Larder: Chorizo

Chorizo: first off, let’s get the pronunciation right. If you are in Portugal, you might pronounce it cho-ree-zoo. If you are in Spain, try cho-rit-tho. If, however, you find yourself confronted with it in Sainsbury’s, probably best to just say it how you see it – you never know, they might decide to rename it Bruce if enough people mess it up (after all, they now call Pollack, Colin).

For the purposes of this discussion we’ll be focusing on the most commonly found cured sausage, as opposed his fresh, cooking counterpart. Don’t be scared though; you can still fry the cured stuff up into crispy little nuggets.

Sainsbury’s Deli Chorizo ring
225g
£3.49
This beautifully smoky sausage has everything you want from your chorizo. Nice and dry, with just enough salt and a vibrant hit of paprika.

Tesco Finest Chorizo Extra
225g
£2.35
A bit wetter than the Sainsbury’s option, this ring is a luxurious dark red, making it a great option for frying up, adding colour and flavour to stews and salads.

Argal Chorizo, Morrisons
225g
£1.98
Not quite as exciting to taste as the others, but Morrisons’ long, straight chorizo is a bargain, with plenty of porky paprika for the price.

Comments

Uncle Chris - 1st October 2009, 9:15pm

I like the Morrisons one, although I am biased as this is my preferred super along with occasionally Waitrose. But usually I shop at independent shops and my local one stocks an “artisan” chorizo, which is more expensive than the supermarket ones, but the flavour is more concentrated. This is often the case and never more so than with bacon, which when bought from a supermarket can contain far, far more water than a traditionally cured bacon. Cook tham side by side and see the difference in shrinkage.