This is one of the world’s most glorious sporting snacks
The dish
Choripan, Argentina
A choripan with chimichurri sauce.Credit: Getty Images
Plate up
Consider the great sporting snacks of the world: the lukewarm but somehow still delicious meat pie in Australia; the hot dog in the US; samosas in India; takoyaki in Japan. And now, add to that list the glory of the Argentinian choripan. The name of this dish is a portmanteau of its two main ingredients, chorizo and bread (“pan” in Spanish). And the finished product is just as you would picture it, a crusty roll that is split in half, filled with a large, fire-grilled sausage, and topped with mustard and chimichurri. Before, during and after any football match in Argentina, look for the roadsides nearby to suddenly fill with enterprising cooks grilling sausages and slinging choripans to the hungry masses. Just follow your nose.
First serve
Choripan isn’t just a football snack – it’s an integral part of any Argentinian “asado”, or barbecue, where cooks will throw on a few sausages at the start of what will be a long day of grilling to keep guests’ hunger at bay. As with the asado itself, this practice of grilling sausages and serving them in crusty bread began with the gauchos, the cowboys of Argentina, around the mid 19th century. That was in the Rio de la Plata region, but the popularity of the choripan soon spread throughout Argentina, and indeed into Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, where it’s still a staple.
Order there
In Buenos Aires, just keep your eyes open (and nose primed) and you will spy food carts selling choripan across the city. Or order chorizo as a starter at a legendary steakhouse such as La Cabrera (lacabrera.com.ar).
Order here
In Sydney, check out the Chilean version of choripan at Pochito in Mascot (pochitosydney.com.au). In Melbourne, Asado in Southbank does an excellent grilled chorizo (asado.melbourne).
One more thing
If you go to the store and buy chorizo to make choripan at home, it will taste all wrong. And that’s because an Argentinian chorizo is nothing like the Spanish version that tends to be sold in Australia. The Latin variation is more like an Italian sausage, made with beef and pork and minimal seasonings – you can order them from Rodriguez Brothers (rodriguezbros.com.au).
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