Mixed Grill Part 2 - Chorizos Uruguayos (Uruguayan Sausages)

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks to "Lhadley123" and many other for sending us this one:

ODE TO THE THANKSGIVING TURKEY

The turkey shot out of the oven,
And rocketed into the air.
It knocked every plate off the table,
And partly demolished a chair.

It ricocheted into a corner,
And burst with a deafening boom.
Then splattered all over the kitchen,
Completely obscuring the room.

It stuck to the walls and the windows.
It totally coated the floor.
There was turkey attached to the ceiling,
Where there'd never been turkey before.

It blanketed every appliance.
It smeared every saucer and bowl.
There wasn't a way I could stop it.
That turkey was out of control!

I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure,
And thought with chagrin as I mopped,
That I'd never again stuff a turkey
With popcorn that hadn't been popped.

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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For many years after my family left Uruguay, the chorizos we had grown
to love there were nothing but a memory. Every ten years or so we
would run into some at a Hispanic meat market, and once or twice some
friends brought us some from a butcher they knew in New Jersey, but
other than those rare occurrences, we had to struggle through life
without Uruguayan chorizos. Then one day I decided to search the web
for a recipe for Uruguayan chorizos, and eureka! - chorizos could be
mine whenever I wanted them. I fiddled with the recipe to get it as
close as I could to my recollection of the real thing, and my family
agrees that these are just about as good as we're going to find
outside of Uruguay. In addition to these chorizos, a good parrillada
wouldn't be complete with blood sausage (morcillas in Uruguay, black
pudding to my UK readers).

When buying the meat for this recipe, be sure to buy cuts with plenty
of fat such as shoulder or rump roasts. Although you might prefer to
make a leaner version, the best results are had when the total fat
content is about 30 percent by weight. I was lucky to find a butcher
who was willing to give me the pork fat for free, and any butcher
displaying freshly made sausages should be able to sell you the
casing.

Chorizos Uruguayos (Uruguayan Sausages)

Sausage casing
4 lbs (1.8 Kg) boneless pork butt or shoulder,
cut into 1-inch (3 cm) cubes
3 lbs (1.3 Kg) boneless beef sirloin or chuck,
cut into 1-inch (3 cm) cubes
2 lbs (900 g) pork fat cut into 1-inch (3 cm) cubes
1 cup (250 ml) white wine or water
3 Tbs (45 ml) powdered dried oregano
3 Tbs (45 ml) salt
2 Tbs (30 ml) garlic powder
1 Tbs (15 ml) paprika
1 Tbs (15 ml) sugar
1 Tbs (15 ml) ground white pepper

Soak the sausage casing in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes and run
cold water through it to clean it thoroughly inside and out. Combine
all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss to distribute
the seasonings evenly. Grind in a meat grinder on the coarsest
setting and stuff into the sausage casing. Twist at intervals of 5 to
6 inches (12-15 cm) and place on a tray in a single layer.
Refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours to allow the sausages to dry a bit
and for the seasoning to mature. Grill or fry until cooked through.
Will keep frozen for up to 3 months. Makes about 9 pounds (4 Kg).
Received on Fri Dec 19 20:54:30 2003