My mother gave me the cookbook Charcuterie for my birthday. She knows me so well!
The book is mostly recipes, but also contains a chapter on making charcuterie from scratch. I’m in awe of people who make prosciutto and pancetta, but I live in too humid of a region in the U.S. to hang hams in my basement.
The recipes are wonderful, mostly focusing on Spanish, French, and Italian cured meats. The first recipe that caught my attention was a simple skewer of scallops and chorizo. Simple yet total perfection!
If you can’t get your hands on Spanish chorizo, check out my favorite website, La Tienda, for chorizo and all other Spanish foods. If you scroll through chorizo, and you will discover so many different varieties – some for slicing, some for cooking, some for grilling.
The recipe in the book just referred to cubes of chorizo, but I got carried away and purchased Ibérico de Bellota Butifarra Sausage because it intrigued me.
It is sausage made from Iberian pigs, which are supposedly fed acorns as babies. This raw sausage wasn’t quite firm enough to cube, and not red like authentic chorizo, but it was really good!
When we were in Spain many years, my husband and I would order both jamon Serrano and Ibérico (similar to Prosciutto) and we could not tell the difference. Maybe they just knew we were Americans and didn’t bother giving us the real stuff, I don’t know! But we gave up after a few tries, and stuck to the fabulous but much less expensive Serrano.
In any case, in spite of not having used real chorizo, these scallop and sausage skewers were wonderful. I will paraphrase the recipe from Charcuterie because it’s so simple.
Chorizo and Scallop Skewers
12 – 1″ cubes chorizo or firm spicy sausage
12 scallops, approximately the same size
Olive oil
Ground paprika
Coarsely ground pepper
Heat a small amount of oil in a cast-iron or other heavy skillet. Brown the cubes or slices of sausage on all sides, then lower the heat and cook thoroughly. Place them on paper towels to drain.
Using the same fat from the olive oil and sausage, sear the scallops in the hot oil, then lower the heat to cook through. Place the scallops on paper towels to drain.
Let the chorizo and scallops cool, then skewer them together, with the scallop first, followed by the chorizo.
Sprinkle on a generous amount of paprika and ground pepper.
I used a mixed peppercorn combination.
These hors d’oeuvres are best served warm. They could be prepared ahead of time if they were gently re-heated so as not to overcook the scallops and dry out the chorizo or sausage.
I will definitely be making these again with real chorizo, but I can really see the scallop pairing with just about any kind of sausage!
note: For a handy comparison chart on Spanish vs. Mexican chorizo, check out this website.
What a great present and lovely recipe. My dad used to often cook scallops with slices of bacon so I can imagine how well the flavours go together.
Real chorizo would be much spicier than bacon or the sausage I used, but I think any kind of combination would be fabulous!
Must be a great combo. I often serve a spicy chorizo and shrimp skewer with an avocado and creme fraiche dipping sauce and it is so good.
Oh does that sound good!!!
Combining chorizo and scallops sounds wonderful . My grandfather used to cure his own German ham , similar to Serrano . He had a special smokehouse.
Oh how fun. Sausages and just about all charcuterie are so wonderful!!!
Chorizo and Scallops is a wonderful combination it looks great Mimi. I also love scallops paired with black pudding – I know you’re a fan ;-)
Interesting! I’ve never thought of that, but I’m not sure I can find any here.
What lovely little taste explosions.
Have a happy day.
:-) Mandy xo
Thank you Mandy!
Appetizing ;)
Thank you!
I’m sure I would not stop with just one of these. Looks so very tasty! :)
No, I didn’t! I had to keep test-tasting them!
The sacrifices we have to make! :)
Very elegant Mimi.
Thank you Conor!
Well, yum! Love me a scallop. Dad just got back from Spain and has been raving about jamon ever since. We will be in Barcelona later in the year and I can’t wait for the food!
exciting! you’ll have to tell me if you can tell the difference between jamon iberico and jamon Serrano !
I don’t think these would last more than a few minutes when served to my friends. That is if any made it out of my kitchen.
I know what you mean. Although they weren’t quite bite-sized. Next time I will hopefully find smaller scallops.
What a delicious and gorgeous presentation Mimi! We love both chorizo and scallops here. What a great gift for you!
Thank you. A realy nice hors d’oeuvres!
What perfect combo! You knocked this one out of the park!
Thank you Abbe!
Love the idea of this combination. Yum!
Yes!
Scallops and pork work so well together, don’t they? I combine scallops with bacon a lot. I really should try them with chorizo — love the idea. Thanks!
Especially real chorizo – it must be fantastic!
This is a great combination. Lots of people cure their own ham here in France, as you probably know! I can buy the bags in the supermarket along with all sorts of cured meats/charcuterie. Too scared to do it myself!
Well I’d never bother making my own if I had access to all of the lovely goodies you can purchase where you live!!!
Fair point! We are definitely lucky with the range of food but I still miss English cuts of meat and some ingredients. Most shops have an English aisle but it is full of strange old fashioned things like cheesecake mix that I’m sure no one ever buys!
Oh, interesting. Terrible!!!
Seriously, how are the charcuterie recipes in this book? I am looking for a good one. I ordered an vintage book that someone recommended but I wasn’t overly impressed. I am impressed with these bites!
Some are quite simple, some are quite intriguing!
Mimi – these are the perfect appetizer bite! How perfectly satisfying.
Really fun flavors and textures in these bites!
Great photos! And that cookbook looks fabulous. What a great gift. And you have paired two of my husband’s most favourite foods. I will have to make these for him xx
Oh yeah, he will definitely love these!
I could make a meal out of these! The perfect bite :)
I kind of did. Well my husband won’t eat scallops, so I really didn’t have a choice!
That looks so incredibly good! And the book sounds like a great one for me, as I love figuring out ways to make my own charcuterie!
If that’s your goal, I would get the book Charcuterie, by Michael Ruhlman. Also check out Peter’s blog – http://www.theroaminggastrognome.com – he’s an expert on making his own!
It looks so yummy though!:)
Thank you! They are yummy!
Woww! 😃
Isn’t it interesting how seafood and cured pork go together so beautifully? Who would ever have guessed? Unlikely as it might seem at first, it’s a match made in heaven.
They are an unlikely pairing – that’s so true!
what a great starter, Mimi! I love scallops and the combination of seafood with something math and hearty in general. The chorizo gives such a wonderful twist, you must have picked some of the best from that new cook book of yours!
Sometimes the typos make sense – but they are so annoying. I can still hear my teachers yelling, “proofread, proofread!” Thank you for your comment. It’s a lovely combination.
:-) your teachers were so right!
…oh typo! something meaty, I was to say….sorry!
I know that these 2 make a lovely tasty combo, that never has failed me before! :)
I made it & loved it so much, dear Mim! very yum yum!
Thank you Sophie! They are a magical combination!
Ha – I just gave this book to my husband along with three others as he’s a charcuterie fanatic :) recipe looks great… don’t think we can do a lot of the big projects in our house either but there are charcuterie classes that we’re looking at doing to at least get some Hands-On practice :)
Oh that would be fun. Or, we just could continue to buy it and eat it!!!
awesome combo Chef Mimi! saludos!
Thank you!
Appetizing !
Thank you!