Vegan chorizo: how to prepare the perfect vegetable sausage

The vegan chorizo ​​is one of the vegetable sausages easier to make thanks to the fact that its characteristic flavor and color are provided by a main ingredient: the peppers smoked, chorizo ​​paprika or paprika from La Vera.

From this spice, made with peppers that are dried and smoked, we can flavor chorizo to everything we want, but also make our own homemade vegan sausages.

Vegan chorizo ​​recipe

We already have the flavor (at least the main thing), we would lack the “stuffing”, the foods that we will combine so that we get a whole chorizo, not a hash.

spices

In addition to the smoked paprika, we will need other spices in smaller quantities that form a good bouquet of aromas and flavors. For example the most traditionally used:

Sweet paprika Hot paprika (if you want it spicy) Garlic Ground black pepper Thyme Oregano Vinegar

Adjust the amount of spices to our liking is essential to get the chorizo ​​we want. Some are more aromatic than others, or more spicy, acidic, or lighter or darker in color.

The flavor that should predominate is that of smoked paprika, followed by the others in fair proportions so that they are noticed.

fats

Commercial sausages are quite greasy, about a 30% fat. It is one of the things that makes them palatable and characteristic (the typical chorizo ​​stain that we get on our shirts or notebooks as children).

In traditional chorizos, more or less crushed fatty tissues are used, that is, fats that are usually solid at room temperature, and they are mixed with the rest of the ingredients.

Its vegetable equivalent would be other fats that are solid at room temperature, such as coconut oil, vegetable margarines, Palm oil either cocoa fat. Of course, these options, in addition to fat, have flavors that we would not like to find in a chorizo, so it is preferable to look for alternatives. The best for this case is to use extra virgin olive oilof a variety with a strong flavor, since it will give more body and a slight pungency to the final product.

If you want to add some solid fat to the dough, try small amounts of vegetable margarinespreferably with little flavor or aroma, but complement it with olive oil.

Structure

As main ingredients, to form the structure of a vegan chorizo, it is recommended to use protein-rich foods such as yuba (soy), tofu, wheat gluten, textured soy, tempeh, etc.

Each of these ingredients contributes different things:

The yuba made into pieces it is like some lean pieces that we find in chorizo. He tofu, crumbled, gives a soft and tender contrast, while shaken with the rest of the ingredients provides structure. He wheat gluten It helps us agglomerate everything while giving it a meaty texture. The textured soybeans It provides bits full of flavor and moisture that prevent the final chorizo ​​from being a mere red shapeless mass. He tempehgrated or in small pieces, can give a more complex flavor thanks to the fungi with which it is fermented.

to finish off agglomerate the dough and improve its texturewe can add other ingredients like oatmeal (fine flakes or whole oat flour), cornstarch (it will help the dough to be firm and not fall apart when cutting it), Integral flour the weath (small quantity, only if necessary), ground almonds or almond flour (they will retain moisture) and knead them well by hand to mix and develop the desired texture.

how to cook it

Since we have a raw dough, which you can’t eat it as is, we need to submit it to a first cooking process to form the vegetable chorizo ​​bar. Then we can do what we want with it, cut and eat as it is, fry it, grill it, etc.

The technique so that a bar is made It’s very simple, it’s closing it like a candy wrapper. The dough is placed on a large sheet of food grade aluminum foil (or heat resistant film, or muslin suitable for cooking), compact well so that there are no air bubbles, roll up and the ends are twisted to prevent the filling from coming out and to force the cylindrical shape.

Once well closed you can cook steamed or boiled. I do not recommend it baked, especially if you use plastic or cloth. It is very likely that it will burn.

He cooking time It will depend on the thickness of your chorizo ​​or chorizos, in case you have divided the dough to make them in the shape of a sausage.

Once done let it cool, remove the packaging and try it. If you see that it is a bit creamy, it means that it needs more time. You can boil it again no problem, just wrap it up again.

Homemade vegan chorizos can be refrigerated (4-5 days in a tightly closed container) or freeze (up to 3 months in a tightly closed container), so they are very versatile, you can always have some on hand for those days when you don’t know what to do or don’t have time.