This irresistible Argentinian Choripan is a classic street food all over Argentina. Garlicky, spicy, smoky chorizo sausage is slowly grilled to perfection before being split, seared over high heat, and served on a bun with fresh chimichurri sauce and salsa a la criolla; the messier the better!
You’re going to want this delicious recipe all year long, but it is a classic game day food so be sure to bring this to your next tailgate party. You’ll be a legend with this perfect recipe!
What is Choripán
When it comes down to it, a choripán is really just a simple sandwich. In fact, the name itself is a portmanteau of the words chorizo (meaning sausage) and pan (meaning bread); it’s sausage bread.
You have a perfectly grilled sausage that you butterfly so you can sear the inside before stuffing it inside a crusty baguette or other crusty roll and it is topped with scandalous amounts of flavourful and fragrant herby chimichurri and salsa criolla.
How generous an amount? Well, let’s put it this way; if the chimichurri is running up your wrist toward your elbow, you might just have enough on the choripán.
Let’s start with a list of what you’ll need to make this popular street food from Latin American countries.
Equipment
- a grill (pellet style preferably or gas grill with an added smoke box) or a grill pan
- tongs
- a sharp knife
Choripán Ingredients
- Chimichurri
- Salsa Criolla
- Crusty French Baguette or other crusty rolls or hoagie rolls
- Fresh Chorizo
Those are both nice, short lists, right? Argentinian choripan usually has sausage that was cooked slowly over wood or charcoal so that it gets good and smoky.
Ideally, you’ll cook the sausages over smoke, but if you don’t have a grill, never fear! This sandwich is forgiving enough to skip the smoke so long as you take your time gently cooking the sausage over medium heat in a grill pan.
We need to have a word about the rolls and the chorizo, too. Let’s get those rolls out of the way first.
The most traditional way to serve Argentinian Choripan is on a section of French-style bread that’s crusty enough for you to rip up the roof of your mouth. A hot dog roll just isn’t going to cut it here.
Baguette holds up nicely to all of the juices from the chimichurri recipe, grilled chorizo, and salsa a la criolla. Crusty bread doesn’t fall apart the way soft bread rolls or hot dog buns do in this fully dressed sausage dogs.
What Kind of Chorizo Do I Use for Choripán?
There is a little confusion about our spicy sausage because there are a lot of different sausages that go by the name “Chorizo” and they’re not interchangeable. The proper chorizo for a choripán is an Argentinian chorizo.
Argentine chorizo is more akin to a spicy Italian sausage than other chorizos. You can sometimes find it at international markets or Latin American grocers or butcher shops.
It’s a pork and beef based sausage that is bursting with fresh herb flavours like parsley, oregano, thyme and is loaded with garlic. Chorizo Argentino is so good!
If you can’t find it at a store near you and want the full experience, you can definitely make your own. This blogger has a great homemade Argentinean Chorizo recipe.
You’re probably familiar with a couple other chorizos; Spanish chorizo and Mexican-style chorizo. Spanish chorizo is cured and therefore considered fully-cooked. You cannot use it in a choripan.
Mexican chorizo is often sold as a bulk ground sausage but is also sometimes sold in link form. If you cannot lay your hands on Argentinian chorizo, you can substitute fresh Mexican chorizo links and cook them as instructed.
If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you can get in on the fun, too. Vegan Argentinian Choripan is within reach! There are many veggie sausages on the market now, including a very well-reviewed vegan sausage from Trader Joes.
What to Serve with Your Sausage Bread
If you want to really complete your Argentinian food experience, you should serve this with a nice cold beer or Malbec and a side of Provoleta – Fried Cheese. I mean, just look at it.
When it comes to dessert, a slice of Lemon Yogurt Cake, Angel Food Cake, or a Mini Pavlova Recipe would rock your world.
Argentinian Choripan
Prepare and light your grill for medium direct heat, whether using a pellet style grill, charcoal grill, or gas grill. You can also use a grill pan over medium heat.
Arrange the chorizo links on the grill or grill pan and roast them slowly. Use tongs to them turn occasionally. Sear them well on the outside and cook them through to an internal temperature of 160ºF.
Hold each link with a pair of tongs and use a sharp paring knife to butterfly the sausage lengthwise. Spread the sausage open and flip it over, cut side down.
Slice the rolls lengthwise and open them carefully. Divide and drizzle the olive oil over the cut sides of the rolls and lay them cut side down on the grill or grill pan next to the sausages. Char the insides of the sausages and lightly toast the bread. Remove to a pan.
To Assemble the Choripan:
Place one sausage link inside each bun or roll. Dress generously with chimichurri and salsa a la criolla. Serve immediately with many napkins.
Argentinian Choripan
Rate RecipeEquipment
- 1 wood fired or wood pellet style grill or a gas grill with a smoke box added
- 1 pair tongs
- 1 sharp knife
Ingredients
- 6 fresh chorizo link sausages preferably Argentinian style
- 6 sturdy hoagie rolls or a baguette cut into chorizo lengths, or fresh, long, crusty bakery rolls
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup Chimichurri sauce or more to taste
- 1 cup Salsa a la criolla or more to taste
Instructions
- Prepare and light your grill for medium direct heat, whether using a pellet style grill, charcoal grill, or gas grill. You can also use a grill pan over medium heat.
- Arrange the chorizo links on the grill or grill pan and slowly roast, using tongs to turn occasionally, until the chorizo sausages are well-seared on the outside and cooked through to an internal temperature of 160ºF.
- Hold each link with a pair of tongs and use a sharp paring knife to butterfly the sausage lengthwise. Spread the sausage open and flip it over, cut side down.
- Slice the rolls lengthwise and open them carefully. Divide and drizzle the olive oil over the cut sides of the rolls and lay them cut side down on the grill or grill pan next to the sausages.
- Char the insides of the sausages and lightly toast the bread. Remove to a pan.
- To Assemble the Choripan:Place one sausage link inside each bun or roll. Divide the chimichurri and salsa a la criolla between the chorizos. Serve immediately with many napkins.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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