Chorizo
Sus scrofa domesticus · Meat
Top 10 pairings
A pork sausage stained brick-red by paprika and laced with garlic. Spanish chorizo is cured and dried to slice like salami; Mexican chorizo is fresh and soft, spiced with vinegar and chilli, then crumbled and fried.
Picking a good onedrag
Whole, firm, dry-bloomedTacky, slimy or mouldy
Cut and keepingEveryday bestIt's never cooked. Pregnant, over 65, a child or low immunity? Eat it steaming hot.
The link in the handFirm; drier, harder at the ends
Casing and bloomPatchy bloom, rubbed by the pack
The cut faceA shade darker or iridescent: fine
Smell at the cutPaprika, garlic, a quieter tang