5 Ingredients or Fewer

Chorizo Borracho

March 22, 2015
0
0 Ratings
Photo by Rodrigo Iglesias
  • Serves 4 (or more for appetizer option)
Author Notes

This is a dear to my heart dish. I moved to Madrid alone (and not so great at Spanish) for a few months after finishing school with some time to spare, and my twin sister came along with me for the first week, her spring break from grad school. Eating and drinking out on the plazas and in the soccer bars is how I met people who'd be my friends for the next months, and one of our favorite tapas was chorizo borracho, cured sausage braised and glazed in red wine. In Madrid it is often Salchicha sausage, served at a bar where they count the toothpicks on your appetizer plate to see how many links you've eaten and calculate your tab. I've been lucky enough to encounter a similar dish in Puerto Rico on a vacation with my husband, and on my honeymoon in Lisbon - all around the world, sausage and wine is a good thing :) Serve as a simple but indulgent dinner with a green salad, or as a tapas spread with Mancheco or Iberico cheese with quince paste, and a big pitcher of Sangria. Enjoy! —Emily | Cinnamon&Citrus

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 pound cured Chorizo (Spanish salchicha, or Portuguese linguisa or salpicao are other delicious options - just NOT the fresh Mexican style chorizo which is not precooked)
  • 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • leaves from one large sprig rosemary, finely chopped
  • 1 cup spicy red wine (such as Rioja, Garnacha, or Tempranillo)
  • 1 tablespoon honey
Directions
  1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large Dutch oven with a lid (big enough so that your sausage can cook in a single layer) over medium heat. Slice the links of chorizo into 1/2 - 3/4 inch rounds on the diagonal and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just starting to brown and render some fat and brown bits in the bottom of the pan.
  2. Add the sliced garlic and rosemary to the sausage and cook, stirring constantly, for about one minute.
  3. Add the red wine, stirring up the bottom of the pot to deglaze all the brown deliciousness. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium low and braise the sausages in the wine for 10 minutes, flipping the rounds about halfway through so both sides really take on the red color.
  4. Remove the lid, raise the heat to medium high, and stir in the honey. Cook uncovered for another 4-5 minutes until the wine is reduced to a thin glaze (if you're using a large Dutch oven, this happens fast so keep an eye). Taste for salt and pepper - I'd recommend not adding any until you've checked, as a very flavorful chorizo or other cured sausage often has just the seasoning you need (this is probably the only dish I make that I do not salt and pepper). Enjoy!

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • LeBec Fin
    LeBec Fin
  • cheesypennies
    cheesypennies
  • madlovefood
    madlovefood
  • Emily | Cinnamon&Citrus
    Emily | Cinnamon&Citrus

5 Reviews

LeBec F. January 9, 2016
this is terrific, em. can't wait to try it. of course the red wine sounds perfect, but i wonder if sherry is ever used....?
 
Emily |. January 10, 2016
I did not come across it made that way in Madrid, but I have never been to the Jerez region and I bet they would use sherry there. I googled this to see and did come across a recipe for chorizo in sherry here: http://gordonwhite.co.uk/2011/04/chorizo-cooked-in-sherry/ He also uses raw/fresh chorizo so I suppose that is also an option as a correction to my instructions above!
 
cheesypennies April 9, 2015
I tested this for the contest, and it was delicious. The rosemary, garlic and wine..wow! The mix of the glaze and the sausage was fantastic. I did find that the sausage became a little dry after all that cooking. Maybe I sliced mine too thin? Thank you for sharing your recipe!
 
Emily |. April 11, 2015
Thanks for the review! You know, I did used to cook this dish less when I had a gas range but I cook longer on my current apartment electric range. And I cook a more marbled chorizo longer than a less fatty looking one. Good reminders for tweaking!
 
madlovefood April 5, 2015
Yum! this looks amazing