When I mentioned to my friend Christopher that I was putting chorizo in my mac and cheese, he mentioned that his father makes a mean chorizo and offered me the recipe.  I hadn’t considered making it myself, and although I didn’t follow his dad’s recipe to the letter, it was a great jumping-off point.  Here is the recipe I created:

Photo above by Tavallai

Chorizo Recipe

• 1 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 tablespoon rendered bacon fat
• 1 pound of Jimmy Dean All-Natural Pork Sausage
• 1 tablespoon rubbed sage
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin (if your chili powder is light on cumin)
• 1/ teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper

1. Combine tarragon and vinegar and let sit out overnight.
2. Add vinegar and bacon fat to sausage and knead until uniformly loose.
3. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and knead into the sausage until evenly distributed.
4. Refrigerated overnight in a zip-top bag.
5. Over a hot, dry skillet, snip off a bottom corner of the bag to create a 3/4-inch hole. Squeeze the chorizo onto the pan until the resulting sausage snake covers approximately half the pan.
6. Working with a wooden spoon, break apart and flatten the sausage, turning as needed, until the sausage has browned and separated into small pieces.
7. Remove to a bowl and repeat until all of the sausage is cooked.