Savory Sundays: Chorizo Tortas

Up next is one of my favorite things to cook. Aside from the awesome flavor, I think I enjoy it so much is because it's my own little creation. The concept is not mine - come on now, I'm not that creative - but I've taken something that is prevalent somewhere else and re-created it in my own kitchen. By myself!

Chorizo Tortas are one of my favorite things to eat. What the heck is a torta? Well, it's kind of a Mexican-style grinder, submarine sandwich if you will. In Mexico, tortas are very popular and you can get them with cold meats like ham or queso de puerco or with warm meat like chorizo or bistec. I've not tried anything but chorizo because those are my favorites to get whenever I go to Mexico (which is not often enough).

Anyway, what you'll need:

1 pound chorizo

Okay, that's the main ingredient. Since it's my own thing, I'm not sure how to go about listing the ingredients because a lot of time they change. But I'll show you instead.

The guest of honor:

You're going to need some peppers and the like to add once the chorizo is cooking. This is what I had on hand so this is what I used.


Typically though I would suggest onion for sure, probably about half of one, as well as whatever peppers you can get, plus cilantro. However, the chorizo has so much flavor in it already you really don't need a lot of extra stuff.

Brown the chorizo. You definitely don't need any oil or anything.

When it's been on the heat for about 5-7 minutes, toss in the peppers and onions and cilantro.

Now, the bread you need is a telera or bolillo roll. This is bolillo, although the telera is the one commonly used in Mexico for tortas. A regular sandwich roll would probably work but the telera/bolillo are the better options.

I like to use Thousand Island dressing and put the chorizo over the top. I also use a ketchup/mayonaisse mix. Not sure what is the traditional way but I'm pretty sure it's not either. Still, the Thousand Island gives it a great flavor as well. Then, I like to put Monterey Jack cheese, although this time I only had cheddar available.
Pop it in the oven for 5-7 minutes or so and you've got a tasty sandwich.
The picture wasn't in focus but the sandwiches were quite tasty.
This last picture did not do it justice, but the chorizo torta is one of the tasties dishes I make.