The name is simply its parts run together: chori, for chorizo, and pan, for bread. In Uruguay the chorizo is a fresh sausage of beef and pork, mildly spiced and neither smoked nor dried, so it behaves on the grill like a fat, generous bratwurst. Split lengthways, it goes into a crusty roll with chimichurri, and that is the whole idea. It is sold from smoking stalls outside football grounds, at carnival, at the Sunday markets and at the counters of the Mercado del Puerto in Montevideo.

At a home asado the choripán is the opening act, handed round while the bigger cuts are still cooking, which makes it the natural snack for formation lap nerves. The one rule is patience: a chorizo cooked too fast splits, spits and stays raw in the middle, which is no way to start anything.

Quick chimichurri

Ingredients

• 1 cup (25 g) flat leaf parsley leaves
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) neutral oil or mild olive oil

Method

1. Put the parsley, garlic, oregano, chili flakes and salt in the small bowl. Add the vinegar and oil and stir well. Leave at room temperature while you cook.

The choripán

Ingredients

• 6 fresh chorizo sausages
• 6 crusty white rolls

Method

1. Heat a gas grill to medium, or let a charcoal fire burn down until the coals are covered in gray ash and you can hold your hand 5 inches (12 cm) above the grate for 5 seconds. For a grill pan, heat it over medium heat for 3 minutes.
2. Lay the sausages on the grate and cook for 18 to 22 minutes, turning them a quarter turn every 4 to 5 minutes with the tongs so they brown all round. If they start to split or the fat flares, move them to a cooler part of the grill.
3. Lift each sausage onto the board and cut it lengthways almost all the way through, leaving one long side joined, so it opens like a book. Lay them cut side down on the grill for 1 minute.
4. Split the rolls lengthways without cutting all the way through. Lay them cut side down on the grill for 30 to 60 seconds. Put an opened sausage in each roll and spoon over about 1 tablespoon of chimichurri.

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