Mexican Turkey Chorizo

by spiceaholic on May 5, 2012

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I’ve been a bit obsessed with Mexican chorizo lately.  What’s not to love about it?  It’s spicy, tangy, and goes oh so well with cheese.

In fact, the last few times I’ve been out for Mexican food or brunch, I would say there was once instance where chorizo was not involved.

Clearly it was time I learned to make my own!

Mexican chorizo is traditionally made with ground pork, dried red chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, and ground spices. However, my version is made with ground turkey to lighten things up a bit.

From looking up various recipes online and in a couple of my cookbooks (yes, I do refer to them, they are not merely for decoration), I knew I had to find a couple different types of dried chili peppers, specifically guajillo and ancho.  No problem, I thought, I’d be able to find them in the ethnic foods aisle at Publix.  I was fairly certain I’d seen dried chili peppers there.  Well, that wasn’t my luck this morning.  I drove to 2 nearby locations and couldn’t find them.  Luckily, we have an international farmer’s market in the area, so I knew I’d be able to find what I needed there.

The point is, I really needed these dried chili peppers and I found them!

My first foray into chorizo making is based on the recipe from Homesick Texan.  I tweaked to use ground turkey instead of pork and I upped the spices.

I have to say, not a bad first try!  At least now I don’t have to feel guilty about eating it often!

Try scrambling with eggs, mixing into omelets, sauteed with potatoes, as taco or quesadilla fillings, as nacho toppings, whatever sounds good!

Mexican Turkey Chorizo (adapted from Homesick Texan)

Ingredients

1 lb. ground turkey

3 dried guajillo peppers

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1-2 tsp. salt, to taste

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Preparation

1.  Heat large skillet over high heat.  Add guajillo peppers and toast for 10 seconds on each side.  Cover peppers with water and bring to a boil, then turn the heat off.  Let peppers soak for 20-30 minutes.

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2.  Once peppers have rehydrated, drain water and place peppers in blender, along with vinegar, onions, and garlic.  I probably should have removed the stems from the chilis first, but I forgot.  Blend until you have a thick paste.

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3.  Combine chili paste with spices and ground turkey in a bowl, mixing well.  My mixture turned out to be really liquidy and soft, but that might have been the turkey I used.  You can let the mixture sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight, or cook right away.

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4.  If cooking right away, then re-use the skillet you used to rehydrate the peppers.   Heat over medium-high heat and add chorizo mixture, making sure to cook thoroughly.

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Enjoy!

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Aiman Masud May 6, 2012 at 6:45 pm

Wow, ground turkey to new levels, am going to try it soon. Thanks for opening up new culinary horizons!!

Lain November 27, 2013 at 10:24 pm

My peppers are rehydrating as I type. I can’t wait to try the finished product. I’m making a chorizo cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving, but a few of my family members(myself included) don’t eat pork. Thank you for your creativity. Happy Thanksgiving.

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