Nothing beats a good burrito. And for most collegiettes, Chipotle is not only a staple; it’s a way of life. Now you might be able to step up your burrito game even more because the popular Mexican food chain is testing chorizo as a new menu item.
According to The Kansas City Star, Chipotle is introducing chorizo, a Mexican-styled sausage, to 33 Kansas City locations. If the new ingredient tests well, there’s a possibility it will become a menu item across the country.
Chipotle’s corporate chef, Nate Appleman, is excited for the new menu addition. “I’ve been beating the drum for five years,” Appleman told The Kansas City Star. “It was one of the first things I worked on.”
Since its creation over two decades ago, Chipotle hasn’t changed its menu much. In 2013, it introduced tofu Sofritas, a vegetarian option originally tested in the San Francisco Bay Area. The addition of chorizo is, in part, a response to the recent shortage of pork.
“Chorizo uses ground meat from various parts of the hog, so adding it may help ease that supply-chain glitch when wasting less of the animals they do have,” The Kansas City Star reports. This follows the company’s “Food With Integrity” mission of buying ingredients from farmers who raise livestock and grow produce without antibiotics or hormones.
Chorizo is “a blend of ground chicken and pork with paprika, cumin, garlic and red wine” and Appleman suggests pairing it with “white or brown rice, black beans, tomato salsa, sour cream or cheese and maybe a little guacamole.” Fingers crossed chorizo does well in Kansas so we can all try it!