We’re talking Homemade Portuguese Chourico Sausages! It’s a Popular Portuguese Favorite. The real magic is when these are used in various dishes and they’re used in quite a few places. They get chopped up or torn with the Fat rendering out flavoring the overall dish and the meat cooking up just beautifully. Although with this homemade version, you can skip the Sausage stuffing and just freeze the portioned out meat to add to certain dishes or skewer them for Portuguese Kebabs.

I am so Happy I can finally share this with you! I worked on this for about 1 year to get those same flavors I experienced the first time I had Chourico Sausages and I believe I nailed it. With this Homemade Chourico Sausage we can all experience that Portuguese Flavor. Whether you like them as Sausages, Kebabs or thrown into certain dishes to add that unique flavor.

What is Portuguese Chourico

Portuguese Chourico is a Pork Sausage made with chunks of Pork from either Shoulder or Butt. Portuguese Chourico is never made with ground meat. It is marinated in a Pimento Paste with either Red or White Wine and other ingredients before being hand stuffed into Sausage Casings with a Funnel and Smoked. Common ingredients include Pimento Paste, Wine, Paprika, Garlic, Pepper and Bay Leaves.

They typically come in Mild or Hot. Although with Homemade Chourico this can vary based on preference. Keeping in mind that these are suppose to have some kick to them.

There are many versions out there and they’re not all the same. I worked on this for quite a while to replicate those same flavors as the original Chourico Sausages I tried. Any recipe here on JAHZKITCHEN that uses Chourico Sausages either uses the Unboxed Market Chourico Sausages or these ones right here.

Unboxed Market Portuguese Chourico

Taking a very close look at the Portuguese Chourico Sausage from Unboxed Market, I noticed that this is a Red Paste. I’ve learned that in Portuguese Cuisine, Pimento Paste is used quite a bit and in various recipes. I also suspected Tomato Paste for the longest time as well because of the consistency and color. Although I’m not so sure now.

The meat is well marbled with Fat. Having a cure to it almost like Ham, It’s also lighter in color. Which suggest that it is not made with Red Wine but White Instead. This would also explain how Portuguese Chourico Sausages are so good in Dairy based recipes. Of which White Wine pairs extremely well, Red Wine not so much.

On my last batch that I bought, I talked with the guy who makes them and he did say that he uses Garlic, Bay Leaves, Paprika & Pepper. I originally thought Black or Red Pepper, until I bit into a White Peppercorn. A friend of mine from the Azores also confirmed, that it was White Pepper.

As far as Herbs go, there really isn’t any herbs added at all. At least none that I could detect.

Di Pietro Portuguese Sausages

This is another grocery store I was recommended to visit for Portuguese Chourico Sausages and Yep, these ones are pretty good too, although these ones have to be cooked first, Unboxed Market does not. Di Pietro Chourico is not quite the same as Unboxed Market, those really are the best ones. These ones are a good second and will definitely work if you just want to pick up some Sausages to use in certain dishes.

However, this grocery store is just so awesome for a bunch of other things. In fact you can pick up all the ingredients needed for this Portuguese Chourico right there at their store, including the Pork Casing and Curing Salt.

Portuguese Chourico Ingredients

• Fatty Pork Cut like Shoulder or Butt
• Pimento Paste
• Carlo Rossi White Wine
• White Wine Vinegar
• Paprika
• Garlic Cloves
• White Pepper
• Bay Leaves
• Prague Powder #1
• Pork Sausage Casings

Type of Pork for Portuguese Chourico

Portuguese Chourico Sausages are generally made with Pork Shoulder. You can use Pork Butt or even Fatty Pork Chops, the Fat is crucial. With Chourico Sausages you want a good amount of marbled Meat and soft Fat included with the Sausages.

Remove any Skin and Hard Fats which can be saved to render out for other recipes. Save any bones for Pork Stock. Chop or dice the Pork into bite size pieces, about 1/2 inch.

Pimento Paste

Pimento Paste comes in two Flavors (Sweet & Hot). Either one can be used depending on how Mild or Hot you want the Chourico. This creates the Mild or Hot versions of a Portuguese Chourico Sausage, depending on what type of Pimento paste you use.

Type of Wine in Chourico

I learned that a Wine low in Salt is preferred. A White Wine and not a Red one. This allows the Chourico to be used in certain dishes that contain Dairy and a wider array of dishes with Chicken, Pork and Seafood.

My first try was with Red Wine. At which point I realized that White Wine is what I was after. This is why the Chourico Sausages seem to pair up so well with dairy Products. So while it is said you can use either, you really want White Carlo Rossi Wine. Although I am curious about a White Port Wine.

Acidity

Typically with Portuguese Chourico Sausage, acidity can come from Lemon Juice, White Vinegar or in this recipe White Wine Vinegar. This just adds a bit of acidity to lift the flavors up.

Chourico Sausage Seasoning

There isn’t much in terms of Seasoning and different Families put in different things. When I opened the Sausages up I typically buy at Unboxed Market for a close look, I didn’t really notice any Herbs at all. Not even that many Spices. Just the same with the Di Pietro Portuguese Chourico Sausages.

Paprika

Smoked Paprika was one aspect I was experimenting with and another ingredient that can be exchanged depending on if you are after the Mild or Hot Chourico. I did use Smoked Paprika for the smokiness that it contributed. Especially where the Sausages were not going to be smoked, even adding in some liquid smoke to account for that. But there is something even better.

And then I came across this Beautiful thing with it’s Aromas luring me in. I was walking through the isles at Di Pietro and checking things out when all of a sudden I recognized a smell that was in the Portuguese Chourico Sausages. As I got closer trying to detect where the smell was coming from. It was this package that immediately made me think Portuguese Chourico Sausages. This was it, it had to be!

I rushed home and made a batch up. Yep this was the Smell & Flavor. With that, about a year or so of trying to perfect the Portuguese Chourico Sausages was done. This was it and is it ever good.

Garlic

About 2 cloves of Garlic or more is minced and used for each 1 lb. of meat. For 2.5 lbs. this works out to about 5 cloves of Garlic.

White Pepper

White Pepper and a good amount of it to create that heat. Especially so when using Sweet Pimento Paste for Mild Chourico Sausages.

Bay Leaves

Bay Leaves can be added whole to the Marinade to extract the flavors. I much prefer grinding up the Bay Leaves and including them in with the Sausages. I find this yields up much more Flavor, but either way is fine.

Liquid Smoke

This is not added in Traditional Portuguese Chourico Sausages because they usually derive their smoke flavor from actually being smoked with both Charcoal & Wood. I think the Charcoal is from wood as well.

This is another reason why that Hodi Paprika is so good. It brings the flavors of Charcoal and Smokiness right inside the Sausage itself.

If making this at home without a smoker and without the Hodi Paprika. Then use a good quality Smoked Paprika with a small amount of Liquid Smoke. About 1/4 tsp of liquid smoke for 2.5 lbs. Maybe with some Charcoal Oil. It really is that Charcoal & Smoke Flavor that makes most of that flavor in the Chourico, along with that cure.

Prague Powder #1

This is added for the curing effect in producing a meat much like a cured Ham. I believe the Wine also does this in combination with the Smoker. In any event the Portuguese Chourico Sausages, at least the kind that are sold by both Unboxed Market and Di Pietro are definitely cured.

The recommended amounts of Prague Powder #1 is up to 1 level tsp for every 5 lbs. of meat.

Prague Powder #1 is toxic if consumed directly and at levels higher than the recommended amounts. Use as suggested and store away in a dark cool place away from where it could be mistakenly consumed.

Portuguese Chourico Heat level

There are three main areas where the heat can be adjusted to create the Chourico Sausage that has just the right amount of heat for your preference.

1. Pimento Paste, either Sweet or Hot
2. Paprika, either Smoked, Sweet or Hot Paprika
3. White Pepper

For me, the given recipe is perfect. Keep in mind that a Portuguese Chourico Sausage is suppose to be Spicy. Even the Mild Chourico Sausage has a good amount of heat to it. The Hot Chourico is really Hot. These are usually sold as Mild & Hot. I believe it is the type of Pimento paste used that decides either Mild or Hot Chourico.

Portuguese Chourico Sausage Marinade

Just combine all of the ingredients together into a large bowl and mix well. Add in the chopped bite size pieces of Pork, mix again and cover to refrigerate for at least 24 hours to 3 days. Mix it a few times as it marinates to ensure even coverage. It should soak up all the marinade.

Use Sweet Pimento Paste for Mild Portuguese Chourico Sausages and Hot Pimento Paste for Hot Portuguese Chourico Sausages. The White Pepper can be adjusted to taste.

Once you have the Chourico Meat Marinated and ready to go, it comes down to how you want to portion it. It can be stuffed into Pork Casings for Sausages, skewered for Kebabs or portioned out and frozen in Ziploc bags to add to certain dishes when needed.

Portuguese Chourico Sausages

Sausage Casing

Pork Sausage casing can be picked up at a local butcher shops that makes their own Sausages. Usually they will sell it to you if asked for. My local Italian Grocery (Vincenzo’s) store sells me the Pork Casing for about $4.00 CAD for one section which will do about 10 lbs. of meat. Di Pietro sells it for $5.50 CAD.

How to preserve leftover Sausage Casings

Strain out the Water and run your hand through the entire length squeezing out any water that may be inside the casing. Place the Skins in an airtight Tupperware container and cover with salt. Refrigerate for up to 1 year. To reuse process it the exact same way with a soak and rinse inside and out.

Sausage Funnel

The Traditional way is with a funnel and a mouth opening of about 1 inch. I could not locate these so I had to buy a cheap plastic Funnel and cut off a bit of the nozzle to allow the meat to pass through.

Sausages should measure about 6-8 inches. Measure out the casing to 20 inches, so that 2 Sausages can be made per strip of casing with about 2 inches left on both ends that can be tied together to hang the Sausages with a 1/2 inch – 1 inch gap.

Stuffing the Casing

Hold the Funnel & Casing at the nozzle and stuff with the meat filling. Only allowing the casing to drop once it has been stuffed pretty good. It may take you some time to get use to, but you can feel how tight the Sausage is by the pressure placed on the skin. Careful here too because if you’re too rough you can cause the skin to split. All of this will come with time. Don’t worry about it too much since you can always adjust after the Sausages are filled.

Shaping Chourico Sausages

Once the Sausage is stuffed run your hand starting at the top and squeeze the meat down, much like you are milking a cow. With squeezing your thumb and index finger first, then your remaining fingers in order to force the meat down.

Pay close attention to how much pressure is placed on the skin, you don’t want to spit it. Instead you want the Sausages to be stuffed pretty firmly. If you have some air stuck at the very end, pierce one or two times with a needle to let the air out, making room for the meat.

Coiled Chourico Sausages

Once you have the meat evenly distributed and even tightness the whole length. Locate the middle section and rub to squeeze the meat out leaving only the skin section so that you can twist and make two Sausage links. You can also just leave this as 1 coil or one continuous Sausage. Finally tie off the other end of the Sausage. Then tie the two ends together so that the Sausages can be hung on a rod. About 1/2 an inch to 1 inch gap.

Drying Chourico Sausages

Before these get cooked they typically need to dry for a bit or they get cold smoked to dry and then the heat gradually increased over time. The low heat or drying tightens the skins. You want the skins dried to the touch before you start cooking them.

These Sausages need to be dried properly after cooking as well. Place them on a rack or hang to dry so that air flow can reach the entire surface of the Sausages.

Portuguese Chourico Sausage Internal Temp

Cook Portuguese Chourico Sausages to an internal temperature of 152 F. Over this temperature and the Sausages start to dry out.

In my very first Batch I cooked the Sausages to 165 F. This turned out to be way overcooked. In the next few batches I kept reducing the internal temp until about 155 F, which wasn’t to bad but still a bit dry. The perfect internal temperature was 152 F.

How to Cook Portuguese Chourico Sausages

Traditionally Portuguese Chourico Sausages are hung and Smoked with both Wood & Charcoal over very low heat for quite some time.

Smoking Chourico Sausages

The Chourico Sausages that this recipe is modeled after uses both Charcoal & Wood. Which is a key aspect in the Portuguese Chourico Sausage Flavor and why at home without a smoker, that Hodi Paprika is so important.

However since I don’t have a smoker anymore, I have never had the opportunity to smoke these Sausages. Although in general it seems that the Chourico Sausages are smoked anywhere from 110 F and up for anywhere between 2 -24 Hours.

There are all kinds of ways to do this with a Cold Smoke at first or a very low smoke and gradually increasing the heat and others will just smoke at around 200 F for a few hours. The important thing is that the Chourico Sausages are dried when the cooking starts and are cooked at a low heat until the internal temp is 152 F and then dunked in cold water and hung to dry.

How to Cook Portuguese Chourico Sausages in the oven

Turn the oven on at 200 F and cook the Sausages until an internal temperature of 152 F. About 2 hours and 30 minutes. But you really do need a oven safe thermometer to better gauge the temps. Once the internal temp is reached, remove and place into a bowl of Cold Water to halt the cooking and start cooling down the Sausages. Hang or place on a rack the Sausages to dry.

Cooling Portuguese Chourico Sausages

Dunk the Sausages in very cold water to halt the cooking process and start cooling down the Sausages. Leave them in there for about 30 seconds to a minute. This also tightens the Skin and make for better looking Sausages. Then set aside on a rack or hang for at least 1 hour to finish cooling off and dry out.

Drying Chourico Sausages after cooking

It’s important to dry out the Sausages after cooking as well. Either by hanging or placing on a rack with sufficient air flow to cover the entire surface of the Sausages. Especially so where these are not smoked but cooked in the oven. The Sausages should be dry to the touch before being wrapped in waxed paper, Ziploc bags or placed into Tupperware and refrigerated.

Storing Portuguese Chourico Sausages

These Homemade Portuguese Chourico Sausages can be refrigerated for up to 3-5 days tightly wrapped. After that they really should be frozen to minimize on drying out.

Portuguese Chourico Kebabs

This is perhaps the easiest way to enjoy Portuguese Chourico. You don’t need to stuff these into Sausage Skins at all, skipping the whole process altogether. Just chop into 1 inch pieces and marinate them for the full 24 hours and then skewer for Portuguese Chourico Kebabs.

Frozen Chourico Meat

The marinated and cured Chourico Meat can also be portioned and frozen to add to certain dishes anytime you desire. Skipping the whole process of stuffing into Sausage.

In this case just portion off to any amount you want after the initial 24 hours of curing. This allows the Cure to work through the meat. Where Freezing will halt this. Portuguese Chourico Sausages are usually about 170 g – 225 g or about 1 lb. for a coil of Sausages. For Kebabs I keep it at about 100 g – 125 g.

In some cases depending on where the Chourico Sausages will be used the meat has to be cooked first before including with a particular dish. Just bake in the oven at 350 F or pan fry until done.

Recipes with Portuguese Chourico

Cooking with Chourico Sausages is just so good and adds so much more to a particular dish. There are tons of recipes that these Chourico Sausages can be added to as the main meat in the dish or for supporting flavors. It’s just amazing what these Chourico Sausages can contribute.