the Dominican Republic, chorizo and are considered two different types of meat. Puerto Rican chorizo is a smoked, well-seasoned sausage nearly identical to the smoked versions in Spain. Puerto Rican and Dominican have a very different taste and appearance. The seasoned meat is stuffed into a pork casing and is formed very long by hand. It is then hung to air-dry. can then be fried in oil or cooked with rice or beans. It is eaten with many different dishes. Salvadorean chorizo is short, fresh (not dried) and tied in twins. United States In contrast to Spanish chorizo, in the United States the term generally refers to a sausage that is never dried, has a fattier filling, and is very spicy. It is most popular in areas with large Cuban, Dominican or Puerto Rican populations or near the Mexican border, especially in the Southwest near Chihuahua, Sonora, and Nuevo Leon. It is also found further north in places like Austin, Texas or Santa Fe, New Mexico, where its earliest evidence dates to well before the Wild West. It is most commonly eaten for breakfast on its own, or mixed with a local version of . In Louisiana, Creole and Cajun cuisine both feature a variant of chorizo called , which is frequently used in the Creole dish of red beans and rice. As with its cousin to the west, smoking this variant is an acceptable practice in local cuisine. South America In Ecuador, many types of sausage have been directly adopted from European or North American cuisine. All sorts of salami, either raw or smoked, are known just as salami. Most commonly known are sorts from Spanish chorizo, Italian pepperoni, and wiener sausages; wieners are the most popular. Some local specialities include , , and . , as in most Spanish-speaking countries, is basically cooked pork blood encased in pork intestine casing (black pudding in English). is a thin sausage containing almost any mixture of meat, fat, or even cartilage, smoked rather than fresh. Chorizo is a mixture of chopped pork meat, pork fat, salt, whole pepper grains, cinnamon, achiote, and other spices, which produce its characteristic deep red color. A traditional dish consists of fried egg, mashed potatoes, avocado, salad, and slices of fried chorizo. In Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela, chorizo is the name for any coarse meat sausage. Spanish-style chorizo is also available, and is