Chorizo Sloppy Joes

If you don't like "heat," you can leave out the chili pepper, although at least the chorizo should have some heat. The first time I made this, I used a larger amount of ketchup and no sugar, which made it way too sour tasting for me. I'm not much of a fan of "sour." So, I cut down on the ketchup and I added some sugar. I used more like 2 teaspoons of sugar, but I've listed 1 to 3 in the recipe, to give the preparer some option. When I buy chorizo, I get it from a place at the West Side Market here in Cleveland that sells it loose from their meat case, and it does not contain an overly large proportion of fat.   

Ingredients (6 to 8 servings):

2 pounds Mexican-style chorizo*
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 or 2 chili peppers, jalapeño or serrano, chopped 
1 can (14 to 16 ounce) tomato sauce
1 cup ketchup (thicker style ketchup)
3 teaspoons dried oregano (Mexican, if you have it)
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning (homemade or commercial brand)** 
1 to 3 teaspoons sugar
hamburger buns or kaiser rolls or hard rolls

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and saute the onion for about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and the chili pepper. Cook until the vegetables are softening. Add the chorizo and cook further, breaking up the chorizo as it cooks. Cook for about 5 minutes or so, then add the tomato sauce, the ketchup, the oregano, the adobo seasoning and one teaspoon of sugar. Mix well and taste the mixture and add more sugar, if needed, and mix well again. Continue cooking until the sauce thickens and coats the meat and there is no "totally runny" liquid.

* "Chorizo" is a type of sausage. In Spain, the chopped sausage meat (typically pork) is blended with smoked paprika and some other seasonings, then put into casings and dry cured for varying periods of time. "Generally," Spanish chorizo does not need to be cooked, although it is not an uncommon ingredient in cooked Spanish dishes, and there is also a fresh version, that requires cooking. In Portugal and in Portuguese influenced cultures, like Brazil, it is called "chouriço." The idea of chorizo passed to many of Spain's (now former) colonies, but with variations. In Mexico, chorizo is more typically a loose or bulk sausage that is not cured. The meat is combined with various seasonings, including some ground chilies of varying heat strength. Since the sausage is not cured, it must be well cooked before being eaten. This is the type of chorizo that is best known to Americans (and probably to Canadians?). 

** For homemade adobo seasoning, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/11/adobo-seasoning.html

A "Chorizo Sloppy Joe" with some potato salad and mild pickles...

WORD HISTORY:
Serrate-This word, by far more commonly used in the adjectival form "serrated," is closely related to "sierra" ("Sierra," in proper names), which English borrowed from Spanish. The ultimate origin of "serrate" is unknown, but it goes back to the Latin verb "serrare," which meant, "to cut with a saw." The noun form in Latin was "serra," meaning "saw" (cutting tool). The participle form of the verb "serratus" (long "a"), was used adjectivally to mean, "saw-like," "having jagged teeth." Forms of the Latin noun/verb were borrowed by English with very limited use circa 1600, but the adjective form "serrated" was borrowed in the early 1700s. The Latin verb and noun meanings lie behind the meaning of the closely related Spanish word "Sierra," also derived from Latin, and meaning, "mountains of jagged peaks;" thus also the more general, "mountain range."