Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails...

... Sugar, spice, and everything nice. If you remember the rhyme those are the ingredients for making little boys and girls. Also, let us not forget, we are what we eat.

Some of the best foods are made from the seemingly bad or gross. Boil bones with vegetables at their end of goodness and you get a tasty, rich, savory broth-- that is after you skim off the scum, and drain it through cheesecloth to get out all the little floaty bits and pieces. Milk that is almost about to sour makes the creamiest and sweetest ricotta cheese. The milk starts to separate within its homogeneity and acidifies naturally. This means that less acid is needed to pull the natural sweet fats away into the cheese. Aged steaks, well-hung carcasses covered in blue mold (like blue cheese), ahhh delicious.

We  butchers and a few fortunate culinary enthusiasts know what I'm talking about. We know about the scum of soup, souring milk, and aged (though not old)  meat. However, the majority of the general public has no clue as to the splendor of these delights.

 So why is our soup so good? We answer,"boil bones to make the broth." We don't mention the scum and floaty bits. Why is our cheese so creamy? "Because its freshly made... from spoiling milk."  And finally, why is that chorizo so good?  "It was made from snips, snails, and puppy dog tails."

Which brings me to the mystery of chorizo. Most people have no need to know about the snips, and snails, and puppy dog tails that go into making good chorizo. But sometimes... The more of them the better.  Making chorizo from a nice fresh pork roast most often will turn out tasting fine. But it hardly will be memorable. But adding in a few snips, snails, and tails will make it so much better. As a gainfully employed butcher I feel a professional code of conduct of non-disclosure regarding my latest snips and snails. However, I had just the right ones lately. Which dutifully so, I made some of the best chorizo ever for the Oracle Market (see their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OracleMarket ).

But not everything in good chorizo is snips and snails. I also am a big fan of sugar, spice, and nice. I, however, first must note though: there is no sugar in chorizo, just as there really are no snails or puppy dog tails. But there is lots of spice and nice. A rule of thumb to follow when making good chorizo is to equal your ratio of snips and snails to your spice and nice.

So here is a base for good chorizo:

1. Meat. (Pork, beef, or any combination of the two)
2. Snips, snails, and puppy dog tails. (Ask a good butcher in person if you really want know and purchase some)
3. Chili-- a lot of chili fresh ground pods and/or powder. Just be cautious because of the huge amount you need the level of spiciness can get out if hand quick)
4. Dried oregano
5.  Garlic fresh or dried
6. Salt and black pepper
7. White or apple cider vinegar (about one cup per 10lbs meat)

I grind everything together once and taste. I am cautious on salt amount from the get go because that is only fixed by adding more meat which can be expensive and throws everything else off too. I then add in more salt and spice as needed, mix well, and grind again. Taste.  Usually grinding twice is all you will need. Let sit overnight. This gives the vinegar and spice time to do what they need to do.

The next day, this chorizo will be ready for breakfast, served with eggs, potatoes, tortillas, and fresh fruit on the side.