Hey All,
Seen an add for some chorizo at safeway for like 1.50 I like using sausage in my pasta. I usually just get signature select Italian sausage. Could i use the beef or pork chorizo instead?
The flavor profile of chorizo is way more Spanish or Mexican in flavor. So chili powder, paprika, cumin, and maybe some other stuff. Definitely not basil, thyme, and oregano flavors.
Can you try it in pasta? Sure. Will it taste Italian or blend with Italian flavors.... I don't really think so. Now if the meat is so blandly seasoned that it doesn't matter then no issue but know Chorizo is usually spiced pretty heavily.
Things to know about Chorizo. If you have Spanish Chorizo it is much more like a sausage you grill. Mexican Chorizo will pretty much turn into a crumble or be mush of a concoction and usually isn't even stuffed in casings.
The difference in flavor profile between Chorizo and beef/Italia sausage would be easily explained like you getting this:
-Italian Bolognaise sauce flavor, if you use beef or Italian sausage and Italian pasta sauce. All ingredients have stuff like Thyme, Basil, and Oregano, etc.
-Chili Mac sauce flavor, if you use chorizo and a regular can of tomato sauce. Sauce is more like a chili and less like an Italian Bolognaise sauce. Adding chili powder and cumin to the sauce would match way more with the Chorizo than Italian flavors.
-Frankenstein flavor, if you use chorizo which has cumin, chili powder, etc. in a sauce that has basil, thyme, and oregano. It would be edible but would be something different all together from two worlds of seasoning that generally aren't mixed together.
If you were to make a sauce and eat with pasta I would lean more towards buying a can of crushed tomato and seasoning for Chili flavor for the sauce (chili powder, some paprika, and a little cumin, oh and SPOG). I would then put over noodles and have a chili mac type dish. If you've never had a chili mac dish like this you are missing out!!! That stuff that comes out of a box is nowhere close to what you make in a situation like this with homemade sauce.
One final deviation to consider... if you use alfredo sauce then I think you would be fine with Chorizo. You would get something closer to a Spanish/Mexican/Cajun type alfredo sauce flavor but that is something I see in menu's depending on the restaruant u go into here in TX (Tex-Mex, Cajun, etc.)
You can make great pasta with the stuff but steering in the right direction will be the difference between "meh, it's edible" to "wow this is amazing". I hope this info helps. :)