Pork Chorizo Sausage – Akaroa Butchery and Deli

Pork Chorizo Sausage – Akaroa Butchery and Deli

You won’t be surprised that while I was in Akaroa recently that I sought out the local butcher. A small variety of sausages were on display so I selected the chorizo and a black pudding.

 

 

The chorizo was cooked up once we got back to Wellington. The sausages lost a little shape in their journey to the North Island - being inside a carry-on bag on the plane meant that the tubes were a little squashed. During the cooking there was a small amount of oozing from the casing and a little bit of moisture also came out - this was a watery fat. Once they came out of the pan to rest, a large amount of watery fat oozed out.

 

 

These are a coarsely ground sausage but once cooked they are soft and malleable. The primary taste in the mouth is one of paprika. It is a moderate strength and does not overpower the meat. These chorizo are nice to eat but not fantastic. The whanau liked these sausages and they will appeal to people who are looking to eat a chorizo that is in the middle of the pack.

I would buy these again.

Chicken with Chorizo

Chicken with Chorizo

I cooked this recipe that was in a newspaper I was reading, I thought it sounded like me, so I cut it out. A few weeks later the dish was prepared for an evening meal. This is an easy dish to prepare. I would use more chorizo when I make this again. The issues with the whanau were not enough chorizo, they liked the dish and appreciated the satisfying meal at the end of the day.

I used Mexican Chorizo from Heritage Quality Meats. I purchased these at Moore Wilsons. Heritage Meats are based in Palmerston North. This butcher makes quality sausages. However trying to find any presence of this company via the net, or having a phone listing, has proved to a task beyond me.

 

 

I particularly liked the Romanian sausage that Heritage Meats makes. However when I asked at Moore Wilsons why they did not stock this anymore, the response I got was not enough sales. I have not seen these for a number of years, however if you spot one I would highly recommend that you sample this fantastic sausage.

Anyway back to Mexican Chorizo. The packaging says free range pork is used, the sausages are dairy free, preservative free and use no binders or fillers. Only prime cuts of NZ meat are used. When the sausage is taken out of the packet you can see the chunks of meat that used. It smelt good. This is chunky sausage lumps of pork meat and fat can be seen in the sausage. The packaging states that sausage is 76% pork. Also used are salt, tequila, vinegar, spices, garlic and herbs.

I cooked the sausage prior to be added to the dish. They cooked up nicely. As per usual I had to operate as quality control. The sausage has a moderate chorizo flavour. The paprika and chilli are evident on the palate as you place it in your mouth. This flavour then grows as the full flavour exudes from the sausage. It is hot without being overpowering. The meatiness of the sausage also adds to the experience. This is a quality sausage. The family also wished to part of the quality control and another one of the snarlers was cut into morsels so they could sample a piece.

 

 

The dish involved gently frying onion, carrot and celery with a couple of bay leaves and garlic. A modicum (this is a chef’s measure) of white wine was added, the heat was turned up, once it boiled, chicken stock was added. The chicken thighs were added along with the chorizo, into the oven and wait. The dish was served with rice.

I consider that I still have some way to go before I become a professional food photographer.

 

 

The whanau liked the dish, my son said there were key flaws in it, not enough chorizo, his mother agreed. He also thought that celery detracted from the dish. His sister and mother disagreed. The conclusion reached was it was dish that we should eat again. And as a sausage lover it is great to have a family that want more chorizo. I consider that any quality sausage could be used in this dish, substitute your favourite for a great meal.

The Upside of the Earthquake

The upside to the earthquakes

You can get parking in Christchurch for $2 a day.

This weekend we went to Christchurch for a friend’s fiftieth birthday. Four classmates from Northcote College, on Auckland’s North Shore, got together to relive their youth and tell lies, truths and laugh about their life at secondary school and beyond. More than thirty years later, they live in Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and London. I am married to one of these people.

I had not been to Christchurch since the big earthquake of February 2011. I was last there in late 2010 when the damage from the first earthquake was evident. This weekend I rode a bike from the house we were staying in to the centre of the city. There are large vacant plots of land where buildings once stood. When you get to the red zone you can see the damage to some of Christchurch’s landmarks. Below is the Art’s Centre and blocks that have fallen, or been removed, as the building is restored. The Cathedral in The Square has lost its spire. On the right hand side of the shot there used to be a block of buildings that have been demolished. There is still a great amount of work to be accomplished.

 

 

There is an upside, many vacant lots are available for car parking. You can park for $2 a day, which is very cheap. However I’m not sure we would want to have to go through an earthquake of that magnitude just to achieve such cheap parking.

 

My wife went to The Mediterranean Food Company and came back with some sausages from the Akaroa Butchery and Deli. These were mild Italian and chorizo. There was two of each. As I cooked these on the barbecue the question was asked by another guest, why are there only two?  As I replied I would have bought a minimum of six, or maybe eight. Anyway they cooked nicely and were served as a pre aperitif, that’s the special tasting you have before the aperitif for dinner.

The mild Italian are a pork based sausage with seasoning; parsley, sage and thyme, and maybe a hint of nutmeg also existed in the flavour. They are a pleasant but not spectacular sausage to eat. They are ground to a slightly more coarse texture than fine. These are ok sausages, and I would buy these again.

Cost per kilo: $22.00

 

The chorizo had the ingredients labelled as pork, wine, paprika, salt and garlic. On the continuum of chorizo that I have reviewed on this blog, this sausage is good. It is a medium spiced sausage. It was also pleasant to eat, in fact I could eat three or four of these if only my wife had provided for us better than she did. However as with the other sausage there are better examples around.   

Cost per kilo: $22.00

After the sausages were consumed, champagne was opened. Martin, our host, told us that my wife and other school friends who were there for the weekend had given him and his wife 24 champagne flutes for their wedding over 20 years ago. Until February 2011 they had not broken one. However after the big earthquake only four remained. These have now been replaced and the champagne, memories and laughter flowed.   If only there had been more sausages!