Is Spanish Chorizo Usually Dry/Cured?(Eric Rippert recipe)

[opinionatedchef]

I want to make an Eric Rippert/le Bernardin recipe for Codfish with Sweet Garlic Sauce and Chorzo Essence, to serve 6. (I think the recipe came from a multi-chef cookbook.) The chorizo essence calls for 'one link spanish chorizo' which is peeled, thinly sliced, sauteed in a little oil til brown. Then 1 cup hot water is added and reduced by half; all pressed through sieve ,and solids discarded. The cod is cooked and plated; the garlic cream spooned around it and 1 tsp.chorizo essence is drizzled on top The Spanish chorizo I always have around is the white string/not hot type of Palacio brand -which is one long 7 ou. link, and is pretty hard sausage.

How would you interpret his directions? I wonder if he uses an uncured,softer chorizo (but he does say to peel it.) Should i use my Palacio, and how much? Thx for your help!

[chez cherie]

i think he is using spanish (cured), as stated, and using the sauteing step to extract flavor from the spices and meat, and then adds the water to carry the flavors into a seasoning broth.sounds delicious, and would be great on scallops, i think! let us know how it turns out!

[chefj]

I am not sure what the author means but it should work what ever kind of Chorizo you have. I would skip peeling and slicing and chop in the food processor or by hand, since it is being strained out anyway. The idea would be to get the best flavor extraction from the sausage in to the H2O quickly(only 1 cup of water wont take long to reduce).
As for your headline question, There are many kinds of Chorizo that are made in Spain both fresh and dried. They vary in size, shape, meat used and seasoning.

[SocksManly]

I think the key here is that he says to slice it before going into the pan, because you couldn't effectively slice a raw sausage.

[opinionatedchef]

now WHY didn't i think of that? Brilliant!

[Shrinkrap]

I believe Spanish is cured, and there are several types. Mexican chorizo is "fresh". One of these Spanish chorizo's (choriza?) is called "cooking" and is described as semi-cured chorizo.

http://www.tienda.com/food/chorizo.html

[cowboyardee]

Very offhand, I would guess he is indeed referring to the firm, cured kind of chorizo. I would also suspect he slices it very thin like you would slice prosciutto in order to maximize flavor extraction. That said, your guess is probably as good as mine.