Soy chorizo at Trader Joe's

[escondido123]

I live in Southern California where Mexican style chorizo is readily available. I love the spice and flavor of it, but am trying to cut back on meat and fat. So when I saw Soy Chorizo at my local Trader Joe's I had to try it. It is incredible. The exact flavor and texture of pork chorizo without the guilt or the grease. It's become my favorite quick lunch. Browned up with some onion, then put on a flour or corn tortilla with chopped tomatoes and a big dollop of 0% fat Greek yogurt, also a new favorite from TJs that has the richness of sour cream without the fat. It is a spectacular combo, and would be great in enchiladas too.

[amapola]

My favorite taco/burrito place in Los Angeles (Hugo's Tacos) makes a soy chorizo, potato and zucchini burrito that is just heavenly with a honey chipotle salsa. The salsa is key, providing a nice sweetness to balance out the spice. But they also use small white beans (look like Cannelinis) cooked with sage and epazote.
I might be moving out of town and will need to try to replicate the burritos on my own. Thanks for the source on the chorizo!

[LulusMom]

I love the stuff. Found it because of this thread, and have been using it since. Wonderful in paella. My meat eating husband said he couldnt' tell the difference.

[Green Omnivore]

I love it too! I really love Rick Bayless' chorizo/soyrizo, potato and mushroom taco filling from Everyday Mexican. It's super quick and considerably less fat than using pork chorizo.

[normalheightsfoodie]

We use it on nachos.

[w.j.marshmallow]

Add 1/2 tube of soy chorizo to TJ's Arrabiatta spaghetti sauce and some goat cheese...heaven.

[swangwcb]

I totally agree this stuff is amazing and I was going to add the bit about the nonfat greek yogurt....totally tastes like sour cream...but add the light fancy shredded mexican cheese and the brown rice tortillas.....made a lasagna-type dish (the tortillas arent very pliable)..and OMG soo good with such healthier results....fyi just read that a lower fat diet is more amenable to success than a low carb diet.....so there you go! yahoo!

[tlegray]

I have been using soyrizo for years. You can find it in most grocery stores. Some will have it with the regular chorizo and others will have it with the soy products or natural food section of the store.

I use it for vegetarian chili beans, potato & soyrizo tacos, soyrizo and eggs, soyrizo and nopales. In a quesadilla. I basically substitute it anywhere I might have used pork or beef soyrizo. Depending on the maker I may add more vinegar or spice but it's all been pretty good.

[hankstramm]

It's a really good substitute if you don't want the fat. Nevertheless, I make delicious chorizo at home with no questionable parts--pork shoulder and spices. What you buy in the market in the US is garbage--literally just the scraps of the pig they couldn't find us for elsewhere--not that that's a bad thing...

[Fritter]

"What you buy in the market in the US is garbage--literally just the scraps of the pig they couldn't find us for elsewhere"

That's just pure non-sense. There are numerous quality sausage makers in the US that produce excellent products and not out of scraps.

[hankstramm]

Yup Dive Fan, that's exactly what I was talking about. Most of the chorizo you find in the supermarket is horrendous drek. It will turn to red fat liquid after about 3-4 minutes of cooking. Yes there are are numerous sausage makers in the US that make quality sausage, nevertheless, most are wrapped in plastic bags and sold under the moniker "chorizo"

[DiveFan]

I think he was referring to 'Mexican style' chorizo made in the US. The awful stuff here in Cali is all lymph Nodes and salivary Glands.
If you don't go home made, look for the confusingly named Mexican 'longaniza' - it seems to have a better mix of pork parts.

Speaking of homemade chorizo, the above recipe is good but I like mine as well:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/11809

And now back to the OP re OT :-). Out of curiosity I tried Reynaldos brand soy chorizo and was shocked at how decent it was. Costs about $1.29 at F4L. Farmer Johns makes a 'premium' chorizo that doesn't use a ton of nodes or glands; do not confuse it with their new, cheap, crappy 'tradicional' style (more N&G).

[Fritter]

Whole Foods is making Chorizo on site at many of their locations now.

[normalheightsfoodie]

We have recently used it on Nachos, they were great.
We also eat the soyrizo with eggs. We do not combine them we either poach or scramble the eggs and serve the soyrizo on the side.

[Antilope]

My wife and I enjoy commercial chorizo, but all that grease can't be good for you. We now make homemade chorizo using ground turkey.

[michele cindy]

If you have the time can you post the recipe? Would love to try it out.

[Antilope]

Homemade Mexican Chorizo

Ingredients

1 lb ground lean pork, ground turkey can be substituted
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Combine chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, garlic powder, coriander, oregano, red pepper flakes, ground cloves and black pepper in mixing bowl and stir until well combined.

Add cider vinegar and stir until dry ingredients are moistened.

Add ground meat and knead until spice mixture is well incorporated into the meat.

You can use the chorizo immediately, but for best flavor development, place chorizo mixture in an airtight container and store overnight in fridge.

Form chrizo meat into small patties or just scramble and fry the meat in a skillet until done.

[michele cindy]

This souns great and not difficullt to prepare. I was getting ready for something more intense. Thanks!

[michele cindy]

I cooked TJ's chorizo as planned. Fried it with sauteed peppers and onions, then placed it on top of the TJ's green chile and cheese tamale. Topped it with shredded cheddar, baked then broiled the top til golden. My husband (he doesn't eat meat) loved it. I eat meat, and I thought it was a decent substitute, but still prefer the real thing. I wasn't crazy about the constistancy. It was also pretty wet before you start, and took awhile to dry out to a more sausage like texture I prefer. Overall, I would buy it again for my husband, but not for me.

[janetms383]

I used to LOVE chorizo until I was in Grand Central Market in LA and read the ingredients on the package. EW could never eat it again!!
so, the TJ version is really really good?

[pitu]

It is really good considering there's no pork involved - it's quite oily btw
absolutely worth trying

[tonyv4488]

I totally agree!! I was born and raised in So. Cal. and was fed chorizo every since I can remember, then one day I read the ingredients and never touched it again. My vegetarian girlfriend said we should try the soy stuff from TJ's and WOW I was impressed!! Yay!! Chorizo and eggs again!!

[michele cindy]

Old post - but it's a new product for me. I think I am going to put it over trader joe's green chile and cheese tamales, then broil it with a cheddar topping. I may add some fried peppers and onions too. Should I fry the veg. chorizo 1st?

[jacquelines]

I love it too! Had it for the first time a month ago and I made an awesome omelette with it gruyere and mushrooms. Soo good.