Basque Chorizo And Beans Recipes

BASQUE CHORIZO

Steps:

• Put sausage grinding tool, large and medium cutting plates, grinder knife, and meat hopper in the freezer.
• Cut pork shoulder into approximately 1-in. cubes and put in a very large bowl. Add wine and all seasonings to pork shoulder and toss to coat thoroughly, then spread on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Cut fat into 1-in. cubes and put in a medium bowl. Freeze both shoulder and fat until semifrozen, about 2 hours. (Keep meat semifrozen for duration of recipe; otherwise it won't grind easily).
• Assemble grinder and attach to stand mixer following manufacturer's instructions, making sure the chilled grinding tool is fully inserted (you have to twist it in). Grind fat through large grinding plate, a few chunks at a time, into a medium stainless steel bowl. Fat should fall crisply and cleanly out of the grinder; if it smears, it's too warm (return fat to freezer).
• Transfer half of pork shoulder to a large bowl; keep remaining half of shoulder frozen. Grind pork through large grinding plate, a few chunks at a time, back onto its baking sheet and return to freezer. Change to medium plate and grind remaining half of pork onto another baking sheet or large bowl.
• Mix both grinds of pork together with fat, using two large forks and breaking up any clumps of fat.
• Form a small patty from meat and fry in olive oil in a small pan over medium heat to test seasonings. Taste and adjust salt and spices accordingly. If you would like the flavors to mellow, cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill 24 hours before continuing; for a spicier sausage, proceed with the recipe.
• Continue forming patties, or make sausages by stuffing meat into casings. To stuff meat into casings, put grinding mechanism, meat hopper, and ground meat back in freezer. Flush casings with warm water using a small funnel inserted in one end of casing (do this in a clean sink). Soak casings in warm water at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Follow manufacturer's instructions for assembling stuffer and attaching to mixer, using the medium-size horn and greasing it with butter or lard. Push casings all the way onto the horn in one long piece, as though you were putting on a stocking. Knot the end of the casing. Take out 1/4 of meat from freezer and keep rest in freezer as you work (if it warms up, it will gum up the machine and won't have as nice a texture when cooked).
• Guide meat into casings so it packs tightly and firmly and let finished sausages coil into a bowl. As each reaches the length you like--about 6 to 8 inches and slim is standard for this chorizo--twist it into an individual sausage link or tie off with kitchen twine. Prick any air holes with a sharp toothpick.
• Freeze sausages or patties at this point, or cook. For sausages: Grill over indirect 300° heat or pan-cook over medium heat until they're plump, browned, and shiny (an instant-read thermometer inserted lengthwise reads 145°). For patties: Grill or pan-cook until crisp-edged and browned.
• * A good one-stop shopping source for the paprikas in this recipe is spanishtable.com. Pre-order back fat and hog casings from a butcher shop.
• Fresh chorizo keeps, chilled, up to 3 days; frozen in 2 layers of resealable plastic bags, up to 3 months. Cooked chorizo keeps 1 week; frozen, up to 5 months.
• Note: Nutritional analysis is per sausage.

CHORIZO REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Heat a medium saute pan on medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook until golden in color, about 6 minutes. Remove the chorizo to a drain on a plate lined with some paper towels. Add the onions to the pan with the chorizo fat. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Return the chorizo to the pan. Add the refried beans to the mixture. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and reserve for tostadas and burritos.

CHICKPEAS AND CHORIZO

Steps:

• Put garbanzo beans into a large container; add enough cool water to cover by several inches. Soak beans 8 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse before using.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Halve both the red bell pepper and green bell pepper from top to bottom. Remove and discard the stem, seeds, and ribs. Arrange pepper halves with cut sides down onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Roast peppers under the preheated broiler until their skins have blackened and blistered, 5 to 8 minutes; transfer to a bowl and tightly seal bowl with plastic wrap to steam the peppers as they cool until the skins are loosened, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard skins. Slice peppers.
• Heat canola oil in a pot over medium heat. Cook and stir potatoes in hot oil until browned, about 10 minutes; add chorizo and continue to cook and stir until chorizo is hot, 3 to 5 minutes more. Stir peppers, onion, garlic cloves, paprika, and salt into the potato mixture; cook, stirring infrequently, until the onion softens, about 10 minutes more.
• Stir soaked garbanzo beans into the mixture. Pour sherry over everything. Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, place a cover on the pot, and cook at a simmer until the beans are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

BASQUE BEANS RECIPE - (4.3/5)

Steps:

• In an 8 quart heavy pot, put beans and at least twice as much water. Cover and bring to boil. Turn off heat and let sit for 1 hour. Drain the beans and return to the pot. Add remaining ingredients except for the chorizo, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour. Add chorizo and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Beans should be very tender and the liquid will thicken a bit. Taste to see if it needs salt and pepper.

BASQUE CHORIZO AND CORNMEAL FRITTERS

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, parsley, salt, sparkling water and olive oil. Mix until smooth. Heat 1 inch of oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; it's ready when it quickly browns a small drop of batter.
• Dip each piece of chorizo in the batter and lower into the hot oil. Fry until golden on all sides, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. May be served warm or at room temperature.

BASQUE CHORIZO

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients in a container that you can refrigerate. Put in the fridge over night and mix again in the morning. Stuff into hog casings (or not). cook or grill to recommended temp (160 f ). Its easy to cut this recipe in half if you want just a little.
• Or you can sub wild game for the meat in any amount if you are a hunter.
• Just remember sausage needs a certain amount of fat for taste.

BASIC BASQUE BEANS

Steps:

• Wash and pick over beans to discard any stone or other debris. After preliminary preparation, add fresh cold water (hot water toughens them) to about 2 inches above beans.
• Add soup bones or ham hocks. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam that forms. After beans have simmered covered for about 45 minutes, and are beginning to soften, add the rest of the ingredients. (If onion or salt is added in the beginning, the beans may toughen).
• Continue cooking for about 45 minutes, or until beans are very tender. Adjust seasoning to taste.