Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from
Portuguese ) is a type of
pork cured meat originating from the
Iberian Peninsula.
In
Europe, chorizo is a
fermented,
cured,
smoked
Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meat, fish, and ''lapsang souchong'' tea are often smoked.
In Europe, alder is the tradi ...
meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or added as an ingredient to add flavor to other dishes. Elsewhere, some sausages sold as chorizo may not be fermented and cured, and require cooking before eating.
Spanish and
Portuguese are distinctly different products, despite both getting their smokiness and deep red color from
dried, smoked, red peppers (/).
Iberian chorizo is eaten sliced in a
sandwich,
grilled,
fried, or
simmered in liquid, including
apple cider or other strong
alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...
s such as . It is also used as a partial replacement for ground (minced)
beef or pork.
Names
The word ''chorizo'' probably comes from the
Late Latin 'salted', via the
Portuguese ; it is a
doublet
Doublet is a word derived from the Latin ''duplus'', "twofold, twice as much",
