Longaniza de Xico (Xico Pork Sausage)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet
• •Blender
• •Molcajete or spice grinder
• •Meat grinder with coarse die
• •Sausage stuffer
• •Sheet pan with wire rack
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the pork

   Put the pork shoulder, pork back fat, grinder parts, and mixing bowl in the freezer for 25 minutes. You want everything very cold but not frozen solid. Sausage is built on clean grinding and cold fat. If the fat smears, the longaniza turns greasy and crumbly.

2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile ancho and chile guajillo one or two at a time, about 20 seconds per side, just until the skins soften, darken slightly, and smell sweet. Do not blacken them. Burned chile makes bitter sausage, and no amount of cumin will save it.

   Chile ancho gives the longaniza its dark fruit flavor. Guajillo gives red color and brightness. This is not about raw heat. Not all Mexican food is trying to burn your tongue.
3. 3

   Soak and grind spices

   Cover the toasted chiles with hot water, not boiling water, and let them soften for 20 minutes. While they soak, toast the cumin seeds, cloves, black peppercorns, and pimienta gorda on the comal for 30 to 45 seconds, just until fragrant. Grind the spices in a molcajete or spice grinder with the Mexican oregano, canela, and piloncillo.

4. 4

   Blend the adobo

   Drain the chiles, saving a little soaking liquid. Blend the softened chiles with the vinegar, garlic, ground spice mixture, and 2 tablespoons of the soaking liquid. Blend until the adobo is smooth, thick, and brick red. It should smell sharp from vinegar, sweet from chile ancho, and warm from clove. If the blender struggles, add another spoonful of soaking liquid, only enough to move the blades.

5. 5

   Grind the meat

   Fit the grinder with a coarse die. Grind the chilled pork shoulder and back fat into the cold bowl. Sprinkle the salt over the meat and pour the adobo on top. Mix with clean hands for 3 to 4 minutes, folding and squeezing until the meat turns sticky and holds together when pressed against the side of the bowl. That tackiness is the bind. Without it, the sausage falls apart.

6. 6

   Test the seasoning

   Melt a teaspoon of manteca de cerdo in a small skillet and fry a spoonful of the sausage mixture until cooked through. Taste it. The salt should be clear, the vinegar should cut through the pork, and the clove should be present but not shouting. Adjust with a small pinch of salt or a splash of vinegar now, before the meat goes into the casing.

7. 7

   Stuff the casings

   Slide the rinsed hog casing onto the sausage stuffer. Fill it slowly with the longaniza mixture, guiding the casing so it fills firmly but does not stretch tight. Twist into 5- to 6-inch links. Prick any air pockets with a clean needle. No me vengas con atajos. The casing gives longaniza its snap and lets the adobo cure evenly.

8. 8

   Cure overnight

   Lay the links on a rack set over a sheet pan and refrigerate uncovered for 12 to 24 hours. This is a fresh cured sausage, not a shelf-stable dry sausage. The refrigerator rest lets the salt, vinegar, chile, cumin, and clove settle into the pork while the casing dries enough to brown properly on the comal.

9. 9

   Grill the links

   Cook the longaniza over medium heat on a grill, comal, or heavy skillet, turning often, for 12 to 15 minutes. If using a skillet, add a small spoonful of manteca de cerdo only to start the browning. The casing should blister in places, the red fat should bead at the edges, and the center must reach 160F. High heat splits the casing before the fat renders. Be patient.

10. 10

    Serve for almuerzo

    Rest the links for 5 minutes, then serve whole or sliced with frijoles negros de olla scented with epazote, warm corn tortillas, white onion, cilantro, lime halves, and salsa macha veracruzana. Flour tortillas belong to the north. Xico is Veracruz. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •This is fresh longaniza. It is not shelf-stable. Do not hang it at room temperature unless you have a curing chamber, the right curing salt, and the discipline to use both correctly. The safe home version cures uncovered in the refrigerator and is cooked to 160F.
• •Use pork shoulder with visible fat plus back fat. Lean pork makes dry, crumbly sausage. La manteca es el sabor, and in sausage the fat is also structure.
• •Vinagre de cana is right for Veracruz. If you cannot find it, apple cider vinegar works. That is a compromise, not an upgrade. Distilled white vinegar is too sharp and makes the adobo taste thin.
• •If you do not have a stuffer, cook the mixture loose after the overnight cure and serve it with beans and tortillas. The flavor will be close, but the snap of the casing will be missing. Say that honestly.
• •The clove must be measured with respect. Too little and the longaniza tastes flat. Too much and it tastes like a pharmacy. Four whole cloves for this amount of pork. Asi se hace y punto.

Advance Preparation

• •The adobo can be blended up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated in a sealed jar. Stir before using because the chile paste thickens as it sits.
• •Stuffed links can cure uncovered in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. After that, cover them and cook within 3 days.
• •Uncooked links freeze well for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then cook on a comal or grill until the center reaches 160F.
• •Cooked longaniza can be reheated on a comal over medium-low heat. Slice it first so the edges brown and the chile-stained fat wakes back up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)