Chorizo’s distinctive spice is enough to brighten up any meal, from tacos to a breakfast potato hash. But it can be tricky to cook this delicious type of sausage to perfection. This guide will walk you through three effective tips for how to cook chorizo sausage, then give you some advice for making your chorizo stand out. Keep reading to master the art of chorizo cooking.
Raw chorizo is typically bright red, while cooked chorizo will turn a duller red or even a light brown [2]. Keep an eye on the color change as an additional visual indicator of doneness. Texture: The texture of cooked chorizo should be firm and crumbly, rather than soft and mushy like when it is raw [2].
3 Methods for Cooking Chorizo
While there are multiple ways to cook chorizo, grilling, broiling and pan-frying are three of the best ways to ensure a tasty, flavorful outcome. Whether you’re whipping up a quick weeknight dinner for your family or preparing a cookout feast for a larger group, these three cooking methods are sure to get you a delicious, golden brown chorizo sausage that will wow anyone you’re serving.
No matter which method you choose, remember to always cook your chorizo to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. You can use a meat thermometer to check for this.
If you enjoy cooking outdoors, grilling chorizo sausage is an ideal way to get some fresh air while giving the chorizo a smoky flavor. Follow these five simple steps to achieve perfectly grilled chorizo.
- Preheat your grill: For a gas grill, turn the burners to high heat. If you’re using a charcoal grill for extra smoky flavor, fill a chimney with briquettes and light them until they become hot with a light covering of ash. Then, transfer the hot briquettes to the bottom grill grate and set the top grill grate on the grill.
- Place the chorizo: Once the grill is hot, put your chorizo on the grill. Space the links out evenly, leaving about an inch between them, to promote good air circulation and allow them to cook more evenly.
- Trap the heat: Keep the grill hot by putting its lid over the evenly spaced chorizo links.
- Cook through: How long should you cook chorizo? Grill the chorizo links until they reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which typically takes about 15-20 minutes. Use tongs to rotate the sausages every few minutes, so they become an appealing golden brown shade on all sides. Check that the chorizo has reached the proper temperature before removing it from the grill by inserting a meat thermometer into one of the links.
- Let the chorizo rest: After you’ve finished grilling your chorizo, place it on a cutting board or plate to rest for a few minutes before serving. As the chorizo links rest, cover them with aluminum foil to keep them warm and encourage the juices to redistribute within the meat. Once the chorizo has finished resting, serve it up and enjoy!
Broiling chorizo in the oven is an easy way to expose the links to high, direct heat while locking in their flavor. If you’re looking for a way to cook chorizo without having to monitor it continually, try these three steps to broiling.
- Preheat the oven: Get your oven ready to broil by turning on its broiling setting and waiting for it to heat up.
- Put the links on the broiler rack: Place the chorizo on the broiler rack at least seven to nine inches below the heating element.
- Broil the links: Broil the chorizo in the oven for about 13 to 15 minutes on each side, until the meat is golden brown all the way around and 160 degrees Fahrenheit on the inside. Remove the chorizo from the oven and dig in!
If you want to sear, slice or cook your chorizo like ground beef, the stovetop is your new best friend. On days when it’s too chilly to fire up the grill, follow these easy steps for cooking chorizo sausage in a pan.
- Heat a pan: Place a pan over medium heat. Cooking chorizo slowly over low heat will allow its flavors to fully develop, but medium heat works almost as well if you’re in a time crunch. Avoid using high heat, because it will burn the chorizo links without fully cooking them through.
- Add water and chorizo: Once the pan is hot, put six tablespoons of water in the pan along with the chorizo links.
- Cover and cook: Put a lid over the pan and allow the chorizo links to cook for about 10-12 minutes, turning them frequently.
- Remove cover and keep cooking: Take off the lid and continue cooking the chorizo for an additional five to seven minutes or until golden brown.
- Plate the links: Check that the chorizo has reached 160 degrees Fahrenheit before removing the sautéed chorizo links from the pan and preparing them to serve. Bon appetit!
Skip the Boiling Step
Though chefs often boil fresh sausage before grilling it, boiling chorizo can detract from its flavor. Because fat melts out of chorizo as it boils, boiling chorizo will leave you with dry, tasteless meat. Instead of pre-boiling your chorizo, rotate the links frequently as they grill to ensure they cook thoroughly.
How I make chorizo and eggs *requested video*
FAQ
How can you tell when chorizo is done cooking?
How long does it take to cook chorizo?
Can you eat slightly undercooked chorizo?
Does chorizo stay mushy when cooked?
How do you know if chorizo is cooked?
Store-bought fresh chorizo has bright red meat, which can be difficult for some people to tell when they are fully cooked. The key to telling if Mexican chorizo is cooked is the change of color: dark red or brown. After a while, red chorizo will turn its color into brown from the bottom with leaking grease.
Does chorizo turn brown when cooked?
However, when fully cooked, the color turns brown. Mexican chorizo has a soft, raw sausage texture, and it is sold fresh and can be found in the raw meat section or at the butcher’s station in the supermarket. Chorizo is a delicious, spicy sausage that can be used in many different dishes.
Is chorizo ready to eat?
Some chorizos are dry-cured and ready to eat, while others contain spiced raw meat and need to be cooked. If you purchased a chorizo that is not ready to eat, it is important to make sure that the sausage has been properly cooked before consumption.
How do you know if chorizo is spoiled?
Here are a few ways you can check for your chorizo tasting experience. You can tell the quality of chorizo by its texture. Pre-cooked chorizos are pretty firm and bouncy. Therefore, you may notice mushy spots and stiffness to the touch, which can indicate a sign of spoilage. Furthermore, you can look for any color change to spot spoiled chorizo.