Chorizo Criollo Argentino

Overview

Chorizo Criollo Argentino is a fresh mixed-meat grill sausage associated with Argentina's asado culture. Criollo marks it as a locally established Argentine form rather than an imported Spanish dry sausage.

The cut

Identity and terminology

The name overlaps with generic chorizo argentino. Criollo is the useful label where the formula uses the customary Argentine beef-and-pork combination and a restrained grill-sausage seasoning. It should remain separate from the more specifically Buenos Aires Porteño branch.

Composition and characteristics

Beef and pork are coarsely minced with firm fat, garlic, pepper, paprika, oregano, wine and modest spice. The filling is juicy and lightly red, not strongly acidified or densely cured.

Production and process

The mixture is stuffed into hog casing and held under refrigeration before charcoal grilling. It is neither fermented nor matured. The coarse structure is designed to retain juice through a relatively long grill.

History and regional forms

The sausage developed within Argentina's creole food culture as European sausage methods met abundant local beef, pork production and the social institution of the asado. Butcher recipes vary by province and by the balance of beef to pork.

Use, storage and related products

It is eaten alone, in choripán or as the opening meat of an asado. It differs from cured longaniza, Spanish chorizo and Mexican chorizo, which is commonly removed from the casing and fried as a loose filling.