• White Bread Dough
  • 3 cups unbleached or bread flour
  • 1 tablespoon dry active yeast
  • 1 1/8 cups milk
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Portuguese or Italian olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Filling
  • 1 pound ground mild chourico

Have you ever tried replicating a recipe you really enjoyed as a kid?  As a child, I enjoyed Chourico Rolls so much! These rolls are made with, well, chourico, which is a Portuguese smoked sausage. White bread dough is filled with this sausage and then baked.  Chourico is a spicy sausage, but it also comes in a milder version.

The first time I made these chourico rolls was June of last year. While they were delicious, they were still not exactly like the chourico rolls I ate back in my hometown of Fall River, Massachusetts. Something was slightly off…

While on my recent book tour in my hometown, I made sure I visited my favorite Portuguese grocers. I purchased all of the ingredients I can’t find here in Raleigh, North Carolina. I typically order my chourico and other Portuguese items and have them shipped to my door, but I bring a cooler and stock up on all our family’s favorites while visiting Fall River. We buy chourico (both links and ground), Portuguese bread, Portuguese muffins, dried fava beans, lupinis, Portuguese spices like Temperos Portugueses, Assafroa, pimento moida or fresh red crushed pepper, Portuguese olive oil…plus much more…

With a freezer full of chourico, I decided that I would once again try to replicate the chourico rolls our family loves so much! I made one slight change in last year’s recipe and it worked! Instead of using warm water in my bread dough I used warm milk which made all the difference and it was pure perfection ( if I do say so myself)! I hope you try this recipe, because your family will kiss you! It’s super easy, too! You can have your chourico shipped to you right from Mello’s!  They are a wonderful Portuguese family! The chourico is vacuum-packed and shipped in a cooler right to your door.

 

Never seen chourico before?

 

 

Here are chourico links.

 

 

 

Ground chourico is 100% meat

Ground chourico contains no casings.. Ground chourico is most commonly prepared with peppers and onions, to create a delicious and easy sandwich. In addition, ground chourico is used in many appetizers as well as tapas style dishes, including nachos, potato skins, empanadas, and quesadillas.

We love it on our breakfast pizza!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do you make these “chourico rolls”? Well, I’d be more than happy to tell you:

 

Place flour and yeast in a large bowl.

Place milk, sugar, olive oil and salt in a saucepan; heat until just warm. Pour warm milk mixture into bowl with flour and yeast and stir until just blended.

Place dough mixture on a clean counter and knead with just a bit of flour until a soft, pliable dough forms. Clean out your bowl with warm water, dry well, grease your bowl and place your bread dough back in the pan. Cover with a clean dish towel and allow the bread dough to rise in a warm draft-free place until it doubles in size. This will take approximately two hours.

Just before you are ready to roll out and fill your dough, heat up your sausage. Simply place one pound of ground chourico in a nonstick skillet and heat through. Let cool slightly before it touches the bread dough.

Cut thsi dough in fourths and roll one fourth out at a time. The dough should be about 6 inches long and 4 to 5 inches wide. Place one quarter of your ground chourico on teh sough and spread out evenly. Begin rolling the dough up lengthwise.

Place your four chourcio rolls on a greased baking stone or sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven just until golden brown. You can also brush with a little olive oil, or butter or simply the tops of the rolls with non-stick spray. Enjoy!

From our hearts to yours, Elise and family