seeds, ground
1 tsp..........................0 - 1.............Salt
1 tsp..........................1/2 - 1.............Cumin seeds, ground
1 tsp..........................3/4 - 1-1/2.......Black Peppercorns, ground
4................................0 - 6.............Allspice berries (grind)
2................................0 - 3.............Cloves (grind)
1 tsp...........................0 - 2.............Oregano
Up to 4 Tbsp..............varies............Seville Orange Juice (or 3/4 orange, 1/4 lime) (Optional: lime only)

If you have to, crush the annatto seeds in a mortar and pestle, or in a spice grinder. Do this once and you`ll always buy achiote molido (ground annatto) in the store. Grind the other spices. Crush the garlic into a paste. Mix all. Add just enough lime or Seville orange juice to form a paste. As you can see from the table, amounts aren`t critical.

Cochinita Pibil Recipe
Once the achiote paste recipe is nailed down, the pork portion easily falls into place. All of the recipes that I examined had essentially the same amount of paste. There were minor variants in other ingredients, as listed below.

(Achiote as paste, rough conversion estimates: 2 tablespoons = 30 ml = 50 gm)

Ingredient............................Recommended..........Range
Pork, kg (lbs)...........................(1 kg) - 2-1/4 lbs..........(basis)
Achiote mix (gm)(Tbsp)..........(100 gm) - 4T..........All the same
Black pepper (tsp)...................1/2..................................0 - 1
Oregano (tsp)..........................1/2................................0 - 1
Cinnamon (tsp).......................1/4.................................0 - 1/4
Lime Juice (cups).....................1/2 [alternate 1-1/2]........same
Orange Juice (cups).................1 [alternate 0]............same

The recipe is simple, and intentionally vague. Place everything but the pork in a sealable bag, then squish it to mix. Place the pork roast in the bag, seal, and squish until the pork is well-coated with marinade. Crack the seal, squeeze out the air, and reseal. Leave the bag in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

To cook, dump the contents of the bag into a dutch oven, crock pot, or other oven-proof pot. Place a sheet of foil over the top, then the lid, to seal the pot. Place in a pre-heated 300 degree oven for 4 hours, until the pork is falling-apart tender. This dish can also be cooked in a slow cooker (crock pot, to us ex-hippies). At the end of the cooking time, when the meat is very tender, pour off the juices into a pot and reduce rapidly to 1/2 or 1/3 the volume, then add back.

Marinated Onions Recipe
This little gem is so simple that no exploration was necessary. Cut one red onion in half, then thinly slice it (don`t chop). In a small bowl, sprinkle the onion with 1/2 teaspoon salt to draw moisture. After half an hour, give `em a quick rinse to wash off the salt and excess water. This moderates the onion`s pungency, too. Pat dry. Add 1/4 cup lime juice or vinegar, toss, cover, and set aside to marinate while the meat is cooking, stirring from time to time. If you wish, you can add a pinch of ground cumin and a pinch of ground black pepper.

To Serve:
Heat yellow corn tortillas. (White corn tortillas are not authentic, and in my opinion have little or no flavor. Flour tortillas have no place in the traditional diet, and should not be used.) Assemble as tacos, making them as you go. Place a tortilla on a plate, add some shredded meat, add some marinated red onion, add salsa to your preference, put in some chopped fresh cilantro, and fold. This dish is traditionally served with a side of black beans.



***************************

Chapter 5 - CHORIZO - Salvadorian, Colombian, Peruvian

I blundered into this one on the internet. It`s a mild but interesting sausage, good when grilled and eaten on a bun. Note that annatto is still there, but that emphasis is beginning to shift to other spices, notably thyme and parsley. Note, too, the inclusion of beef and bacon, and the fact that the type of red chile is not specified.
http://www.recetasgratis....ceta-35941.html

Chorizo Recipe - El Salvador

Original Recipe...................Ingredient...........1 Kg (Total) Recipe.....1 Kg (Meat Basis) Recipe
2 1/2 lb. Carne de res, molida.....................2 1/2 lbs ground beef..........0.39 kg......................0.46 kg
2 lb. Posta de puerco,...............................2 lbs pork butt.................0.31 kg......................0.36 kg
........con bastante gordura, molida..... with adequate fat, ground
1 lb. de tocino, molido..............................1 lb bacon, ground...........0.16 kg......................0.18 kg
2 cucharadas orégano, en polvo................2 Tbsp dried oregano..7.9 gm......................9.1 gm
2 cucharadas de tomillo, en polvo..............2 Tbsp dried thyme.....3.2 gm......................3.6 gm
1 cucharada de Comino en polvo...............1 Tbsp ground cumin...5.2 gm......................6.0 gm
1/2 cucharada de Pimienta negra, en polvo . 1/2 Tbsp ground black pepper..2.6 gm .3.0 gm
1/2 taza de Vinagre de Manzana o blanco.....1/2 cup vinegar (cider or white) .40 ml..46 ml
1 cucharada de Achiote..............................1 Tbsp annatto (ground) ...5.5 gm...........6.4 gm
1 chile rojo, finamente picado.....................1 red chile, finely chopped...1.7 gm.........2.0 gm
1/2 Cebolla mediana, finamente picada.........1/2 medium onion, minced..52. gm ...60. gm
2 dientes de ajo, finamente picado.............2 cloves garlic, minced..........3.5 gm......4.0 gm
1/2 manojo de Perejil italiano, finamente picado.1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped....5.2 gm...6.0 gm
sal al gusto. ..............Salt to taste............10.0 gm......................8.7 gm

Procedure (literal translation): "Combine all ingredients into a mass in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 24 hours in the refrigerator. The synthetic gut which is stuffed dough [collagen?], available in any butcher Italian, German or you can order in the Super Markets. For the sausage. If you have a special machine for sausages, you can use a large funnel or cut the "mouth" [off] of a plastic bottle. Make a long sausage, which is then separated into pieces of 2 inches, which tie with strips of dried corn husks (wet). You can save the sausages for two days in the refrigerator. As they have no preservatives, should eat of fresh." (The two-inch length is popular in Catalan, so perhaps this is done as an imitation.)

This recipe is refreshing in its simplicity, and in the method of tying the casing with moistened strips corn shuck. There is no indication as to what red chili is preferred. Perhaps any reasonable type might be used, although you should be careful with the habañero chile from adjacent Caribbean cultures. The habañero contributes "heat," but not much color, so there are few if any references to its use in making chorizo. In fact, most Cuban coking specifies Spanish chorizo. There are wonderful Cuban dishes featuring chorizo, but they appear to use Spanish chorizo. I speculate that this is because there is no local source of intensely red colored ingredients.

Peppers of the Caribbean

While a bit out of order, this is probably a good place to comment on the aji chile. I was searching for a source for the aji, which is difficult to find in North America. http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Aji-dulce.cfm says, in part, "Ají dulce (Capsicum chinense) is a small, light green pepper that turns red if left long enough on the plant. In Puerto Rico, it is known as ají dulce or ajicito (sweet pepper and small pepper, respectively, in Spanish). In the Dominican Republic, it is also known as ají gustoso or ají cachucha (tasty pepper, and cap-shaped pepper, respectively, in Spanish). It has the shape and size of a habanero pepper without the intense heat. Unlike many other countries in Latin America, hot peppers are not commonly used in the cuisine of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, or Cuba." It goes on to recommend the soil of New England for growing aji dulce.

At the time, I was looking for aji Amarillo, which I thought might be the proper variation of aji for use in chorizo. (I was wrong.) This variety is popular in Peruvian and Bolivian food, and has a high Scoville rating. However, it`s the wrong color, so I concluded that it was the wrong type. More about that, later.

CHORIZO - Dominican Republic, Colombia & Venezuela

Over and over, the dish "Arepas con Chorizo" surfaced as I was looking for Colombian chorizo recipes. Arepas are corn meal cakes. One Venezuelan recipe calls for sautéing chopped onions, garlic, and crumbled chorizo, spreading the mixture plus black beans and white cheese onto the cornmeal cakes. http://mykitchenmoovement...dwich-ever.html
Another recipe from Dominica by Rosario M. Rodríguez Perdomo http://rosiperdomo.blogsp...de-chorizo.html calls for the following:

Arepas:
For the arepas:
2 y 1/2 tazas (cups) agua.........................water
1/2 cucharadita (tsp) sal...........................salt
2 tazas (cups) harina de maíz precocida.....Masa harina (finely ground corn meal) (pre-cooked)
aceite para freír........................................Oil for frying

As for the stuffing:
2 tomates cortados en cubitos (sin piel , ni semillas).................Chopped tomatoes (skinned, seeds removed)
1 cebolla finamente picada.....................................................Onion, minced
1 trozo ("piece," link) chorizo cortado en cuadritos pequeños.....Chorizo cut into small pieces
4 huevos..............................................................................eggs
2 cucharadas (Tbsp) aceite de oliva,........................................olive oil
un toque (pinch) colorante alimentario en polvo (Carmencita)....Food coloring
sal y pimienta al gusto............................................................Salt and pepper to taste

As you will see in the recipe below, chorizo from the Caribbean and northern South America doesn`t use the chiles or annatto that chorizo makers farther north use, nor does it us the aji peppers from farther south.

Colombian Chorizo Recipe

From http://recetas-fercho.blo...antioqueos.html comes this recipe for Colombian "chorizos antioqueños," antique or tradition style chorizo. You`ll very likely want to scale this one down!

Para 20 kilos de embutido (20 kg = about 44 lbs of sausage)
Original Recipe......................Ingredient.....1 Kg (total) Recipe.....1 Kg (meat basis) Recipe
14 kilos (30 lbs 14 oz). ..........Ground Beef....0.709 kg.................0.824 kg
... carne pulpa de res ode cerdo......or Pork
3 kilos (6 lbs 10 oz). tocino....Bacon..............0.152 kg.................0.177 kg
1 cucharada y media.............Ground ...........6.8 gm...................8.0 gm
...(1-1/2 Tbsp) Ajo in polvo........garlic powder
1 cucharada y media .............Ground cumin...7.6 gm..................8.8 gm
..(1-1/2 Tbsp).Comino en polvo.
1 libra y media ......................Green onion........20 gm................24 gm
...(1-1/2 lbs). cebolla de rama
1 manojo (bunch). cilantro.......Cilantro..........7.6 gm...................8.8 gm
1 cucharada y media ..............Oregano.........7.6 gm...................8.8 gm
.....(1-1/2 Tbsp). orégano
1 y medio litros (1-1/2 liters). agua......Water...76 ml....................88 ml
15 cucharadas (Tbsp). sal......salt..................13.7 gm................15.9 gm

The usual stuffing and refrigerating process should be used. Note the lack of red coloring. Note even more the lack of peppers on any kind! I confess- - I skipped this one. Any recipe with bacon in it is bound to be good, though!

CHORIZO - Peru

My wife and I visited several cities in Peru, back in the early nineties. This was just after the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerillas were being controlled again by the Fujimori government. The food was great, the people were delightful, the scenery and artifacts were spectacular. I gave my first speech in Spanish, at a school dedication near the city of Arequipa. My wife took photographs. Later, when I saw the photos, I noticed why the low angle- - there were Uzi-armed Federal Police on the roofs surrounding the plaza.

Proud of my budding linguistic abilities, I sent copies of the photos to my brothers. One shot back, "Are your speeches so bad that they have to hold machine guns on the crowd to make them stay?"

I haven`t given a speech in public since. As for my writing, you`ll have to be the judge. But my cooking- - definitely making progress. In Peru, we sampled local cuisine. I don`t recall the use of chorizo to any extent, although I`m sure that it was there. However, I might theorize that there was not as strong a Spanish influence in the food in Peru, because the Spanish conquerors were only males and, for wives, they all intermarried with the Incas. The Incas far outnumbered them and their descendants, and still do today. I`ll continue to search. An excellent cookbook by Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz, titled "The Book of Latin American Cooking" will help. But then, maybe not to the level that we need. For example, it doesn`t have a recipe for cuy (guinea pig), a Peruvian national dish. ...gotta show you a cuy recipe. (It, of course, tastes like chicken.)

In Peru, the areas west of the Andes mountains to the coast are very dry, with the exception of narrow irrigated river valleys where, among other crops, rice is grown. The high plains, "altiplano," are little better, although there is enough moisture in limited areas to grow potatoes. East of the mountains, it`s very wet, and the jungle, "la selva," takes over.

CHORIZO DE LA SELVA (Peru) http://www.nutricionyrecetas.com/andino/lacurcuma.htm

INGREDIENTES:
Original Recipe..................................Ingredient...1 Kg (total) Recipe ....1 Kg (meat basis)
tripa o intestino delgado del cerdo..............Pig gut or small intestine
3/4 Kilo carne de cerdo picada...................Ground pork meat
100 g. Grasa de cerdo picado.....................Ground pork fat
2 Cebollas rojas picada..............................Chopped red onions
1/4 Limón.................................................Lime
1 Cucharadita (tsp) Guisador (see below) ...tumeric
al gusto (to taste) Comino.........................cumin
al gusto (to taste) sal.................................salt

The reference to "guisador" stumped me, but our trusty internet search engines turned up a reference to a recipe commemorating St. John the Baptist: commemorating St. John the Baptist: http://www.nutricionyrece...o/lacurcuma.htm
Quote:
...of all ingredients stands one called `guisador` and any unsuspecting cook does not locate in any gastronomic dictionary, this is what they call turmeric. The juane is the representation of the beheading of John the Baptist in the Biblical legend. Several types of Juane, The Juane Rice (the best known), the rumu Juane, whose ingredient is peruanísima cassava and there is also the Nina Juane (Juane gold or valuable), is prepared with about 25 eggs.
Translation of translation:- - the tumeric gives a golden color.

Another note, here: it was mentioned earlier that Seville orange juice or bitter orange juice is best substituted by a mixture of three quarters orange juice and one quarter lime juice. Here`s another gem: in Latin America, references to "limón" should be translated as "lime."

PREPARACION:
Lavar las tripas por ambos lados, y dejar reposar en agua con sal y limóny por 30 minutos.
Wash the tripe on both sides, and let stand in salted water + lime juice for 30 minutes.
En un envase colocar la carne de cerdo, la grasa, cebolla, guisador, comino y sal al gusto y remover bien.
In a mixing bowl place the pork fat, onion, tumeric, cumin and salt, and stir well.
Las tripas se deben de enguajar bien y cortarlas de 20 a 30 cm, llenarlas con el preparado y amarrarlos por ambos lados.
The intestines should be filled well and measure 20 to 30 cm, filled with the preparation and tied on both sides.
Cocinar el chorizo relleno por espacio de 30 minutos.
Cook the stuffed sausages for 30 minutes.
Para servir esta entrada se corta el chorizo en círculos de 3 cm, y se puede frie en poco aceite o asar a la parrilla, se acompana con tacacho o solo con plátano frito y su ensalada de cocona.
To serve this entree, cut the sausage in circles of 3 cm diameter, and fry in a little oil or grill, accompanied with tacacho (Boiled plantains mashed in a mortar, plus salt, small pieces of pork rind, and lard.) or just with fried plantains and salad cocona.
(Cocona is a fruit native to Colombia and Peru, which is not widely available.)

COMENTARIO DEL AUTOR:
El chorizo tiene un sabor agradable y puede servirse como entrada con plátano frito o como segundo acompañado con tacacho.
The sausage has a pleasant taste and can be served with fried plantains as an entrée, or as a second course accompanied tacacho.

Interestingly, there are no peppers specified, and the turmeric is used to obtain a golden, rather than red, color. ...so I skipped this one. It looks good, though a bit plain.

And as for the cuy recipe....
There`s a video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEFOt79lXaU done by Bryson Adams which shows the preparation of Cuy Chactado, a traditional method of boiling a skinned, flattened guinea pig in broth beneath a rock, then frying it with potatoes. (The establishment is called "Picanteria El Pato," interestingly. ...the Duck. ...not the Guinea Pig.) According to the write-up,
Quote:
Cuy Chactado is a traditional Peruvian dish that has been passed down through the centuries from the time of the Incas. According to local lore, cuy was even considered an Inca delicacy and consumed primarily by the empire's nobility. Today, cuy can be found in many restaurants, but is best prepared by a picanteria or in the foothills of the Andes by country locals. The cuy I [Adams] tried at a local picanteria in the city of Arequipa was particularly delicious!
Interested people may care to watch the video, but be warned that this video is not for the casual reader. It`s in Spanish, but the video portion is easy to follow.

Adams says, during the dining scene, that "it tastes like chicken, more or less." With that in mind, let`s have a look at a few recipes which, since you probably don`t have a supplier of cuy nearby, can be made with chicken. I suggest substituting two boneless chicken thighs for each whole cuy, using a pair of bamboo skewers to secure them together and keep them flat during the cooking process. With a little imagination and bamboo, you too can feast on the meal of Incan nobility.

Picante de Cuy Cajamarquino

http://www.cocinarica.com...jamarquino.html
This recipe uses toasted peanuts and green chile peppers. Toast skinless, unsalted peanuts in a heated pan. You`ll have to substitute green chiles poblanos or Anaheim, or New Mexico chiles (Hatch chiles are quite flavorful), toasted directly on the flame of a gas stove or grill, then peeled.

*Cuatro cuyes.....................................................4 cuy (substitute 8 boneless chicken thighs)
*Dos kilos de papa amarilla..................................2 Kg yellow potatoes
*Cien gramos de maní tostado..........................100 gm toasted peanuts
*Cinco ajíes verdes.............................................5 green peppers
*Ocho dientes de ajo para el aderezo...................8 garlic cloves for garnish
*Cuatro dientes de ajo para la salsa.....................4 garlic cloves for the sauce
*Sal, comino y pimienta al gusto..........................salt, cumin, black pepper to taste

Preparación
Pelamos los cuyes con agua caliente, luego preparamos un aderezo con los dientes de ajo, pimienta, sal y comino al gusto, con este aderezo bañamos los cuyes.
Luego, colocamos al cuy en el fuego, se puede preparar a la brasa o en el horno. Aparte, sancochamos la papa amarilla en agua con un poco de sal luego las pelamos y cortamos en rodajas.
Skin the guinea pigs with hot water, then prepare a seasoning with the garlic, pepper, salt and cumin to taste. With this dressing, marinate the guinea pigs [for two hours]. Then put the guinea pig on grill (can be prepared on the grill or in the oven). Separately, boil yellow potatoes in water with a little salt, then peel and cut into slices.

Colocamos las papas en un plato o en una fuente con los trozos de cuy. Aparte en una sartén con un poco de aceite, preparamos una salsa caliente con ajíes verdes molidos, los dientes de ajo molidos y el maní tostado previamente licuado o molido. Cuando todo esté bien frito, adelgazamos el preparado con un poco de caldo de pollo o agua y vertemos la salsa sobre la carne y las papas.
Put the potatoes on a plate or in a dish with pieces of guinea pig. In a separate pan put some oil, prepare a hot sauce with green peppers, ground, ground garlic cloves and roasted peanuts, finely ground. When everything is fried, dilute the preparation with a little chicken broth or water and pour the sauce over the meat and potatoes.

¡Buen provecho!

Searching for Aji: Differences in peppers (aji versus Mexican offerings).
In my search for South American peppers, I finally ran across two good descriptions of aji while looking for a conger eel recipe. They, and the recipe, follow.

A food blogger from SanDiego, http://rickcooks.com/ingredients/capsicum.htm, gives a series of notes, one of which claims that
Quote:
Thanks to the Spanish traders, today chiles are grown all over the world (the best in the hotter climates). Half of the over 200 varieties of chile are indigenous to México. The most common species of Capsicum consumed in the U.S. and México is Capsicum annuum, and is relatively unknown in the Americas south of the equator. Ají (Capsicum baccatum), not chile, is the species of Capsicum consumed in most of South America. (Capsicum baccatum is believed to be the ancestor of Capsicum annuum.)

Ají is well known in Chile, while chile is not. The cultivar ají verde (green ají) is the distinct Chilean species of ají, also called ají merquén by the native Mapuches. It is most often eaten when fresh and green, when it is mildest and most flavorful, in salads such as the Ensalada Chilena, or pebres, or as a condiment for soups or other hot dishes. In cooking, the more ripened yellow merquén may be used, while the fully ripened red merquén, also called cacho de cabra (kid's horn) is almost too pungent to eat, except when used judiciously as a seasoning in criollo (Creole) dishes or Spanish pilpil. Some imported chile spices are known in Chile, such as cayenne pepper and paprika, but they are misnamed ají de cayenne and ají de color. In Chile, paprika is made from the sweet ají pimiento porron, and has a distinct flavor from Hungarian paprika.
I was looking for two types of peppers, as it turns out. Chilean practice seems to involve one pepper type for color and a different one for piquancy. The colorant pepper that I was looking for, I believe, is aji de color, here called aji pimiento porron. (See the "Eating Chilean" blog at http://eatingchile.blogsp...ile-is-aji.html ) I ran into problems finding a supply, and decided to substitute Spanish sweet paprika even though it warns that the flavors are different. I hope you have better luck. Perhaps you can find it under one of a number of similar names: aji poro, porro, or puerro.

For piquant chiles used in cooking, the red (fully-ripened) aji "cacho de cabra" ("goat`s horn") can be processed into "aji chileno," a spice blend of dried, smoked cabra de cacho chilies, ground toasted coriander seeds and salt, and occasionally oregano or cumin, referred to as aji merquén, as practiced by the Mapuche indians. That`s what I need.

Fortuately, I bought a bottle of chili sauce, brand name "JB Aji Chileno," in a grocery store in Santiago. Readers can no doubt find the brand available through mail order on the internet. After an extensive search, I finally bought my aji merquén via Amazon.com.


Chapter 6 - Chorizo de Chile

In contrast with Peru, the Mapuche Indios of Chile were never conquered or assimilated, so that even today, European societal influences are strong. Most immigrants to Chile came much later, and brought their families, possessions, and customs with them. Even today, Santiago is very European in character, and much of the country shows not only Spanish but German, Czech, British, and other European nationalities` influences.

The national dish, this being a coastal nation, is a seafood dish, conger eel soup, "Congrio." The eel is really an eel-looking fish with some of the wickedest looking teeth that I`ve ever seen. One evening, a couple of waiters brought out two six-foot specimens for our edification. ...amazing. ...as delicious tasting as they were vicious looking.

Back to the subject of Chile and chiles. Our friends at Wikipedia remind us that: "The name of the plant bears no relation to Chile, the country, which is named after the Quechua chin ("cold"), tchili ("snow"), or chilli ("where the land ends"). Chile, Panama, Peru and Puerto Rico are some of the Spanish-speaking countries where chilis are known as ají, a word of Taíno origin."

...and what is aji? Back to http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum which, translated, says:
Often one variety receives different names in different countries or different regions within a country.

It is called aji, chile, guindilla, morrón, ñora or pimiento, and is a fruit, either piquant or not, native to Mexico, Central and South America, of which there are many varieties of sizes, shapes and colors. The growing herbaceous or shrubby plants called Capsicum annuum (annual), and perennial shrubs, Capsicum frutescens.

It is called in different countries chile, chili, pepper, chilli, pepper, peperoncino being well known in Italy as peperoncino ie "pimientillo." In Mexico, the word "chile" originated from Nahuatl chilli or xilli. The term chili, though it may seem a derivative of garlic, is a word of Taino language, spoken in the Greater Antilles, particularly Cuba, where the nameAji is most commonly used pepper in the Caribbean and South America. In Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru and Chile the term aji is reserved for spicy varieties, such as Catalan or putaparió. In the USA, green pepper, red or yellow, not spicy, are known in American countries as "pepper bell," "sweet pepper ", "sweet chile" (Costa Rica) or"pepper.
We`d like to use the correct aji. This could be difficult, because the chorizo recipe below calls for a large amount of aji, presumably not the one with the 50,000 Scoville units. One possibility is a spice blend called merquen or merken, which I mentioned above. It is a traditional spice mixture prepared by the Mapuche indians of the Araucanía Region. It consists of about 75% dried and smoked red chile (ají cacho de cabra or goat's horn, Capsicum annuum), toasted coriander seeds, sometimes cumin, and salt. One commercial sausage company advertises their product at 1.05% merquen, according to an advertisement listingingredients.

Ají cacho de cabra would seem to fit with a blog written in English, http://eatingchile.blogsp...le-is-aji.html, which discusses the history of the words chile and aji, and has some nice pictures of various types. The writer, a former anthropology professor by the name of Jim, says that Chileans don`t go for very spicy food, and by process of elimination suggests that the goat`s horn chile is most likely what we`re looking for.

I purchased my merquén from Amazon.com. Other companies may carry it, but I was unable to find one which sold it for a reasonable price or in a reasonable quantity. I could not find a supplier of chile cacho de cabra, so I used the following information from a book by Daniel Joelson, titled "Tasting Chile, A Celebration of Authentic Chilean Foods and Wines" (Hippocrene Books, New York, 2004, 3rd printing 2010). On page 9, and again on page 27, he suggests
Quote:
Though it [merquén] is unavailable in the U.S. (and even throughout Chile), hot red pepper flakes are a fine replacement. These can be found in Turkish and Middle Eastern or Asian food stores under such names as kirmizi biber.
At last, I have an easy substitution. ...that, or my "J-B" pepper sauce.

As to Chilean chorizo, one source
( http://www.bedri.es/Comer_y_beber/Conse ... horizo.htm ) says that
Quote:
In Chile, chorizo is popularly called longaniza, although it is a variant of that type. The city of Chillán is known for the production of sausage and chorizo, due to heavy immigration from Spain during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
While in Chile, I did find one fermented version of chorizo for sale commercially, done in the Spanish style but with local pepper (called aji), in a supermarket. I brought it home with me, sealed in its vacuum-packed commercial packaging, declared as a "commercially packaged food product" under the line where meat products were specified. The Department of Agriculture officials never even looked at it. I am told that commercially-produced food items are not a problem if they meet USDA sanitary specifications. ...but good luck. Always declare them. That way, you`ll never get fined.

Chilean Chorizo

Here`s a recipe for a Chilean version of chorizo, from http://www.hifichile.cl/i...izo-parrillero/ which looks good. Note the presence of aji chile, and the absence of other types of peppers. Two heaping tablespoons of merquén would be expensive, so substitute the following:

As it turns out, what the Turks call kirmizi biber is red Aleppo pepper, and can usually be found in Middle Eastern markets. Aleppo pepper can be ordered via the internet at various spice merchants. I bought mine at one of the Penzey`s chain of retail stores. Try ordering via http://www.penzeys.com/ if more convenient.

Author's Note: Since writing this, I have found that the following Chilean recipe has circulated on the internet as being Argentine as well. (Sigh.) Whatever. It's pretty good, with a pronounced oregano fresh taste. Add plenty of the substitute Alleppo pepper. I find that Alleppo pepper is not as strong as the real Chilean aji found in merquén.

INGREDIENTES:
Original Recipe.................Ingredient...................1 Kg (total) Recipe.....1 Kg (meat basis)
2 kg. Carne de cerdo ......Pork without fat/skin...........0.37 kg....................0.40 kg
....sin grasa ni pellejos.
2 kg. carne de vaca ........Beef without fat/skin...........0.37 kg....................0.37 kg
....sin grasa ni pellejos
1 kg. grasa de cerdo.......Pork fat .............................0.185 kg..................0.20 kg.
.... (tocino y papada son las mejores)...(belly and jowls are best)
100 gr sal.......................Salt...................................18.5 gm...................20.0 gm
4 cucharadas colmadas oregano......Oregano...............3.9 gm.....................4.2 gm
....(heaping Tbsp)
2 cucharadas colmadas aji molido....Ground aji pepper
....(heaping Tbsp)..............(substitute Aleppo pepper).....2.2 gm.....................2.4 gm
1 cucharada colmada tomillo............Thyme....................1.1 gm.....................1.2 gm
....(heaping Tbsp)
1/2 cucharada al ras Pimienta negra..Black pepper...........1.1 gm....................1.2 gm
....(level Tbsp)
1/2 cucharada al ras nuez moscada...Ground nutmeg.......1.1 gm....................1.2 gm
....(level Tbsp)
1 cucharada al ras Ajo en polvo.........Garlic ....................1.9 gm...................2.0 gm
....(level Tbsp).... o fresco pero molido....powder or fresh minced
1 vaso (cup) vino tinto.......................Red wine................44 ml.....................47.2 ml
Hilo para atar....................................Tying string
Tripa de cerdo para embutir. ..............Hog casing for stuffing

Habitualmente se la consigue seca y salada, de modo que antes de ser utilizada se debe lavar e hidratar dejandola un rato en Agua con un poco de vinagre. Tambien hay que dilatarla, para lo cual se coloca un extremo en el pico de una canilla y se hace circular agua fria por su interior como si fuera una manguera.
Usually the casing gets dry and salty, so before use, wash and leave it for a while in water with some vinegar. Also you have to dilate- - one end is placed at a faucet and cold water is passed through it like a hose.

Si no fuera posible conseguir tripa, se pueden hacer utilizando papel film, colocando un poco de masa sobre el, enrollando, y tomandolo por los extremos retorcer como si se estuviera envolviendo un caramelo alargado. Llevarlos al frezzer y quitarles el film antes de asarlos.
If you can not get casing, use plastic wrap, placing a little sausage mixture on it, winding, and twisting the ends as if wrapping a caramel. Freeze them. Remove the film before grilling.

Si la masa fue bien trabajada durante el amasado, no se desintegraran y mantendran su forma durante la coccion.
If the mixture was well worked during kneading, it should not disintegrate and will maintain its shape during cooking.

MODO DE PREPARACIÓN:
Pasar las carnes y la grasa de cerdo por una maquina de picar con disco grueso. Picar una sola vez. Guardar en heladera para que adquiera un buen grado de frio.
Pass the meat and fat through a coarse grinder once. Store in refrigerator to keep cold.

Poner en un recipiente la sal y todas las especies y agregarle el vino, mezclar bien y luego verter todo sobre la carne picada. Mezclar y amasar de manera vigorosa de modo que todo quede bien integrado. La masa debe adquirir una consistencia pastosa. Esto se logra con uno o dos minutos de amasado, y es importante que las carnes esten bien frias.
Put salt and all spices into a bowl, add the wine, mix well, then pour over the ground meat. Mix and knead vigorously such that all is well mixed. The mixture should acquire a pasty consistency. This is accomplished with one or two minutes of kneading, and it is important that the meat is kept cold

EMBUTIDO:
a la maquina de picar, se le retira la cuchilla y el disco. En su lugar se coloca una boquilla para embutir y en ella se inserta la tripa de cerdo. Se va llenando la maquina con la masa y esta ira rellenando la tripa. Una vez hecho esto, se ataran los chorizos del tamaño que se desee.
Remove the grinding mechanism and install a stuffing nozzle in its place. Insert the hog casing. Once stuffed, tie the corizos in desired length.

Pincharlos con una aguja de modo de eliminar aire si lo hubiera.
Pierce with a needle to remove air, if needed.

Guardar en heladera si se consumieran en dos o tres dias. En frezzer a -18° C se pueden conservar por seis meses.
Keep in refrigerator if consumed in two or three days. Can be stored In freezer at -18 ° C for six months.

Se asan en parrilla sobre brasas, a fuego suave para que no se arrebaten, girandolos para que tengan una coccion pareja.
Roast on grill over hot coals, over low heat so they do not ... (snatch, rolling them to have a cooking partner.)(??)

Deben quedar cocidos de aspecto dorado pero no secos por dentro.
They should cook until they turn golden, but dry inside.

Se debe tener en cuenta que hay sales que salan mas que otras. Por tal motivo, antes de proceder al embutido, es bueno tomar una pequeña cantidad de masa y cocinarla en un sarten o plancha para degustarla y corregir el sabor si fuera necesario.
It should be noted that there are salts that salt more than others. For this reason, before the sausage is stuffed, it is advisable to take a small amount of mixture and cook in a skillet or griddle to taste it and correct the taste if necessary.

Conger Eel Chowder (Two Recipes)

The recipe for congrio, or eel chowder, although it does not use chorizo, includes two types of peppers. It`s delicious. I couldn`t resist including this, a recipe that some claim to be the national dish of Chile.

The first recipe was dedicated to Nobel literature prize laureate Pablo Neruda, said to be one of his favorite dishes. I hope you get to visit his fascinating house in Valparaiso, some day, then retire to a seafood restaurant atop the city or in nearby Viña del Mar for the chowder. (My apologies for the flowery introduction, but it was written by Neruda himself and, yes, the dish is quite good.)

http://cocinatipicachilen...-de-neruda.html
CALDILLO DE CONGRIO por PABLO NERUDA: Conger Eel Soup in Tribute to Pablo Neruda

Introduction
En el mar tormentoso de Chile vive el rosado congrio, gigante anguila de nevada carne. Y en las ollas chilenas, en la costa, nació el caldillo grávido y suculento, provechoso. Lleven a la cocina el congrio desollado, su piel manchada cede como un guante y al descubierto queda entonces el racimo del mar, el congrio tierno reluce ya desnudo, preparado para nuestro apetito. Ahora recoges ajos, acaricia primero ese marfil precioso, huele su fragancia iracunda, entonces deja el ajo picado caer con la cebolla y el tomate hasta que la cebolla tenga color de oro. Mientras tanto se cuecen con el vapor los regios camarones marinos y cuando ya llegaron a su punto, cuando cuajó el sabor en una salsa formada por el jugo del océano y por el agua clara que desprendió la luz de la cebolla, entonces que entre el congrio y se sumerja en gloria, que en la olla se aceite, se contraiga y se impregne. Ya sólo es necesario dejar en el manjar caer la crema como una rosa espesa, y al fuego lentamente entregar el tesoro hasta que en el caldillo se calienten las esencias de Chile, y a la mesa lleguen recién casados los sabores del mar y de la tierra para que en ese plato tú conozcas el cielo.

In the stormy sea of Chile lives the rosy conger, giant eel of snowy flesh. And in Chilean pots along the coast was born the chowder, thick and succulent, a blessing. Bring to the kitchen a skinned Conger eel, its mottled skin slipped off like a glove and bare leaving the grape of the sea, naked tender eel glistening, prepared for our appetite. Now take garlic, first caress that precious ivory, smell its irate fragrance, then blend the minced garlic with the onion and tomato until the onion is golden. Meanwhile, steam cook with the royal marine shrimp and when the peak of flavor is reached in a sauce made from the ocean water and the clear juice of the onion, then introduce the conger and immerse it in the pot, for the broth to be reduced be concentrated. It is only necessary to reduce the liquid in the dish to thick cream like a rose petal, and the fire slowly delivers the treasure until the chowder is warmed the essences of Chile come to the table, newly wed, the flavors of the sea and land so that in this dish you may know heaven.

Ingredients:
1 congrio colorado de 4 kilos o más.....1 conger eel (4 kilos or more)
3 cebollas..........................................3 onions
1 pimentón mediano verde o rojo........1 medium red or green pepper
3 tomates..........................................3 tomatoes
2 cucharadas de mantequilla...............2 Tbsp butter
2 cucharadas de aceite.......................2 Tbsp oil
2 cucharadas de ají de color................2 Tbsp Aji pepper
4 cucharadas de crema......................4 Tbsp cream
3 dientes de ajo.................................3 cloves garlic
3 hojas de laurel................................3 bay leaves
1 ramo de perejil...............................1 sprig parsley
2 ramos de cilantro, 1 para el caldo.....2 sprigs cilantro, one for the broth
y otro cortado fino................................and one minced
(para espolvorear al final)....................(to dust at the end)
2 ramitos de apio cortados en trozos....2 sprigs of chopped celery
1 zanahoria (para el caldo)..................1 carrot (for the broth)
Jugo de 1 limón...................................juice of one lime
1 cucharadita de oregano.....................1 tsp oregano
1 pizca de salsa de ají .........................1 dash of salsa de aji
sal y pimiento......................................salt & pepper
2 tazas de vino blanco..........................2 cups of white wine

Optional:
1 zanahoria grande cortadas en ruedas...1 large carrot cut into rounds
2 papas cortadas al gusto.......................2 potatoes cut as desired
250 gramos de camarones...................250 gm shrimp
250 gramos de machas........................250 gm razor clams
250 gramos de choritos........................250 grams mussels
250 gramos de almejas........................250 grams clams

Preparation:
Hay que hervir por dos horas las aletas del congrio en media taza de agua por persona, la piel, el espinazo y la cabeza del pescado, agregando como aliño dos hojas de laurel, una cebolla partida en dos, un par de hojas de apio, un ramo de perejil, uno de cilantro, sal y pimienta y dos dientes de ajo. Cuele este caldo base y póngalo en otra olla. Agregue los trozos de carne que se obtengan de la cabeza. Las presas de pescado se dejan marinando un rato, aliñadas con sal, pimienta, jugo de limón, un diente de ajo molido, orégano y una pizca de salsa de ají.

Al caldo se le incorpora cebolla cortada en pluma y frita en mantequilla, apenas doradas, 2 tomates fritos, 2 dientes de ajo picados y fritos, 1/2 pimentón verde o rojo cortado en cuadritos , 2 cucharaditas de ají de color y 2 tazas de vino blanco. Se pone a hervir este caldo, queriendo puede agregarle papas y zanahorias cortadas en rueditas y, 20 minutos antes de pasar a la mesa se agregan las presas de congrio y se deja cocinar a fuego muy lento sin dejarlo hervir.

Si se van a utilizar los mariscos opcionales, entonces hièrvalos en agua con poquita sal y se los agrega al caldillo al final, chorreàndolo con la crema, o ponerla en un recipiente en la mesa para que cada uno se sirva al gusto, que es lo que yo normalmente hago, puès algunas personas son alèrgicas a los productos lacteos. Mejor si servido en platos de greda y bien caliente.

Puede servir con arroz blanco y ensaladas, de aguacate, verde, de apio...etc.

Broth base (stock) should be boiled for two hours: eel fins in half a cup of water per person, skin, spine and head of the fish, adding as dressing two bay leaves, halved onion, a few celery leaves, a bunch of parsley, one of cilantro, salt and pepper and two cloves of garlic. Strain the broth base and put it in another pot. Add the meat obtained from the head. Fish pieces are left to marinate for a while, seasoned with salt, pepper, lemon juice, a clove of crushed garlic, oregano and a dash of chili sauce.

To the broth, add sliced onion sauteed in butter, just golden, 2 sauteed diced tomatoes, 2 sauteed cloves garlic, half a diced sauteed green or red bell pepper, 2 teaspoons paprika and 2 cups white wine . Boil the stock (you can add potatoes and carrots cut into wheels, 20 minutes before time to serve. At that time, add conger, dams and shrimp, and cook over very low heat without letting it boil.

If you use the optional seafood, then boil them briefly in water with a little salt and add them to the broth at the end, stirring in thecream just before serving, or put in a container on the table so everyone can enjoy their taste preference, which is what I normally do, because some people are allergic to dairy products. Best if served in clay plates and well heated.

Serve with white rice and salad, avocado, green, celery ... etc.

**********************************(Continued In Section 3)*********************************

Link: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=6504
Last edited by Chuckwagon on Mon Nov 16, 2015 22:50, edited 1 time in total.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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