Chef Isabel
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Bocadillo de Chorizo
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The bocadillo de chorizo belongs to the plain Castilian school of bread and cured pork: good chorizo, fresh barra, and just enough heat to wake the pimentón fat.
Sandwiches & Wraps
Spanish
Budget Friendly
Comfort Food
5 min
Active Time
3 min cook•8 min total
Yield2 bocadillos
Bocadillo de chorizo is Castilian in this version, made with chorizo de Cantimpalos from Segovia or another firm cured chorizo from the central tablelands. It is not a dressed sandwich. It is bread and cured sausage, and the thing that makes it work is the fat stained red with pimentón, the smoked paprika that gives chorizo its colour and smell.
You can eat the chorizo raw, thinly sliced, and many homes do. But for this bocadillo I warm it briefly in a dry pan, just until it shines and loosens a little red oil. Do not fry it hard. If the slices curl, darken, and turn leathery, you have cooked the pleasure out of them. The bread should catch that oil, not drown in it.
If you are far from Spain, look for a dry-cured Spanish-style chorizo with pimentón, not soft Mexican chorizo, which is a fresh sausage and a different thing entirely. Portuguese chouriço is the closest useful substitute; it is usually a little smokier and firmer, so slice it thinner and warm it less. No hace falta haber pisado España. Buy the right sausage, use good bread, and keep your hands off it. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
The bocadillo de chorizo belongs to Spain's everyday cured-pork larder, especially in the Castilian interior where matanza, the household pig slaughter, filled storerooms with sausages seasoned with garlic and pimentón. Cantimpalos in Segovia became one of the best-known names for cured chorizo, tied to the dry air and plain bread of the central plateau. The sandwich spread well beyond the region because it needed no kitchen at all: a barra, a knife, and a sausage that was already preserved.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh barra or narrow baguette-style loaf
Quantity
1 loaf, about 250g
cut into two lengths
dry-cured Spanish chorizo
Quantity
160g
sliced 3mm thick
extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
only if the chorizo is very lean
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh barra or narrow baguette-style loafcut into two lengths | 1 loaf, about 250g |
| dry-cured Spanish chorizosliced 3mm thick | 160g |
| extra virgin olive oil (optional)only if the chorizo is very lean | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Small frying pan
- •Bread knife
- •Sharp slicing knife
Instructions
- 1
Slice the bread
Cut the barra into two equal lengths, then split each one lengthwise without cutting all the way through. Leave the hinge if you can; it holds the chorizo and catches the red oil better than two loose halves.
- 2
Cut the chorizo
Peel the casing if it is tough, then slice the chorizo into thin coins, about 3mm thick. Pésalo, no lo adivines: 80g per bocadillo is enough to taste full without turning greasy.
- 3
Warm it gently
Set a dry frying pan over medium-low heat and lay in the chorizo slices in one layer. Warm them for 45 to 60 seconds on each side, only until they glisten and a little pimentón-red oil appears. This is the whole trick. You are loosening the fat, not cooking a sausage.
If your chorizo is very lean, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the pan first. If it gives plenty of fat on its own, leave the oil out. - 4
Fill the bocadillos
Lay the warm chorizo straight into the split bread and spoon over any red oil left in the pan. Press the bread closed with your palm for a few seconds so the crumb drinks it in. Eat at once, while the fat is glossy and the bread is still fresh.
Chef Tips
- •Use dry-cured Spanish chorizo, the kind you can slice and eat as it is. Fresh raw chorizo needs full cooking and gives you a different bocadillo.
- •A barra matters. The crust should be thin and crisp, the inside open enough to drink in the pimentón oil. A soft sandwich roll makes the whole thing heavy.
- •Do not add cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce, or tomato by habit. That may be a sandwich, but it is not this bocadillo. Bread, chorizo, and the red oil are enough.
Advance Preparation
- •Slice the chorizo up to 1 day ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator; bring it to room temperature before warming.
- •Assemble just before eating. Once filled, the bread softens quickly from the chorizo oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 205g)
Calories
725 calories
Total Fat
36 g
Saturated Fat
13 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
23 g
Cholesterol
75 mg
Sodium
2200 mg
Total Carbohydrates
67 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
33 g
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