Green Eggs & Chorizo

I'll eat them on a plane, on a train, or in the rain...

If you don’t end up liking Danny Espinoza, aka @dannythecook on Instagram, when you meet him, you probably don’t have a heart. Few people I’ve ever spoken to are as curious, gregarious, and full of candor like Espinoza.

Because of this, and also because of his rise and grind mentality (literally - he gets up at 4 am in the morning to grind meat and make his sausages before doing his day job as a corporate chef), the founder of Santo Chorizo, along with his business partner Yamandu Perez, has been blazing ever since he started the brand. In a very short time Santo Chorizo chorizo verde has started to pop up on the menus of Chicago’s top restaurants.

I recently caught up with Espinoza, a vet of kitchens like Carmichael’s and Carlos Gaytán’s Mexique, to talk about his Santo Chorizo chorizo verde, a more obscure, but arguably superior alternative to standard chorizo rojo, or red chorizo, that most folks are familiar with.

Mike

Tell me how you got into cooking?

Danny

I started cooking at age 15-16 at Lincoln Park Café. I was looking for a car. My mom tells me to get a job. I see this sign on Fullerton and Clark and it says “barista”. That was the first time I was like, oh, this is cool. I could get paid for this.

Before that, at least in my household, the women did all the cooking. My grandma sold tamales for more than 60 years of her life. We're from Michoacán. I always had it ingrained from my dad that only women cook. He’d say you should be an architect. You should be a dentist, the high paying jobs that I think not just Mexican families, but all parents just looking out for their kids want, and it's a generational thing.

I kinda was interested in computers. I thought that was gonna be my route. But then I just slowly started discovering hanging out with mom was a lot more fun than hanging out with my dad because my dad, he worked at a bindery on Grand [Avenue] right before Western.

There's a guy named Anthony, he was the son of the boss where my dad used to work. One day when I was doing culinary fight club at Cantina Laredo, Anthony was there and I was like, dude, it's so nice to see you…

He's like, oh man, I got to see this one guy that I used to work with my dad at the bindery.

I was like, who?

He pointed at this one guy and I’m like, dude, that's my dad!

I told Anthony I'll never forget the first time your dad was grilling Italian sausages at the summer picnic for the whole company. I was 6 or 7 years old and just being fascinated by like these chorizo-like things, they're not spicy but they're not bland, it's fucking good. And these guys were Italian and they made this and they're so prideful of it. And you know, it was that early memory of culinary pride that inspired me to want to cook.

I should also say about my dad, I know he was a hard ass in the beginning because parents always want the best for you, but I will forever be grateful to him because he's a hard-working man. I wouldn't have the opportunities I have and continue to have if it wasn't for the seeds that my parents planted. Those seeds are not materialistic. It's more like ethics more of like, hey, Danny, you want something? You got to work your ass off. You have to like suck it up and it sucks. You're gonna miss out on a lot of shit, but if you want it, you're gonna get it, but you got to put in the work.

Mike

I understand this. My mom was born in Poland, so I grew up with that first-generation kid mentality like that. So where did you go after Lincoln Park Café?

Danny

I end up at Carmichael's Steakhouse. My best friend Marcelino gets a job as a bus boy and he hits me up one day in high school about a job. He hooked me up with the sous chef Antonio. I told him I wanted to learn how to cook, so he told me to come on the weekends and he'll teach me stuff. I took that and ran with it. Antonio opened by himself and was getting everything started, doing the soups, the stocks, the mashed potatoes, and whatever he needed to do.

One day I meet the head chef and I'm 17 at the time still in high school. And he goes, hey, I heard you've been coming around here. I heard you've been working for free. I was like, yeah. He's says do you want a job?

It was an organized shit show. This kitchen was all of the kind of things I heard about. He was the type of chef that yells, the type of chef that would walk up to your station and tell you why the fuck are you not doing anything? As much as I hated it during that time, as I started getting leadership positions later in my career, I would really recognize his teachings. I understood why he did it. Do I agree with the methods? No, absolutely not.

So I’m at Carmichael's about a year, and it's like getting closer to my senior year. I was locked in to going to CIA. I graduated high school and three days later, as a 17 year-old, I moved out to Poughkeepsie, New York for school. I came back three months later. I was crushed with the whole high school transitioning of things. And to be honest, I, I just didn't feel like I fit in at CIA during that time. Everyone kept talking about the food network and being a TV star.

CIA was like what everyone talks about. It’s like Hogwarts, Harry Potter for cooking. It was amazing. But it made me feel out of place because everyone was in my opinion privileged and that's where I just felt that impostor syndrome where I'm like I don't fit in here. 

A happy accident occurred. I missed a train from school going to New York City. I was going to surprise my sister for her quinceañera. I'm on the wrong platform and I just see my train go by and I'm like, holy shit, that's my train. I'm scared, I'm like, I’ve got no money. I'm telling random-ass people on the platform if you take me to New York city, I'll pay all your gas. Everyone said no, as expected.

I just called my mom and I told her I was like, I need to get back to Chicago. I hate it here. She said, you don't want to be a chef anymore? I was like, no, I do. I think I'm gonna go to Kendall [college]. So I go to Kendall. It’s the best decision I've ever made. Kendall ultimately is where I meet my mentor, Carlos Gaytán (Mexique, Tzuco) and where I met my wife.

At Kendall I discover a newspaper on the floor. I still own that copy of the paper to this day and I just shove it in my book bag. I get home. I pull out my homework, the newspaper’s in there. I see this article about Carlos Gaytán, this hot Mexican chef.  I fall in love with his story. I need to find a new place to work so I emailed Carlos. I don't get a response, so I start calling his restaurant. His now ex-wife says he's not available.

This was early enough so there wasn’t GPS and all the stuff we have now so I Mapquest the restaurant. I'm surprised how close it is to my house. I just start going in there and asking for him again. He's busy according to his now ex-wife. And finally, one day I just come in as a customer and buy tacos to get his attention. I call for him at the end of the meal. I asked the server is the chef around? The server looks a little confused. I said everything's fine.

Carlos comes out and he has this smile on his face, and he chuckles, says I know who you are. You've been looking for me. And he says what do you want?

I just told him I need to stage. I explained what that was. I'm not sure if he was familiar with the term and he just continues to tell me, well, I can't pay you. And I told him I was very well aware. I explained I'm a student. I live at home. I have a weekend job. I'm not asking to get paid. I know you're gonna pay me with whatever it is that I learn and your teachings. He sets up a day. I'll never forget it was a Wednesday I show up and I just fall in love. The high-level cuisine was like, wow, I never thought you could do this with mole. I didn't know you could make a sweet guacamole.

I kept staging and learning and then one day, Carlos offers me a job, so I put in my two weeks at Carmichael's and the chef asked, who are you going to work for?. I tell him Carlos Gaytán. He says I've never heard of that chef. Why the fuck would you go work for a nobody? Is he Mexican? I say, Yes, he is. The guy responded, Oh, you're gonna go learn how to make fucking tacos? Good luck. There were more things said, but it doesn't matter.

That just pushed me. I end up doing 3.5 years at Mexique. Mexique made me realize that Mexican cuisine can be more. I got to learn from Frank Valdez who now runs Broken English with the Stefani group. He had that pedigree where it's like that balance of, he went to culinary school and he had the French training. Carlos Gaytán was so creative and fearless.

Mike

You also cooked in France, right? Tell me about that.

Danny

France was always in the back of my head, I was like, I'm gonna get there one day. I moved to New York to work at a country club even though it went against my beliefs. The joke is country clubs are where chefs go to die. I was wrong. I'll never forget our first brunch. I’m not that much of a hockey fan, but I meet this guy Mike Richter, goalie for the New York Rangers. Him and his family, you know, they, they were members of the club.

Anyways, my chef, he's from South Africa. He comes up during service one day and he goes, you really like this. And I was like, what do you mean? He's like, you really like this cooking stuff. I was like, I haven't been cooking, I'm just slicing these fruits and things and he said, no, he said, Danny, look, man, I, I've been here for ten years and I don’t see this every day. He said if you want to play with the kitchen and run the stuff, I'll do the numbers, man. I was like, hell yeah!

We were right by Vermont. We got amazing cheese, amazing sort of chickens, lambs and it was all for the club. The members obviously paid a high price. It was like camping for the rich. Imagine Jurassic Park without the dinosaurs. That's what the club was.

I did that for three years but my second year I started saving money. It was only six months, but I started saving money because they're paying for everything, living on property. I saved a good amount of money and I just randomly just email this chef from France because I had his contact. One of the kids from Kendall who was supposed to go failed a practical so I got his place. I told my mom and she said you’re crazy. Why can't you just work at a hotel? Why can't you just get benefits and insurance and just be happy? I'm like, but I am happy doing this stuff.

I spent five months in France working for this guy Simon Scott. He ran the Savoy Hotel as an executive chef there. He's from London. I loved it, but I overstayed my my visa. I didn’t want to leave. It was like breaking up with an old girlfriend.

I saw some serious hustle in that kitchen, one chef had slipped in duck fat, you know, broke his wrist.

Mike

What, what? He literally slipped in duck fat?

Danny

I kid you not. I thought this was the craziest thing I've ever seen. He's draining the duck fat that he's just strained. And there was some left right by the tilt-braiser and he's putting it away and slips on it and tries to catch himself on the floor with his wrist and it just pops, three different bones, literally 10 minutes before staff meal.

His hand is clearly broken and, and he's like I have to go to the hospital and chef is like, uh no, you can't. We have a full restaurant. He's says to go after service.

The cook had staff meal. He ate. We talked. We shot the shit and then started service. And as soon as the last ticket went out, he worked canapes and hot apps, I guess as soon as his station was done, I was like, dude, get the fuck out of here. We'll clean it up for you.

Mike

So, you're saying he worked the whole service with a broken wrist?

Danny

Yeah, that's the most hardcore thing I've ever seen in the kitchen

Mike

Let's talk a little bit about chorizo verde. I think most people are familiar with red chorizo obviously, so, what's the difference?

Danny

Red chorizo is pork, pork fat, spices, and vinegar. That's it. And a lot of times it's a good amount of fat because fat's cheap. Green chorizo includes pork, but gets its color from primarily jalapeño, poblanos, and green specialty peppers. You can use green chilis or there’s even chlorophyll in some original recipes that I've explored. Some have watercress or the greens from radish tops.

Mike

Some people do tomatillo too, right?

Danny

Yeah, there are some with tomatillos. Some people put almonds in it, but the one consistent thing that I always saw in green chorizo was pineapple. The pineapple tenderizes the meat. It's a natural enzyme.

Green Chorizo is a Mexican chorizo. I will always thank the Spanish and the conquistadors for bringing spices to us. But at the same time, I just love the whole story of how the green version from Toluca came about. Chorizo verde becomes a thing because dry red peppers in the 1940s skyrocket in price. So this one butcher says I'm not gonna pay these crazy prices for red peppers. I’m gonna make a chorizo with what I have.

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Mike

As a Chicago kid you probably weren't even familiar with green chorizo until that one trip where you discovered it, right? Tell me about this fateful trip.

Danny

I’m about 15 years old. My mom receives her green card, her residency. This is the first time in 20 years she's gonna see her mom, my grandma Ramona and this is the first time that my dad's not gonna travel with us, and by us, I mean me because it was always him and I going to Mexico.

You know how people talk about the “man of the house”. Well, my dad was old school, so he says, Danny, you're gonna take the baton and lead this trip through the airport through TSA and through everything because your mom doesn't know how this works.

We end up in Mexico.  I have an uncle. His name is Sergio. And we get along more than anything. I think we get along because we're the darkest ones. You look at everyone else in the family, they're all like light skinned and you look at him and I, and it's like, dude, these guys…I don't know, they probably belong to the milkman or some shit.

But anyway, he's one of my favorite uncles. I would go on his trips to sell tamales and see different sides of Mexico. He has a corner spot in the plaza in Jacona in Michoacán. And as we were winding down one day, with the sales, call it around like one o'clock, I look across the street and see these green things.  I’m like what are those? And he says, yeah, in Toluca they make green chorizo. I was like how? He's like, let's go ask the butcher now and buy some for lunch. We buy a kilo. We fry it up. It's amazing, man. That flavor profile that I had at 15 is what I've always kind of just been chasing ever since.

About a week and a half later, my grandma knew we were leaving and she asked me, hey, what do you want to take back home to El Norte? Usually, it's candies or just snacks. I'm like, I want chorizo verde! She's like, you know, you can't take meat across the border. You know, your mom doesn't take tamales with meat. I'm like Yes she does! She’s says you can’t do it. And I was like come on grandma, we don't have any of this in the US.  And then she said, ok.

My cousin and I go buy two kilos of chorizo. They bag it up. We freeze it and it ends up in different parts of my luggage. My mom has no idea. There's only three people that know about this. My grandma, my cousin, and myself. We say our goodbyes. That was a crying session, because it's sentimental, man. My mom just saw her mother after 20 years and now I'm seeing my mother cry for her mother and saying goodbyes and like, oh, it's crazy in a good way.

We get to the airport. Everything's good. My mom's so grateful. I see her do her prayers on the plane. Anyways we get to O’hare all fine and dandy. And we get to customs, where they check the luggage. They say, hey, press the button see if the light [the baggage check indictor] is green or red. We get the red light and I'm just like, oh shit! And they started unpacking things and things are going well. Then they get to my bag and it's like, hey, what is this?

That summer I learned about soy meat from my aunt and I was just like, it's vegetarian chorizo! And the customs person is like, so there's no meat? I said it's just chilis, spinach, and cilantro. I just named a bunch of things and she shoves it in and she's like, all right, cool. Well, welcome back!

My mom has this look and she's says why didn't you tell me this? She's like, you don't play with this shit. You could have told me. She has every single right to be upset at that point and she calls me a hijo de puta.  Which, you know, that's like saying “son of a bitch”, right? I'm like mom, you're insulting your own self. You're my mother.

Mike

Hilarious.

Danny

So, yeah now I have some back in the US and we would pull out frozen green chorizo every two or three weeks and just fry it up in a taco. Fast forward, and I’m so obsessed with chorizo verde that by the time I get to compete at Cochon 555 in 2019 (Espinoza won the prestigious cooking competition and was crowned prince of pork), we did a whole Mexican menu. We glorify the pig. We, we did a pozole verde. We did a chorizo verde and a cactus salad. We did a pig's blood mole with a pork tenderloin roulade. That was just great. I get crowned prince of pork. I believe Jason Vincent (Giant, Chef’s Special, Pizza Matta) was one of the main chef judges. Some of the judges said I've never seen a chorizo like this. I just kept hearing that in my head and thinking, like maybe I might be on to something.

Mike

This is when you start to launch the business?

Danny

Well, when the pandemic hits and as the world starts slowing down, I took this time to figure out how I could commercialize this idea.

Mike

So, now you've got the company. What's your goal with this stuff? Like obviously, right now chefs are using it in local restaurant kitchens. Do you want to do retail?

Danny

So, we're working on positioning ourselves for retail obviously starting out in Chicago. I firmly believe that these brands, they’re built in the barrio, especially if it's like, targeted towards our people. And that’s not to say that like, hey, I don't have dreams of ending up at Whole Foods. But, we need to position this product where our people live, whether it's first generation, whether it's, you know, my mom's generation. But that's what I'm working on.

Mike

What's that flavor profile of your chorizo that you were chasing?

Danny

The notes from my chorizo verde are herbaceous. They're well-spiced but not spicy. The flavor is herbaceous spice with deep grassy green notes. That’s offset with the sweetness from the pineapple.  If you're grilling the chorizo, that caramelization aspect is amazing. It’s a product I'm very, very proud of. Most people go to the gym and wake up at four in the morning. Well, I go and grind meat. It’s all about the discipline and just that tenacity. I really believe I could achieve this like I really do and you know, just seeing it, I mean, do I wish we were everywhere? Absolutely. But I also know we will be.

Mike

How’s the marketing going?

Danny

It's kind of weird to say, but I'm always kind of looking for how can we show people that this product is exciting and not scary, because, here's the thing, I'm well aware of that meat shouldn't be green, but this chorizo verde is.

Mike

I mean Dr Seuss would disagree. Like if you were writing Green Eggs and Ham today, maybe it would be like huevos y chorizo verde.

Danny

Hahaha. Very true.

Mike

Let’s say I'm a Chicago food person and I just want to try this. What are my options right now?

Danny

Oggi Trattoria, Ummo
Beatnik on the river and Beatnik west town
Roscoe’s
Patina Wine Bar
London House
Jelly Cafe
Nicky’s of Beverly

It’s soon gonna be at Soul & Smoke. I know Charles is experimenting with a dish at RPM steak.  Cindy’s Rooftop is developing a dish for spring. I talked to Stephen at Diego and they’re looking to add it.

Mike

What's your favorite way to eat chorizo verde?

Danny

My favorite way to do it is a fun taco, and if my wife was here, she would say, all right, here comes Danny's bougie taco. My bougie taco is leeks that are just julienned and washed, soaked and all that good stuff and then they're slowly sweated. Then I take poblanos and I just roast them over open fire, peel them, add that to the leeks and then I just add some cream to that. Smash like one clove of garlic. Throw it in there. Let it infuse a little bit of white pepper. Choose your melting cheese. I just go with a little bit of queso chihuahua. Oaxaca is nice too. Grill some chorizo, chop it up, throw it in with the cheese, gratin it, and then warm up your favorite tortilla. If you can’t make them by scratch, El Milagro is fine and that's my favorite.

Green chorizo McMuffin anyone?

Mike

You seem like the kind of guy who plans. What's your vision for the future?

Danny

One thing that I've been looking at is sports marketing. You know, I'm not a Packers fan, but dude, I'll sell chorizo verde to Lambeau Field and put cheddar cheese on it. I don't really care.

You can find more info on Espinoza and Perez’s Santo Chorizo at santochorizo.com

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