Overview
Chorizo Parrillero is Uruguay's fresh sausage for the parrilla. It is a coarse pork or mixed-meat link grilled alongside beef, offal and other meats in the Uruguayan asado.
Where it's from
The cut
Identity and terminology
Parrillero means intended for the grill. In Uruguay the name describes use and style rather than a protected place. The source spelling Parillero omits one r and should be retained only as an alias.
Composition and characteristics
The filling is usually pork-led, mildly seasoned with garlic, pepper, nutmeg, paprika or oregano, and less acidic than Mexican chorizo. It is thick enough to remain juicy during charcoal cooking.
Production and process
Meat and fat are coarsely minced, stuffed into hog casing and held fresh. The links are grilled slowly over embers, often before or alongside larger cuts.
History and regional forms
Uruguayan chorizo parrillero developed within the Río de la Plata cattle and grilling culture shared with Argentina. Italian and Spanish immigration influenced butchery, while the parrilla gave the fresh sausage its central social role.
Use, storage and related products
It is served whole, sliced, or in pan as choripán with chimichurri or salsa criolla. It is related to Argentine parrillero sausage but has its own Uruguayan market identity.
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 coarse pork sausage for the parrilla
Ingredients
- Pork shoulder100% · 1000 g
- Pork back fat45% · 450 g
- Fine salt1.8% · 25.5 g
- Ground black pepper0.2% · 3 g
- Sweet paprika0.39% · 5.5 g
- Fresh garlic, crushed0.34% · 5 g
- Rubbed oregano0.2% · 3 g
- Ground cumin0.1% · 1.5 g
- Ice-cold water5.9% · 85.5 g
Method
- Chill pork, fat, water and equipment to 0–3°C.
- Grind pork shoulder and back fat separately through 8 mm.
- Mix shoulder with salt, gradually adding water, pepper, paprika, garlic, oregano and cumin until tacky.
- Fold in the ground back fat until evenly distributed without smearing.
- Stuff into 32–34 mm hog casings and form links or a coil.
- Refrigerate for 4–12 hours at 2–4°C.
Safety. Raw sausage requiring full cooking. Charred casing does not show that the centre is safe.