Chorizo

Chorizo is a Mexican sausage that is beloved in Texas for its versatility. It is a fabulous base meat for chili, and it is excellent when mixed with eggs in an omelet or burrito, and it is fantastic as a fortifier for chili con queso. I remember Mexican chorizo to be a very cheap sausage in Texas. In fact, I remember that the first three ingredients were, "pork lymph nodes, salivary glands, and fat." That's not very nutritious. Now Mark Miller of the famous Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe published a chorizo recipe that you can make at home, and I have always remembered it, if not verbatim at least in spirit.
Use a mixture of ground meats, pork of course, plus maybe some beef and veal, called "meat loaf" here in the Northeast. About a pound and a half. But before you do anything, gather your spices. Salt and pepper, cumin seed, coriander seed, cinnamon, Mexican oregano, and lots and lots of red chile powder. Chile from Chimayo, New Mexico is incredible, but any red pepper powder will do, even Hungarian paprika. N.B. this is not the so-called "chili powder" that you find in the McCormick rack, which contains salt and garlic and other adulterants. If you don't have some of these spices, leave them out, no problem, as long as you have some chile. Start with a dry skillet, preferably cast iron, heated over a medium to high flame. Add some whole coriander seed and shake occasionally until it begins to smoke, a wonderful spiced smoke. Roll the coriander around to brown it slightly. Throw in some black peppercorns. Throw in some cumin and watch it dance. Throw in some Mexican oregano and/or epazote and be careful not to burn it. Now get a very clean spice grinder (I have an electric coffee grinder set aside for spices only) and dump all the roasted spices into it. Add a cinnamon stick and some kosher salt. Grind everything up well and you're ready.
Cook the ground meat until just cooked through, not browned, as it will become tough. Add all the wonderful roasted spices and about 4 Tablespoons of red chile. Stir well and add a cup of water. Stir again and BTBRTS, bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Simmer until the meat has dried out a little, you can hardly see the liquid. Add another cup of water. Repeat. Add a third cup and repeat, this time allowing the water to cook out until your chorizo is of the right consistency for its downstream application.
The keys here are in building layers of flavor by cooking gently and roasting many of the ingredients to bring out their best flavors. Your finished chorizo is ready for tacos, chili, breakfast with eggs, many things. It is truly wonderful stuff and, once made at home, much healthier. Done properly, I realize this is not a quick preparation. If time is a problem you can add 1 1/2 cups of water and cook it down one time, but I suppose this recipe is best executed lovingly on a lazy Sunday, and it will make a couple of weekday meals extra-special.