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Meat from Spain

Chorizo Riojano PGIChorizo Riojano

Chorizo Riojano is a horseshoe-shaped paprika chorizo from La Rioja made without additives, sugar or nitrite. The minced pork and fat are seasoned with salt, garlic and paprika, rested cold for 12 to 24 hours, stuffed into pig intestine and aged at 16 °C or less. In a study that followed the traditional method, the sausage dried for about 21 days to a water activity of 0.86.

Fully documentedMeat28 days – 35 daysPGI (Commission Regulation (EU) No 249/2010 of 24 March 2010)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceOne kilogram of meat and fat (70:30), from a pilot-plant study at the University of La Rioja that set its recipe and conditions from a survey of 10 producers in the PGI (González-Fandos et al. 2021).
Ground lean pork700 g[gonzalezfandos2021]
Pork fat300 g[gonzalezfandos2021]
Sodium chloride20 g[gonzalezfandos2021]
Garlic5 gRaw, fresh and peeled under the specification[gonzalezfandos2021][eu-riojano-2009]
Paprika3 gExtra category; cayenne for the spicy chorizo[gonzalezfandos2021][eu-riojano-2009]
Natural pig intestine casing40 mm in the study[gonzalezfandos2021][eu-riojano-2009]
StarterNo starter cultures, sugars or nitrites are added (González-Fandos et al. 2021).

Total time across the recorded steps: 28 days – 35 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
up to 12 °CpH up to 6.3

What changes: Chilled lean pork and fat are minced

Step 1 of 6
Mince the chilled meat and fat
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 12 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH up to 6.3
Set
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Chorizo Riojano is a horseshoe-shaped paprika chorizo from La Rioja made without additives, sugar or nitrite. The minced pork and fat are seasoned with salt, garlic and paprika, rested cold for 12 to 24 hours, stuffed into pig intestine and aged at 16 °C or less. In a study that followed the traditional method, the sausage dried for about 21 days to a water activity of 0.86. Made in 6 steps over 28 days – 35 days. The longest step, age and dry in ventilated rooms, takes 21–28 days (González-Fandos E 2021) and runs at up to 16 °C (Single document 2007). Salt is 2 % (González-Fandos E 2021). Lactic acid bacteria and Micrococcaceae do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step21–28 daysReported[gonzalezfandos2021]Age and dry in ventilated rooms
Temperatureup to 16 °CSet[eu-riojano-2009][gonzalezfandos2021]Age and dry in ventilated rooms
Salt2 %Reported[gonzalezfandos2021]Mix with salt, garlic and paprika and knead under vacuum
AciditypH 5.7–5.8Measured[gonzalezfandos2021]Age and dry in ventilated rooms

What makes this one different

Chorizo Riojano has no sugar, nitrite or starter culture and in the study it started cold at 4 °C, so the pH barely fell; drying brought the water activity down to 0.86. Many other chorizos are fermented warm with added sugar.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Spicy Chorizo RiojanoSeasoned with cayenne; tied with red twine.

Safety

Chorizo Riojano is eaten uncooked, and without sugar or nitrite the cold start and drying are the main hurdles against pathogens. In a pilot-plant challenge study, Listeria monocytogenes did not grow at 4 °C and fell as the water activity dropped below 0.92 by day 13 and to 0.86 by day 21, but it survived into the finished sausage. The authors say the process cannot fully remove it at the 4 log CFU/g they added, which is above the under 2 log CFU/g they give as normal for raw meat, and they stress limiting contamination in the meat, ingredients and equipment. They add that Salmonella and Clostridium botulinum have also been found in dry-cured sausages, though sulfite-reducing clostridia were not detected in their own samples. The recipe here records that controlled trial, with chilled rooms and measured water activity, and no study we found covers a home batch. Curing, drying and smoking alone do not consistently kill Trichinella worms in pork (CDC). CDC tells people who are pregnant, 65 or older or have a weakened immune system to avoid unheated fermented or dry sausages, or to heat them until steaming hot.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes (in an inoculated batch it did not grow and fell by 1.24 log units by day 21, but it survived into the finished sausage).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The name was entered in the EU register as a PGI by Commission Regulation (EU) No 249/2010 of 24 March 2010. The specification ties it to the pig slaughters (matanzas or moragas) that began in La Rioja with the cold weather, when chorizo had to last until the autumn grape harvest.

  1. [cdc-trichinella] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, How to Prevent Trichinellosis (12 March 2024)gov
  2. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov
  3. [eu-riojano-2009] Single document: 'Chorizo Riojano', EC No ES-PGI-0005-0654-16.10.2007, Official Journal of the European Union C 186, 8.8.2009, p. 14 (CELEX 52009XC0808(03))spec
  4. [reg-249-2010] European Commission 2010, Commission Regulation (EU) No 249/2010 of 24 March 2010 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Chorizo Riojano (PGI)), Official Journal L 79, 25.3.2010, p. 3, read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  5. [gonzalezfandos2021] González-Fandos E., Vázquez de Castro M., Martínez-Laorden A. 2021, Behaviour of Listeria monocytogenes and natural microflora during the manufacture of Riojano chorizo (Spanish dry cured sausage), Microorganisms 9(9):1963paper