Deal of the Day - Mexican Soy Chorizo

It's really good! I just noticed this Soy Chorizo one day at the 99c only Store in Hollywood. I did a double take and thought, "why not try it?" When I first spied it next to the Beef and Pork Chorizo, I read "Soy" as the Mexican word for "I am," as in "Soy Mexican" (I'm Mexican), not "Soy" as in vegetarian.

For 99.99 cents, it 's the right price for this Chintz Chef, so I thought this would make an interesting Deal of the Day. I was not disappointed.

Normally Mexican style chorizo is soft like raw ground meat. This Soy Chorizo, by Cacique, is similar, but with a cooked ground beef crumbly texture, too.

Spice-wise you would be hard pressed to tell the difference to regular chorizo - it's still chile flavored and spicy hot. Since there is no meat, or fat, you may want to add a splash of oil if you are using a regular pan.

I guess what I miss the most is the grease that is rendered when a meat chorizo is browned -- it's so pungent and very flavorful. But, for calorie watchers, this is a great alternative.

The ingredient list is short, unlike real chorizo that has a long list of organ meats. Read the package to see for yourself, or go to Cacique's website here.

The best way to try out a new food product, I've found, is to use it in an egg scramble. This also works well if you don't know a spice and want to try it out in a recipe, cheaply and quickly.

The Soy Chorizo squeezes out of the plastic skin easily. I used about a third of the 8 ounces, and added a tablespoon of oil, as soy chorizo sticks to the pan, unlike meat chorizo which has some fat and greasy bits in the mixture.

This Soy Chorizo is already cooked, so you just need to heat it through to bring out the flavors in the chile and spice paste. After about three minutes of stirring, I added two eggs to scramble.

The chorizo flavors mix well with scrambled eggs -- savory and spicy. It's a light breakfast, and a tasty change of pace. You would not eat it by itself from the package, but you could add Cacique Soy Chorizo to many dishes as a flavoring. I have several Mexican Chorizo dishes I've already made, just click on a name to see my recipe: Chorizo & Eggs Breakfast Tacos, Stuffed Bell Peppers, Mexi/Turkey Burger and Seafood Paella.

So on a scale of 1 to 9, nine being best, I give this Deal of the Day, Cacique Soy Chorizo, a tasty 9! I will definitely be using this product again -- especially as a light, spicy, breakfast taco start to my day. And check back next week for another Mexican Chorizo recipe: Sauteed Chicken and Chorizo.