Chorizo Verde Tlaxcalteca con Huevo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy cast iron or steel comal for charring the poblano and toasting the pepitas
• •High-powered blender for the green paste
• •Wide cast iron skillet, 12 inches
• •Wooden spoon or pala for scrambling

Instructions

1. 1

   Char the poblano

   Set the chile poblano directly over an open flame on the stove or on a hot comal. Turn with tongs until the skin is blistered and blackened on all sides, about six to eight minutes. Drop it into a bowl and cover with a plate for ten minutes. The trapped warmth loosens the skin. Rub the blackened skin off with your fingers, do not rinse it under water. Water washes away the smoke flavor you just worked for. Pull out the stem and seeds.

   If a few black flecks of skin cling to the flesh, leave them. They belong in the chorizo. Perfectly clean poblano is a restaurant habit, not a Tlaxcala one.
2. 2

   Toast the pepitas

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Add the pepitas in a single layer. Shake the pan often. They will puff and pop and turn pale gold in about three minutes. Pull them off the heat the moment they start to color. Burned pepitas taste like burned pepitas and there is no hiding that in a green chorizo.

3. 3

   Build the green paste

   Combine the cilantro, perejil, spinach, hierba santa, charred poblano, serranos, toasted pepitas, garlic, white onion, vinegar, salt, oregano, cumin, pepper, cloves, and the raw tomatillo in a blender. Blend on high until you have a thick, vivid green paste. No water. The herbs and the tomatillo release their own moisture. You want this paste tight, not soupy. If your blender struggles, push it down with a wooden spoon and pulse, but do not thin it out. This is the soul of the chorizo. Tlaxcala has been making this paste for generations and they do not water it down.

4. 4

   Season the pork

   Place the ground pork in a wide bowl. Pour the green paste over it. With clean hands, mix it together thoroughly, working the paste into every part of the meat. The pork will turn an electric green, almost shocking to look at. That is the color the women of Tlaxcala have been chasing for over a century. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least four hours, preferably overnight. The chorizo needs time to cure. The herbs marry the fat. Skip this rest and you will taste the difference. No me vengas con atajos.

   Twenty-four hours in the refrigerator is better than four. The flavor deepens, the color settles, and the vinegar does its quiet work on the meat. If you can plan ahead, plan ahead.
5. 5

   Fry the chorizo

   Heat the manteca in a wide heavy skillet, cast iron is best, over medium heat. When the lard shimmers, crumble in the cured chorizo, breaking it into small uneven pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook for eight to ten minutes, stirring often. The chorizo will release liquid first, then the liquid will cook off, then the fat will start to fry the meat. You want crisp edges and dark green pockets where the herb paste has caramelized against the pan. The kitchen should smell like cilantro, garlic, and rendered pork all at once.

6. 6

   Scramble in the eggs

   When the chorizo is fully cooked and the edges are crisp, lower the heat to medium-low. Pour in the beaten eggs all at once. Wait ten seconds, then start dragging the eggs across the pan with the wooden spoon, pulling cooked curds to the center and letting the raw egg flow to the edges. Cook for two to three minutes, until the eggs are just set but still glossy. Do not overcook them. Dry eggs ruin chorizo con huevo. The eggs should hold the chorizo together, not absorb it.

7. 7

   Serve at the table

   Pull the skillet straight to the table on a wooden trivet. Set out warm corn tortillas in a basket lined with a cotton servilleta, a clay cazuelita of refried frijoles bayos, crumbled queso fresco, sliced avocado, and a bowl of salsa verde cruda. Each person builds their own taco at the table. This is a Tlaxcala breakfast, generous, green, and unapologetically pork. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Use pork shoulder with the fat left on, ground at the butcher counter or at home. Lean ground pork makes a sad, dry chorizo. La manteca es el sabor. If your pork looks pink and clean, ask the butcher for a fattier grind or add a quarter pound of pork back fat to the mix.
• •Hierba santa is what makes this taste truly Tlaxcalan. If you cannot find it, leave it out, do not substitute. A bad substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade. The chorizo will still be excellent, just less specifically of place. Look for it at Mexican mercados in the herb section, sometimes labeled hoja santa or acuyo.
• •Cure the chorizo overnight if you can. The flavor at four hours is good. The flavor at twenty-four hours is what you tasted in Tlaxcala. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado, they will tell you the same thing.
• •Salsa verde cruda is the right partner, raw tomatillo blended with serrano, cilantro, garlic, and salt. Red salsa fights the green chorizo. Let the dish stay in its own register.

Advance Preparation

• •The green paste can be blended one day ahead and refrigerated in a sealed jar. The color stays bright for about 24 hours before it starts to dull.
• •The cured chorizo improves with at least one overnight rest and can be made up to three days ahead. Keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator. The vinegar and salt keep the pork stable.
• •Cooked chorizo verde keeps for three days refrigerated and reheats well in a hot skillet with a little lard. Do not scramble the eggs into it until you are ready to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)