Anyone use charizo to help spice up otherwise bland dishes (e.g., cous cous, rice, etc.)

For those that haven't run into it, charizo is a pork sausage.  I prefer the Spanish version which is seasoned with paprika while the Mexican version is jacked up with chili peppers.  The Spanish version I buy is relatively spicy and is dry cured, which means it doesn't need refrigeration.  (its also nitrite and nitrate free.)

Thinly sliced, lightly fried and then diced is the ticked before adding to a dish to give it a bit more of a kick!  Maybe an inch of the sausage is about enough to give it a taste ... two inches is even better!

dd

Hey DD I really liked the re-fried beans you turned me onto. Can you get the charizo stuff you like via the net?

mastertangler wrote on Sep 22^nd, 2011 at 2:58am:

Hey DD I really liked the re-fried beans you turned me onto. Can you get the charizo stuff you like via the net?

  (You need to Login or Register would be about right.  It looks pricey, but remember you are only using a small portion per meal.
 
dd

While on the Wonderland trail (around Mt. Rainier) I fell in with a scout troop who was doing trail work. Our paths crossed several times in various parts of the park and we built an affinity for each other. One day we met up for some lunch when one the kids asked me if I wanted a piece of jerky. I have never been much of a jerky fan (Dad's homemade :P ) but still wanted to be polite so I took the unappetizing  dried hunk of shoe leather and plopped it in my mouth. When the jerky hit my mouth all other body functions ceased. I was transfixed by the wonderful taste sensation I was experiencing.

The scout leader and I hiked together a few times while the young lions raced ahead and I came to find out that he had driven over an hour to a shop of no small reputation to lay in a store of jerky for his crew.

The last time I bumped into them was quite a surprise and after posing for a few pics together the scout leader gave me the last of the jerky as we bid each other fond farewells. Now I had a whole ziplock bag of the stuff and I was determined to make it last a few days. 3 hours later it was all gone.......I literally couldn't help myself.

I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't be the same with the imported charizo. Looks like the real deal. I guess there is only one way to find out. Thanks DD.



 

 

Oh yes!  All the time.

Another saussage I really like is from the Phillipines, similar to chorizo.  Longaniza.  Sweet or spicy or sweet & spicy!

Merguez is a North African equivalent.

If you trip through Ely give Zup's homemade "pepperoni" a try.  Looks very much like the chorizo in DD's link, does not require refrigeration and is lean and solid- does not taste like pepperoni, though it is spicy.

My crew likes this tasty dish I've concocted with chorizo - the dried, no refrigeration needed kind.  I get it at Wegman's but don't recall the brand.  It's Spanish.  I slice it up and saute it up with some coarsely chopped onion until the onion is carmelized.  Meanwhile I have a pot of Vigo brand red beans and rice going.  Stir together in the bean pot, simmer til the rice is done and you're ready to chow down.  Corn bread is a good side or corn is fine too.  You could also use Mahattma brand red beans and rice or for the freeze dried crowd, you couls spend a few buck more on Backpacker's Pantry red beans and rice. 

I agree on Zup's sausages and smoked meats.  They make some fine stuff.

pd

pd,
Either of the 2 beans and rice mixes you mentioned are winners in my book.
A little imagination and you can use them as a base for all kinds of campfire meals.