Parisa!

I couldn't locate an exact category to place this delicious food. It may not quite fit in charcuterie but it is close.

First, do you know what parisa is, and have you tried it or made it?

We spent a month in Hondo, TX during our travels and first saw it there. It is a local favorite even rivaling Whataburger and HEB. We first saw it at silver creek specialty meats in Hondo and also tried some from dziuks in Castroville. Dziuks has a dried sausage that is out of this world but difficult to replicate at home.

Since then, we've made it regularly. It is a meat spread for crackers or eaten by itself. It is also called "cowboy ceviche", the go to party dish of Medina county TX.

Keep reading if you happen to be the type of person who will butcher a deer at home, have a little fleck of meat land on you hand and you go ahead and eat it raw.

If that gave you the willies, you probably won't like the cowboy ceviche.

You want very, very lean red meat, preferably an animal you have seen through raising and butchering. We use lean deer parts for this recipe.

1# lean red meat, hand chopped to a fine ground beef consistency
1/2# grated cheddar or american cheese
1 small-medium onion, minced (depends on strength of flavor)
4 serrano or 2 jalapeno peppers finely chopped (more if you like spicy and the peppers can be pickled)
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lime of lemon (we prefer lime)
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)

Refrigerate for at least an hour. I like it to "get happy" for at least a day or two, personally.

Spread on a cracker and enjoy. We prefer club crackers over ritz or saltines. The favorite is to make crisp quesadillas and cut into wedges.