Cooking With Wine – Chorizo Morsels

Welcome to our blog series on cooking with wine in which we continue our culinary adventure with a recipe for Chorizo Morsels. This sweet and spicy appetizer is great in any season.

Before we begin, there’s one thing that we find really handy and that’s to know a few things up front. First, how long will it take to prep, cook, set aside, refrigerate, etc. before it’s ready to eat? Second, how many people will it serve? Lastly, the grocery list.

Nice to know details

As a general rule, allow for:

• 5 minutes preparation
• 8 – 10 minutes cooking
• Serves  6 – 8 people

Grocery List

• Chorizo sausages (1 pound)
• Garlic (2 cloves)
• Grape seed oil
• 1 bottle of full-bodied, fruit forward red wine
• Clear honey (1/3 cup)
• Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

Prepare the Ingredients

These are so delicious and easy to make, you might want to make 2 batches because they disappear in no time!

• Cut 1 pound of sausages into 3/4-inch pieces
• Mince 2 garlic cloves

Make the Tasty Morsels

We’re using an oil with a higher smoke point so the sausages don’t taste burnt.

• Place 1 tablespoon of grape seed oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat
• Add sausage pieces
• Cook for about 5 minutes or until both sides of the sausages pieces are browned
• Add minced garlic, 2/3 of a cup of full-bodied dry red wine and 1/3 of a cup of clear honey to the pan
• Bring to a boil for about 3 – 5 minutes just until the sauce starts to reduce to a glaze
• Remove from heat and let the glaze thicken a bit more as it cools

Serving

• Place the tasty morsels on a board or into a serving bowl
• Pour some glaze over top
• Skewer with toothpicks
• Sprinkle with rosemary sprigs and serve immediately

Pairing

We recommend serving this appetizer with the same full-bodied dry red wine used in the recipe. It’s always best to serve the same wine used during cooking. This helps to enhance both the flavours in the dish and also the wine.

Tips

• This dish is a great addition to any Spanish tapas-themed meal
• Our favourite red wines for this recipe are Amarone, Cabernet Shiraz Merlot or Syrah
• You can use cilantro or parsley instead of rosemary
• Use an oil with a smoke point of at least 400 degrees Fahrenheit
• Here’s a chart where you can find other options

We hope you enjoy this post on Cooking With Wine – Chorizo Morsels