Chorizo Is The Addition You Need For The Best Taco Night Ever

Taco Tuesday, anyone? Whether it's Italian or Mediterranean, dinner parties are always a great time, but there's something about taco night that's particularly appealing. Whether it's the creativity that comes with assembling your own tacos or the margaritas and Modelos we sip to wash them down, tacos with friends and family just makes sense. But if you're bored of using ground beef to fill your tortillas, consider using chorizo to elevate your next taco night.

Often infused with spices like paprika, garlic, and chili, chorizo is known for its robust, savory, and slightly spicy flavor profile, and introducing it to your tortilla filling brings a bold taste that challenges traditional taco proteins. Equal parts succulent, crumbly, and crispy, chorizo also boasts a unique texture, giving the mouthfeel of your tacos a decadent twist that pairs well with creamy sauces, garden-fresh vegetables, and crunchy or lightly charred tortillas. Not to mention its bronze-red shading will bring a pop of color to your taco plate.

Beyond flavor, texture, and visual appeal, chorizo is also a versatile ingredient that complements a wide range of other taco toppings, ensuring that you have dozens of ways to customize your heaping chorizo taco. In fact, you can even mix chorizo with other proteins to infuse them with whispers of well-seasoned crunch.

Using chorizo to upgrade taco night is as easy as searing it on a pan and tucking it into a folded tortilla, but which type of chorizo is best for you? There are various types of chorizo, so it's worth considering the differences to craft the taco of your dreams. To keep it simple, we'll break chorizo into three categories – Mexican, Spanish, and plant-based.

Mexican chorizo is typically made by filling a long, inedible sausage casing with raw, ground pork and seasonings before it is air-dried for a short period for aging purposes. Mexican chorizo is generally crumbly in appearance and should be thoroughly cooked before consumption. Spanish chorizo, on the other hand, is prepared by stuffing an edible or inedible casing with cured pork meat. Spanish chorizo is air-dried for a longer period than its Mexican counterpart, and it's ready to eat without cooking. Spanish chorizo is firm and uniform in texture and best suited for slicing, which makes crumbly, ground Mexican chorizo the ideal choice for stuffing tacos.

Because it's not made from pork, plant-based chorizo is distinctly different from the Spanish and Mexican varieties. Veganized chorizo offerings are generally made from crumbled tofu that's been well-seasoned with savory, fiery spices and seasonings that mimic authentic chorizo flavor. Plant-based soy chorizo or "soyrizo" generally resembles Mexican chorizo, which makes it an excellent plant-based alternative for your taco night.

What good is taco night without a spread of fixings for topping your chorizo or soyrizo-stuffed tortillas? If chorizo isn't a frequent player in your rotation of dishes, we've got some flavor combinations that will satisfy your cravings every taco Tuesday.

For something familiar and classic, corn tortillas stuffed with Mexican chorizo, guacamole, pico, and queso fresco bring together a tried-and-true lineup of quintessential Mexican ingredients that never goes out of style. For a Southwestern twist, combining chorizo with corn salsa, black beans, pepper jack cheese, and fresh, diced jalapeños into a gently charred flour tortilla will bring a regional flair to your tasty taco night. Whatever you do, don't forget fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley!

Don't hesitate to experiment with your chorizo tacos, either. Swap fresh onions for pickled onions or shredded cheese for melty nacho cheese. Tropical toppings like mango or pineapple-infused salsas bring a bright and zesty edge to your tacos that will liven up the plate and take the sting off of a spicy batch of chorizo. For true chorizo fanatics, combining Mexican and Spanish chorizo in your tacos culminates in an exciting interplay of complementary yet tastefully distinct versions of the same meat dish.

Whether it's Tuesday or Friday, next time you host a taco night, surprise your guests with chorizo for a mouthwatering, crowd-pleasing, and downright flavorful feast.