Overview
Chorizo Cubano is a Cuban fresh or lightly cured pork sausage shaped by Spanish chorizo traditions and Cuban seasoning. The Curesmith branch is a fresh cooking sausage, not a dry shelf-stable embutido.
Where it's from
The cut
Identity and terminology
Cuban chorizo can refer to locally made fresh links and to Spanish-style cured sausage used in Cuban cooking. Imported dry chorizo and raw Cuban pork chorizo are not interchangeable, so which of the two you have matters.
Composition and characteristics
Pork and fat are seasoned with garlic, cumin, oregano, paprika, pepper and sour citrus or vinegar. The flavour is warmer and more herbaceous than many paprika-dominant Spanish products.
Production and process
The meat is coarsely minced, mixed with the acidic seasoning and stuffed into casing. The fresh branch is refrigerated and cooked by frying, grilling or simmering in dishes.
History and regional forms
Spanish colonial foodways introduced chorizo to Cuba, where it absorbed Caribbean citrus, garlic and cumin. Cuban migration later carried these flavours to Florida and other parts of the United States, creating both island and diaspora versions.
Use, storage and related products
It is used with rice, beans, eggs, stews and sandwiches. It should be distinguished from Spanish chorizo, Mexican bulk chorizo and the cured chorizos sold for slicing.
Recipe and cure
This is not a finished recipe. It is a window into how this meat is traditionally cured. Before you follow any process, run it through one of our curing calculators so the salt, cure and timings are right and safe for your own batch.
Make this — the measured Curesmith version →“Make this” opens the same cure as a measured recipe, scaled to your batch.
- Meat
- Pork shoulder
- Cut
- Pork shoulder
- Salt (%)
- 1.8
- Curing salt
- None
- Fermented
- No
- Smoked
- No
- Maturation
- Raw sausage ≤4°C for up to 2 days; freeze for longer storage
- Basis
- per 1,000 g pork shoulder
- Style
- Fresh Cuban pork chorizo
Ingredients
- Pork shoulder100% · 1000 g
- Pork back fat25% · 250 g
- Fine salt1.8% · 22.5 g
- Sweet paprika0.59% · 7.5 g
- Ground cumin0.2% · 2.5 g
- Fresh cilantro, finely chopped1.5% · 15 g
- Fresh garlic, crushed0.99% · 12.5 g
- Cider vinegar5.9% · 75 g
Method
- Chill pork, fat, vinegar and equipment to 0–3°C.
- Grind shoulder and back fat together through 8 mm.
- Add salt, paprika, cumin, cilantro, garlic and vinegar. Mix until evenly distributed and lightly cohesive.
- Stuff firmly into 32 mm hog casings and form 10–15 cm links.
- Refrigerate for 4–12 hours at 2–4°C.
- Fry, grill or roast until the cold point reaches 71°C.
Safety. The fresh branch remains raw and refrigerated. Acidic marinade is not a validated kill step.