Chorizo

Doneness

Done when fresh Mexican chorizo is broken into deeply browned, crisp-edged crumbles with no raw pink centre and reaches 160 °F (71 °C). It renders a lot of brick-red fat as it cooks — stir at the halfway mark to break it up and brown it evenly. The crumbles should look dark, glossy and rendered, not wet and bright pink. (Cured Spanish chorizo is already cooked — you're only crisping it, so go by the edges browning, not an internal temperature.)

Oil & seasoning

None — fresh chorizo is fatty and renders plenty of its own oil. Cook it in a solid pan or foil so the rendered grease doesn't drip onto the element.

Season with: Tacos: crumbled and browned as-is, piled into warm tortillas with onion, cilantro and lime — chorizo is already heavily spiced, so no extra seasoning needed., Breakfast: cooked with diced potatoes or scrambled into eggs for chorizo con huevo and breakfast burritos., Queso fundido: browned crumbles folded into melted cheese as a dip with tortilla chips., Soyrizo (plant-based): the same method works for soy chorizo — it renders less fat, so add a teaspoon of oil and pull it a touch sooner..

Watch out for

• !Fresh Mexican chorizo renders a large amount of brick-red grease — cook it in a solid air-fryer pan or foil sling (never directly on a slotted basket) so the hot fat doesn't drip onto the element and smoke.
• !If it comes in a link/casing, slit and peel the casing off first so you can crumble it; leave the casing on only if you want whole links (cook a few minutes longer).
• !Stir and break it up at the halfway mark — crumbles brown and render evenly, while a clump stays pink and greasy in the middle.
• !Fresh chorizo is raw pork or beef: cook it to 160 °F (71 °C). Cured Spanish chorizo is already cooked — just slice and crisp it, no internal-temp target needed.
• !It's already salty and spicy — taste before adding any salt, and watch for the grease smoking if your batch is especially fatty.