Chourico and Vegetables is made with Portuguese Chourico Sausages, Potatoes, Carrots, Garlic & Onions in a Vibrant & Zesty Pimento Sauce. This dish is a wonderful heart-warming option, perfect as a main course or a side alongside a main protein like chicken quarters. You can cook the chicken quarters with the vegetables, then strain and reduce the braising liquids into a sauce to drizzle over the chicken.
Chourico and Vegetables Ingredients
Chourico Sausages or Meat Filling, Potatoes, Carrots, Onion, Garlic, Wine or Beer, EVOO, Lemon Juice, Pimento Paste, Hodi Smoked Paprika, and Bay Leaf. With Salt & Pepper or the Salt & Pepper Blend to adjust the seasoning if needed at the end.
Chourico Sausages
Chourico is a Portuguese Sausage different from Chorizo. It is an absolutely amazing Sausage or Kebab using the Homemade marinated Chourico meat. I make these all the time and often just dice the meat and marinade. Then portion them out into Ziploc bags to use in various recipes. Sometimes I just skewer them and enjoy them as Kebabs, slow cooked in a rotisserie unit for about 1 hour.
Use about 1 lb (ca. 454 g) or more of store bought Portuguese Chourico or the Chourico Meat that has been marinated or thawed after marinating and portioning for freezing.
Homemade Chourico Marinated Meat
Store bought Portuguese Chourico Sausages
Chourico Marinade
This is easy to make. Just combine the marinade ingredients together and add the diced pork. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 2–3 days. Optionally, portion them out into Ziploc bags and place them into the freezer to take out and thaw for various recipes. For the full post, check out Portuguese Chourico Kebabs recipe.
These can be stuffed into sausage casing to make Chourico Sausages. But since the meat will be chopped or torn, there really isn’t any need too. Just marinate and include about 1 lb (ca. 454 g) of Chourico Marinated meat or more for this dish.
Chourico Meat
- 1/3 C Sweet Pimento Paste
- 1/2 C Carlo Rossi White Wine
- 5 Cloves Garlic — Minced
- 1 Tbl Hodi Smoked Paprika — or good quality smoked paprika
- 2 1/2 tsp White Wine Vinegar, Sea Salt, and White Pepper — each
- 1/2 tsp Prague Powder #1
- 1/4 tsp Ground Bay Leaves
Vegetables
The main vegetables used in this dish are Potatoes, Carrots, Onion & Garlic. Although, you can include Peppers, Celery, and other vegetables if you want.
Vegetables
- Dice the Potatoes about 1 inch
- Carrots are peeled and sliced at about 1/4 inch or smaller
- Quarter, Dice, or Slice the Onions & chop the Garlic coarsely or leave the Garlic as whole Cloves.
Chourico and Vegetables Braising Liquid
The braising liquid consist of the Pimento Marinade, with Alcohol. Although you can substitute the Alcohol for a non-alcoholic dish, should you choose. Combine all the ingredients together in a casserole and mix.
Chourico and Vegetables Braising Liquid Ingredients
- 1 C Wine or Beer
- 1/4 C Oil (EVOO or Neutral), Lemon Juice, and Sweet Pimento Paste
- 1 Tbl Smoked Paprika
- 1/8 tsp ground Bay Leaf
Alcohol
The Alcohol which can be Wine or Beer using Carlo Rossi White Wine, Super Bock Beer or other brands, Goya White Cooking Wine or even Sake or Rice Cooking wine. I have made it with all four and depending on the day or what I have on hand I will alternate between these.
Carlos White Wine
This sweet-tasting wine has very low salt and is also used to marinate Chourico meat. You can use other good-tasting White Wines as well.
Super Bock Beer
Use Super Bock or any other kind of Beer of your choice.
Goya Cooking Wine
A very nice cooking wine that contains salt. You won’t need to season as much afterward with the Salt & Pepper, if any at all.
Sake or Rice Cooking Wine
Sake or Rice cooking wine works just as well.
Tomato Juice & Broth Braising Liquid
For a no Alcohol braising liquid, use 1/2 C of Tomato Juice & 1/2 C of Chicken or Pork Broth. For the Broth, I use half a Bouillon Cube dissolved in 1/2 C of Water before adding in the Tomato Juice and use this in place of the Wine or Beer.
Chourico and Vegetables Seasoning
All the Seasoning is going to come from the Chourico Meat and the Braising Liquids. Depending on what you use, you may need to season with a bit more Salt & Pepper. For that, just the standard Salt & Pepper Blend can be easily combined and used to season the Chourico & Vegetables if needed.
That isn’t to say you can’t add any accenting herbs, you definitely can. Use Herbs like Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary or Parsley to taste.
When using Goya White Cooking Wine, it already contains enough salt, so you don’t need to add any extra seasoning. With other Alcohols added, you may or may not need to adjust the seasoning. Always adjust the seasoning at the end if needed.
Salt & Pepper Blend
- 1 Tbl Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
Spicy Chourico & Vegetables
The Chourico Sausages themselves contribute the heat, and they come in two (2) different heat levels, Mild & Hot. If using the Hot Chourico Sausages, you don’t really need to add any additional heat. I mean, unless of course you’re after that, then by all means spice it up, how you like. For most, this would be too hot. For the Mild or the Homemade Chourico Meat, it does contribute some heat and this may be good enough for most. If are looking to increase the heat, there are a few options.
Add extra heat by using Hot Chourico Sausages, or combine a small amount of Hot Pimento Paste or Hot Hodi Paprika with Sweet Pimento Paste or Smoked Paprika to achieve the desired level of spiciness. Start with a very small amount, like a tsp and taste to adjust. With Hot Pimento Paste or Hot Hodi Paprika, it doesn’t take much to up the heat.
Outside of that, you can certainly add in Chilies, Red Chili Flakes, Cayenne Pepper or even a small amount of Hot Sauce, like Piri Piri Sauce, Sriracha, or even Franks RedHot Sauce.
Cooking Chourico and Vegetables
If you’re using store bought Portuguese Chourico Sausages, then just coarsely chop them or tear into chunks to use for this recipe. The faster cook time is best for Chourico Sausages or if including Chicken as the main course.
For the best results with Homemade Chourico Meat, use the slow cook method. Adding the meat raw allows the slow cooking process to soften and tenderize the meat, enhancing its flavor and texture. Although you could slow cook the Sausage ones too, with or without the Chicken.
Chourico & Vegetables Cooking Times
The faster cook time is at 375 F for about 1 hour of total cook time. 45 minutes covered & 15 minutes uncovered. This results in the Vegetables being a bit firmer and soften more as they rest. The below image is Chourico and Vegetables cooked at 375 F for 1 hour, followed by a 20-minute rest.
Low & Slow Chourico & Vegetables
For the Low & Slow Chourico & Vegetables, cook the Vegetables at 250 F for about 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours, or until they soften to your liking. Mix the Vegetables around halfway through the cooking. The below image is Chourico & Vegetables slow cooked for 2 hours at 250 F with Salt & Pepper followed by a 20-minute rest to further soften the Vegetables, these came out much softer.
Chourico and Vegetables with Chicken
Cook the Chicken Quarters with the Vegetables for the main course, and serve Chourico with Vegetables as a side dish. Place room temp seasoned Chicken on top of the Vegetables and cook the dish as outlined in the main recipe. The 15 minutes of cooking towards the end uncovered will brown and crisp up the chicken. Remove the Chicken and place back into the oven with the heat shut off to rest at the same time as the Vegetables are resting while covered for 20 minutes. Drain the sauce into a saucepan to reduce it, then drizzle it over the chicken.
If slow cooking the Vegetables, then cook the Chicken along with the Vegetables, just the same as above. Then remove the Chicken when you set the Vegetables aside to rest while covered. Place the Chicken back into the oven at 375 F to cook for an additional 15-20 minutes to crisp or an internal temperature of 175 F or higher.
Equipment
- 1 Braising Pan or Casserole with lid
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chorico Sausages or Chourico Meat - about 1 lb (ca. 454 g) or more
- 2 Med Potatoes - diced 1 inch
- 2 Med Carrots - sliced 1/8 – 1/4 inch
- 1 Large Onion - quartered, sliced or diced
- 3-5 Cloves Garlic - Minced, Chopped or left whole
Braising Liquid
- 1 C Wine or Beer
- 1/4 C EVOO, Lemon Juice, & Sweet Pimento Paste - each
- 1 Tbl Hodi Smoked Paprika - or other high quality smoked paprika
- 1/8 tsp Ground Bay Leaves - or 1-2 whole Bay leaves added
Salt & Pepper Blend
- 1 Tbl Sea Salt
- 1 tap Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, middle rack position. Combine the braising liquid ingredients into the pan and mix. Prepare the Vegetables and add them to the Pan along with Chourico Meat. If using Sausages, tear or chop into chunks and add them in.
- Cover the pan and transfer to the oven to cook for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are just tender. Toss the Vegetables about halfway through. Then remove the cover, mix and continue to cook for another 15 minutes uncovered.
- Remove from the oven and set aside while covered to further soften the Vegetables and cool down enough that it can be served. Season the Vegetables if needed with Salt & Pepper.