Chorizo (/tʃəˈriːzoʊ, -soʊ/ chə-REE-zoh, -⁠soh,[2][3] Spanish: [tʃoˈɾiθo, tʃoˈɾiso]; Portuguese: chouriço [ʃo(w)ˈɾisu]; see below) is a type of pork sausage originating from the Iberian Peninsula.

Iberian chorizo is eaten sliced in a sandwich, grilled, fried, or simmered in liquid, including apple cider or strong alcoholic beverages such as aguardiente.

There are hundreds of regional varieties of Spanish chorizo, some smoked and some unsmoked, that are each made somewhat differently and may include herbs and other ingredients.

Lomo is a lean, cured meat, served in slices rather than for cooking, made by marinating and air-drying a pork tenderloin.

[13] Versions of these dishes con todos los sacramentos (with all the trimmings, literally "sacraments") include other preserved meats such as tocino (cured bacon) and morcilla (blood sausage) along with the chorizo.

Many dishes of Portuguese and Brazilian cuisine make use of chouriço, including cozido à portuguesa and feijoada.

[18] Most of them either returned to Portugal or moved on to more affluent suburbs in the city, but restaurants in the area and the very well-supported annual "Lusitoland" fundraiser festival have chouriço on the menu.

[19] In the heavily Portuguese counties in the US states of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, chouriço is often served with little neck clams and white beans.

[20] Chouriço sandwiches on grinder rolls, with sautéed green peppers and onions, are commonly available at local delis and convenience stores.

[citation needed] This is the main type of chorizo known in Mexico and other parts of the Americas, including most of the United States, but is not frequently found in Europe.

The area around Toluca specializes in "green" chorizo, made with some combination of tomatillo, cilantro, chili peppers, and garlic.

[23] Some of the cheapest commercial chorizos use offal stuffed in inedible plastic casing to resemble sausage links, rather than muscle meat.

[24] Before consumption, the casing is usually cut open and the sausage is fried in a pan and mashed with a fork until it resembles finely minced ground beef.

[citation needed] In Mexico, restaurants and food stands make tacos, queso fundido (or choriqueso), burritos, and tortas using cooked chorizo, and it is also a popular pizza topping.

Chorizo con huevos is a popular breakfast dish in Mexico and areas of the United States with Mexican populations.

In Puerto Rico, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, chorizo and longaniza are considered two different types of meat.

In contrast to Spanish chorizo, in the United States the term generally refers to a sausage that is never dried, has a fattier filling, and is very spicy.

It is most popular in areas with large Cuban, Dominican, or Puerto Rican populations or near the Mexican border, especially in the Southwest near Chihuahua, Sonora, and Nuevo León.

It is also found further north in places like Austin, Texas or Santa Fe, New Mexico, where its earliest evidence dates to well before the Wild West.

In Argentina,[29] Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela, chorizo is the name for any coarse meat sausage.

[30] In Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, and Peru, fresh chorizo, cooked and served in a bread roll, is called a choripán.

In Goa, India, which was ruled by the Portuguese for 450 years and has a large percentage of Goan Catholics, chouriço is made from pork that is marinated in a mixture of vinegar, red chilies, and spices such as garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, cloves, pepper, and cinnamon, and stuffed into casings.