Chorizo Torta (Mexican Chorizo Sandwich)

A Mexican chorizo torta is one of many delicious sandwich combinations you might find in Mexico. And, it is an easy one to recreate at home. This chorizo sandwich recipe is a delicious mix of ingredients. It has lots of flavor and makes a great easy lunch.

Mexican cuisine is well-known for having great street food.

You can even find food trucks serving tacos and other Mexican street food specialties in many cities in the US and elsewhere.

But there's more to Mexican street food than just tacos and burritos.

Types of Mexican street food

In Mexico, you'll find street food in nearly every market and near transportation stops across the country. Many vendors serve just a few items. But if the locals know they do it well, they can be incredibly popular.

Street foods tend to fall into a few groups.

First, the ones that most people know best of all are those involving tortillas of some kind. These could be tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or something else. The smaller versions of these might be snacks. While larger dishes, loaded up with fillings like slow-cooked or grilled meats, are good for quick meals, particularly dinner.

Another larger item is tortas. Unlike in Spain where "torta" typically means a cake, in Mexico, it generally means a sandwich. But these tortas are special sandwiches, typically loaded with many delicious ingredients. They are as popular as tacos in many places, but people typically enjoy them for breakfast or lunch, rather than dinner.

Most other things you will find at street food vendors' stalls are smaller items like snacks and drinks.

Tamales are a popular snack, with various fillings stuffed in a corn-based masa dough all wrapped in a convenient corn-husk shell. Perfect to grab and go! You will also find tamales served as a side to a larger meal.

Some other popular snacks involve prepared fruits and vegetables. It's pretty common to find people selling elote (whole ears of Mexican street corn), or containers of just the seasoned kernels, esquite.

Vendors selling freshly cut fruits like pineapple, mango, or watermelon are also common in most cities.

In terms of drinks, some of the most popular are cooling agua frescas. This is a water-based drink either made with fresh fruit or an infusion such as strawberry agua fresca, cantaloupe agua fresca, or hibiscus tea agua de jamaica.

Staying on the cold refreshing theme are ice creams and, possibly even more commonly, paletas. Paletas are essentially ice pops, but they nearly always use natural ingredients, and for fruit versions like mango paletas, they mainly use fruit with limited sweetener.

History of tortas in Mexico

Corn has a long history in Mexico. It was cultivated by the Aztecs who developed many uses for it, including making tortillas. Corn remains a large part of the Mexican food culture and is in many of the street foods, as you can tell from above.

Wheat, on the other hand, is a much more recent introduction. Wheat only arrived in Mexico with the Spanish conquistadors. To the conquistadors, bread was a staple food and so they brought seeds from Spain to grow locally. The first planting of wheat in Mexico is generally credited to a contemporary of Hernan Cortes, in the early 16th century.

Bakeries started to appear in this early period of Spanish rule. But it's not entirely clear whether the torta evolved then or from a later French influence.

The French invaded Puebla in the mid-19th century. And, while they were soon defeated, French influence on Mexican food lasted a lot longer. Part of that was because the then-president had an obsession with French cuisine. This was the period when Mexican 'pan dulce' (sweetbreads) appeared.

Certainly, the French influence is clear in one of the types of bread most used for tortas, the bolillo. It's very much like a small baguette-style roll.

The other typical bread is a telera, also a plain white roll but it is softer. It is also round with three mounds rather than the bolillo's longer torpedo shape with a single slashed top.

What is on a traditional torta?

Whatever the exact timing of the origin, the torta has become a staple. Some regions have a signature filling, as do some vendors. Other fillings you find all over the country.

Cold fillings tend to be simpler, while hot fillings can be more elaborate.

Some popular fillings include tamales, pernil (slow-cooked pork), and Milanese (a breaded cutlet).

In Mexico City, a Torta Cubana is a popular choice. They top it with pretty much everything you can think of including a hot dog, ham, egg, and chorizo.

The torta ahogada from Guadalajara is filled with carnitas and refried beans then 'drowned' in a chili-tomato sauce.

Molletes are a variation on a torta that's popular for breakfast. These are a relatively simple combination of refried beans, fresh salsa/pico de Gallo, and cheese.

In fact, many hot tortas include refried beans and cheese as part of the filling. At some carts, you then choose your protein, and maybe some garnishes like tomato or salsa on top.

That is essentially what you have in this chorizo torta and it's a delicious combination.

How to make a chorizo torta

This sandwich is easy to have the components made ahead and you can adapt them to what you have on hand.

Either refried pinto or black beans will work here, and you can use ready-made or make your own.

You can change the cheese to be one that melts or use a crumbly one like cotija, as in the pictures.

Ready-prepared Mexican chorizo has become relatively widely available in the US at least. But you can also make it yourself at home from ground pork, chilies, vinegar, and other seasonings.

If you can't find Mexican-style bolillo or telera rolls, then any medium white roll with a soft crust should work instead.

This chorizo torta is a classic Mexican sandwich filled with a delicious combination of smooth beans, flavorful pork chorizo, and cheese.

It is easy to make, adaptable, and makes a great lunch.