I often call into Town End Farm Shop in Airton when taking clients on tours of the Yorkshire Dales. This great little tea room with views down to Malham Cove has a farm shop selling a wonderful range of Yorkshire produce.
One of the products I can’t help stocking up on when there is a few packs of Yorkshire Chorizo. I love it – whether nibbling in front of a football game, putting into a pasta dish or gumbo or serving with scallops or a cod stew it really works and I always like to have some in stock.
Yorkshire Chorizo is made by Chris Wildman a fifth generation butcher from Malhamdale. As well as running Town End Farm Shop he also runs Wildman Charcuterie making a range of cured meat produce such as salami, guanciale, coppa, bresaola and dry cured bacons as well as his famous Chorizo. (He actually runs butchery and charcuterie courses if you fancy learning to make this yourself?)
The Yorkshire Chorizo is a fully cured sausage containing local Yorkshire pork. Chris rears rare-breed Oxford sandy and black pigs on his farm in Malham and it is this meat that goes into the chorizo so you can be sure of the provenance.
It’s actually Ok for coeliacs and people with an intolerance of diary can eat it as it is both gluten and diary free.
Both Spanish and Portuguese chorizo get their distinctive colour from the dried smoked peppers used in production and Chris and his team follow this tradition by using the finest smoked Spanish paprika.
Chorizo is a great provider of flavour in many dishes and Chris lists some recipes on his website – link below
Probably one of my favourites is on the menu at the Town End Farm Shop Tea Room – which is a Yorkshire Hash with Yorkshire Chorizo, black pudding and poached egg – highly recommended!
You may have tried Yorkshire Chorizo by default. Posh crisp makers – Pipers specialise in making gourmet crisps. They approached Chris about doing a chorizo flavour crisp. Chris takes up the story. “We were delighted when Pipers Crisps first suggested that our Chorizo would make an ideal flavour for them. Their award-winning crisps are renowned not only for their excellent taste, but also for the provenance of their flavours. They had been looking for a meat flavour for some time and they decided that our Chorizo would be the perfect taste for their crisps – a distinctive, strong flavour without being too salty,” he adds.
The chorizo crisps have become one of Pipers best sellers and as well as in upmarket pubs and café’s, can even be bought in luxury food store Fortnum and Mason in London
As well as the basic Yorkshire Chorizo sold in packs of approx. 130g weight – Wildman Charcuterie also sell other flavours. There is a Garlic Yorkshire Chorizo and an extra spicy picante version which is my personal favourite being a bit of a chilli fiend.
So definitely worth trying this Yorkshire version of the Spanish classic. Chris is a bit of an expert when it comes to making charcuterie and has won various medals at the British Charcuterie Awards.
If you want to find out more visit: https://yorkshirechorizo.com