Chorizo is a Spanish sausage consisting of chopped pork meat and fat that is seasoned with paprika, and sometimes garlic. The combination of these ingredients is then stuffed into a natural casing. Chorizo is characterized by its red color, due to the usage of special paprika known as pimenton, which is the key ingredient that differentiates the Spanish chorizo from other similar sausages.
It has a unique, hearty, and spicy flavor. Different version of chorizo also exist in countries such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Panama, Argentino, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Uruguay. Some claim that chorizo has origins in the Catalan xoriço, while others say that it has roots in morcilla, or blood sausage.