Are You Supposed To Peel Chorizo? (not Always!)

Chorizos are super tasty and they usually come in a thin skin. Now, whether or not this skin is edible may be a mystery to you. Especially, if you’ve never had or cooked Chorizos before. So, you might wonder, are you supposed to peel Chorizos? 

Usually, chorizo does not require peeling off its skin. But chorizos made of artificial skin of plastic and cellulose should definitely be peeled before consuming. Also, cured ready-to-eat and sliced chorizos also require peeling. Other than these types of chorizos, it is alright if chorizo skin or casings are not peeled off. 

Peeling chorizo is really bothersome but it is necessary under certain circumstances to prevent you from suffering from any health issues. This article contains some necessary information regarding chorizo peeling. So, I highly advise that you read it till the end. 

When Are You Supposed to Peel Chorizo?

Not everyone prefers to peel chorizo because peeling chorizo is really a troublemaker I must say. But below here are few circumstances under which you are supposed to peel Chorizo no matter how long your day seems.

Spanish Chorizo 

Spanish chorizos are cured meat. Also, Spanish chorizos are mainly made of artificial or plastic casings. Most of the casings or skin are not edible. During the curing process, Spanish chorizos are already dried for several weeks. So the casings are already dried enough.

If you buy Spanish chorizo make sure to peel off its dried skin before you serve it to yourself or guests. Otherwise, the chorizo can become really tough to chew because of the long dried casings.

Synthetic Casings or Skin

Sorry to burst your bubble but not all chorizo skin or casings are made of natural collagen of firm animals. Nowadays, artificial or synthetic chorizo casings offer more portability at a lower cost than natural casings. Therefore, chorizos made of synthetic casings are piled up in stores often.

Chorizos made of synthetic casings are often packed in uniformed sausage packages. So, if you buy such packages make sure to peel the skin of chorizos. Because the synthetic casings made of cellulose and plastics are not safer to consume.

Before Storing 

You definitely are supposed to peel the skin or casing of sliced fresh or cured chorizos if you plan to store or freeze the chorizos.

You might be thinking that sliced fresh chorizo doesn’t necessarily require peeling then why are you supposed to peel chorizo. Well, it’s because sliced chorizos do not come in vacuum-packed packages to prevent chorizos with casings from getting dry. Therefore, if you store sliced fresh or cured chorizo without peeling, the chorizo meat will get drier easily.

If you do not want to serve your family or guests chorizos drier than the Sahara Desert then you should definitely consider peeling sliced chorizo before storing it.

Also, if you store sliced chorizo without peeling it then it is more likely to lose its color faster than it is supposed to. It becomes darker real soon. So, to keep the stored chorizo’s color intact for a few weeks, you should peel chorizos before storing.

You should also remember that stored sliced chorizos with casings get too hard to eat comfortably. It would get really too difficult to chew even after you cook them. So, if you do not want to torture your teeth with really hard chorizos then peel off the skin of sliced chorizo before storing. 

When You Are Not Supposed to Peel Chorizo

If you dislike peeling chorizo then I can gladly inform you that below here are few circumstances under which you can skip peeling chorizo:

Mexican Chorizo 

Mexican chorizos do not necessarily require peeling off. Most of them are fresh not cured or dried. Therefore, the skin of Mexican chorizo is easily chewable once cooked.

The casings in the Mexican chorizo are mostly made of natural casings which are highly edible. When you cook Mexican chorizo the casings soften easily. So if you plan to cook Mexican chorizo you do not need to peel off chorizo casings.

Immediate Cooking Purpose

Peeling chorizo depends on your use of the chorizo as well. Before getting puzzled between the “to peel or not to peel” dilemma you need to decide first whether you would use the chorizo immediately or not. 

Whether you buy fresh or cured chorizo if you plan to cook them immediately after buying then it should not be much of your concern to peel the skin of the chorizo. Usually, store bought chorizo’s skins do not get stiff if you cook them immediately. 

Vacuum-packed Chorizo

Usually, chorizo needs to be peeled before storing but if your chorizo is vacuum packed then you do not need to peel chorizo skin before storing.

If you would like to store chorizo with its casings then you need to buy vacuum-packed chorizos. Because the vacuum packages help to keep the moisture and texture of chorizos intact. So, if you do not peel off chorizo casings or skin the vacuum packages are at your rescue to demolish your workload of peeling chorizo before storing.

Your Preferences

Who likes to look past their food preferences? Yeah, nobody. So if you are that kind of a person who cannot compromise with their food preferences then you might not like to peel chorizo skin.  

If you like to devour the crisp of cured or fresh chorizo then you should not peel the chorizo skin as the skin makes chorizo crispier. But, do not forget to cross-check whether the chorizo skin is edible or not. Most chorizo skin or casings are edible so buy those types of chorizo to enjoy the crispiness of chorizo skin with every bite you take.

Also, if you prefer to grill chorizos with casings at an open place then it is more likely that bacteria will sit on your chorizo casings. But if you are patient enough to salt the casings properly before grilling then it is alright if you do not peel off chorizo casings. Because once you salt chorizo casings then bacteria will not sit on the casings to trouble your stomach. 

Health Hazards of Eating Unpeeled Chorizo

Usually, unpeeled chorizos immediately do not bring about any health hazards. But if you keep on consuming unpeeled chorizos at a higher quantity continuously then you are inviting some health hazards to your doorstep.

Chorizos are already processed food, and consuming processed food is already harmful to health. In addition to that if you keep on consuming the natural collagen in the unpeeled chorizo then you are putting yourself at risk of internal damage to organs. Too much collagen in the unpeeled chorizo can lead to lung, heart, and kidney health issues.   

If you think that the chorizo synthetic casings are safe to eat then sorry to inform you that you are at a wrong here. Because those casings contain plastic or polymers.  And if you cook chorizos with those casings then the plastic releases more harmful chemicals to health. The unpeeled synthetic casings can cause obesity and elevated cholesterol.

You can consume unpeeled chorizos in a lower quantity.  But to be on the safer side you should always consider peeling chorizos before consuming.

Conclusion

So, now you know whether or not are you supposed to peel chorizo skin off. Natural skin does not need to be peeled off. While in the case of artificial ones, if you do not want to compromise your health at any cost, it is better to peel them off. 

Thank you so much for reading till the end. I hope this article was able to help you in putting your doubts to rest. Stay safe and eat healthy.