Authentic Spanish chorizo, and it's made just down the road

Jo Elwin tracks down the best chorizo outside of Spain

My introduction to Martinez charcuterie was through a delicious dish of chorizo, chickpeas and spinach at the Bannockburn Hotel. One mouthful and I was enquiring after the chorizo, with chef/owner Andy informing me that it was made just down the road.

I was off, tracking makers Vaughan Stanley and Nadine Martinez down to a small factory in Cromwell’s industrial area where they gave me a tour and shared their journey.

Vaughan and Nadine’s son Fabian cuts the ribbon on opening day of the Martinez factory in Cromwell in 2018.

Vaughan says Andy has been a great supporter. “I dropped a sample to him when we were starting out in 2018 and he said something along the lines of ‘holy crap that’s the best chorizo I’ve had outside of Spain,’ he always has our Chorizo a la Plancha on the menu and also uses Chorizo Extra.”

Chorizo a la Plancha are chorizo for the grill. Semi cured to intensify the flavours, they must always be cooked – this is what Andy uses in the chickpea and spinach dish. Chorizo Extra doesn’t require cooking and is commonly sliced thinly for a tapa or bocadillo (sandwich).

Vaughan says the Chorizo Extra is the best he can make, (within the confines of food safety legislation). “It’s the signature dish if you like, it’s what everyone knows about Chorizo. In Spain, they eat a scary amount of chorizo because they eat tapas all the time. They make 65,000 tonnes of the stuff a year and 90 per cent of that stays in Spain – why would you export something that’s so tasty. We started Martinez purely because we couldn’t find a decent chorizo in New Zealand. Even the imported stuff is not great for the price they are selling it for. We retail our premium product at half of what you can buy the imported stuff for.”

Vaughan is a trained chef who started his career in Queenstown “thirty-something” years ago in what was the brand-new THC. He worked at the Park Royal and then Harbourside in Auckland and eventually headed overseas, meeting Spanish/Swiss wife Nadine in Canada. The couple then lived and worked and Europe for a number of years. “I was born in Bluff and my family are from this part of the world. My grandparents had a tea house in Invercargill in the fifties/sixties, my parents had bakeries, my uncle still has a bakery, and I’ve had restaurants and cafes. Nadine’s family had restaurants and were in food manufacturing in Spain, so collectively we’ve been in the food game a long time.

Because we couldn’t find chorizo like we used to have in Spain, I got to thinking ‘well, I know how good it should be, and I’m pretty handy in the kitchen, so why don’t I make it?’. It didn’t happen overnight; it was years in the planning - the business plan was done a good year and a half before we came down here.”

Vaughan, Nadine and their 11-year-old son came to Wānaka from Auckland in 2018. They weren’t planning to move here but had an “epiphany” when sitting at Glendhu Bay. “It’s one of those magic spots that makes you think ‘why would you want to live anywhere else.’ There are a lot of similarities to Spain here – hot in summer, cold in winter and it’s very dry. And a lot of the piggeries are in Canterbury, so it’s fairly local.”

Once they were down here, it was all about finding a suitable production site, which is why they work in Cromwell and live in Wānaka – the old dairy facilities in Cromwell were available and had the basic requirements.

Martinez Chorizo Extra hangs in the drying room.

The couple have converted the tiny space - the lunchroom is basically a cupboard – and geared it specifically to what they do. “Unless you have this type of set up you can’t do what we do,” says Vaughan. “We have specific spaces for processing, a fermentation room and a drying room and specific equipment to do those processes, including a specific tying machine from Spain.  As a chef I make my sausages to my own specific recipes and methods in terms of ratios, quantities and ingredients so that you get a tasty, authentic and consistent product all the time. But the key to the whole thing is understanding the science behind it.”

Vaughan is enthusiastic about that science, talking of a “magic iso-electric point” where the PH level drops and unbinds the water from the meat protein to create a firm sausage that can be sliced raw and cooked to add flavour – something you typically can’t do with fresh sausages. “It opens up new and easy ways to create tastier meals.” He makes no bones about the fact that their product has good fat content. “Fat keeps them moist and full of flavour. They’re not something you’re going to eat every single day, but if you’re going to have a sausage, have a decent one that tastes good and is made with care and attention.”

All Martinez products are made from free farmed New Zealand pork. Vaughan voices his disappointment that not all New Zealand pork is free farmed but explains: “There are only two larger free range farms in New Zealand so there are production limitations and more costs involved, but I would never use imported pork. I know our husbandry level here and it’s pretty good. We consciously choose to use better pork and ingredients and consumers should try to buy free-farmed pork to help drive the demand and get more farmers into it. 60 per cent of all pork products on the shelves in New Zealand use imported pork, it’s appalling.”

Vaughan points out that there are no other “questionable” ingredients in Martinez products either. “There are no fillers or artificial flavourings, all the products are listed on the pack for transparency. Salt is our preservative. We have a little bit of nitrate where required but it’s miniscule really, and it’s there to ensure our customers don’t get botulism because our products are fermented. Nitrates are naturally occurring chemicals, but you have to know what you are doing and use them judiciously to get the best result for everyone … it’s small detail stuff that makes a huge difference to high quality sausages and charcuterie.”

Another secret to Martinez’s success is the pimentón de la Vera, which is commonly called smoked paprika in New Zealand. Vaughan refers to it as “red gold”. “We bring it in directly from growers in Spain – from Extremadura, where they grow special peppers that are dried, lightly smoked and ground. The pimentón makes the colour vibrant and the flavour distinct and intense. We worked hard to source it and no one else in New Zealand has it.”

Vaughan recommends keeping the fat from the cooking of Martinez Chorizo a la Plancha and Chorizo Fresco. “It’s intensely coloured with pimentón, and it will add flavour to other dishes”. The intense flavour also means that these sausages can be used to cook meals that require few other ingredients, such as his chorizo and potatoes recipe below.

Chorizo fresco y patates (chorizo and potatoes)

Heat the oven to 190-200C. Peel some agria potatoes and cut them into halves or wedges so that they’re all approximately the same size and will cook in about 45 minutes.

Place the potatoes on a roasting tray with the whole Chorizo a la Plancha or Chorizo Fresco on top. (You might need a few sausages here – there is usually never enough and in this instance you can prick the chorizo to allow more of the lovely juices to coat the potatoes when cooking).

Cook in the oven for around 10 minutes, when the chorizo should be cooked through and the juices released from them.

Place the chorizo aside, mix the juices all over the potatoes and place them back in the oven to continue roasting and crisp up.

Add the sausages back to the potatoes to heat through before serving. Great with a green salad and olives.

When serving Chorizo Extra, Vaughan suggests slicing it thinly on the bias when cold from the fridge, then allowing the slices to come to room temperature. Serve it simply, to highlight the flavour and texture, on a small slice of bread (which you could rub with tomato or aioli) for a simple pincho.  Skewer a slice with an olive, a cherry tomato or a piece of Manchego on to a toothpick, or gently warm slices up with a splash of cider for a traditional tapa. Make a chorizo, fennel and roast pepper salad, add slices to pizza or risotto … let your imagination go wild, but remember a little goes a long way.

When cooking Chorizo a la Plancha and Chorizo Fresco, do it over a low-medium heat until gently coloured all over. “Low and slow, is the mantra,” says Vaughan. “Most people overcook sausages at too high a temperature.”

There are plans to expand the Martinez range (Catalan pork sausage, Valencian prime beef sausage, Basque lamb sausage and pancetta currently sit alongside the chorizo), a jamon curado (prosciutto) will be released in 2022. Vaughan stresses that it will all be authentic Spanish product. “Our brand promises authenticity and this is as authentic as you can get outside of Spain.”

Martinez (Nadine’s Spanish family name)
Available from a wide selection of food stores and supermarkets nationwide.
Find out more at martinez.co.nz/wheretobuy

The family’s tummies
also love:

+ A family night in with a good movie and homemade pizza (chorizo, potato and rocket).
+ Forage & Gold Honey,
+ Fruit from Webbs
+ Local wild herbs and backstraps from our friends who hunt.
+ Dining out at the Bannockburn Hotel, Pedro’s by the Lake in Queenstown and Gibbston Valley Winery.

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