Posole

A long time ago, Danny the bartender at Twains before it was a brewpub, told me about posole.  He said it was a stew, and pretty good. Along the way, I found recipes for it, but since didn't know what hominy was, it was always something I was a bit intimidated by.  Finally I had hominy, and got over that issue, but still never had posole.

D was looking for recipes and came across this one. Seeing as we had a ham hock in our freezer, we decided to try it.

I know posole is supposed to be a stew, but his came out thicker.  And that was fine, because really it just looked like chili, and that's not a bad thing.

Anyway, it didn't taste like chili.  It tasted like thick stew (duh!).  It was really good. I'm glad D didn't add the other can of hominy.  We both really liked.

*Hominy-  Now that was odd.  Kroger had 1 30 oz can of Hominy from a brand I never heard of (canned in Mexico) and 2 15 oz cans of Kroger Hominy.  So we wiped out the store with those 3 cans.  Even though we ended up not using 1 of the Kroger cans, you definitely could taste the difference between the 2 brands.  I would go with the 30 oz can if I can ever find the can of the brand I can't remember.

We would have this again.

Red Posole

Photo by ALB

Serves 8
Adapted from Homesick Texan

Ingredients
1 pound of dried posole or two 29 oz. cans of hominy, drained (Used 1 30oz can and 1 15 oz can...plenty)
1 pound of pork shoulder, cubed
1 medium onion, diced
8 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of lard, bacon grease, corn or canola oil (used Pam)
8 cups of water (can substitute part with beer or chicken broth for more flavor)- used beer and chicken broth
1 smoked ham hock
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano (can substitute regular oregano)-used regular
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
9 New Mexico chiles, stems and seeds removed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime

For serving:
One avocado sliced,
One lime cut into wedges
1 cup of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup of diced onion
Tortillas and tortilla chips
(used macaroni and cheddar cheese)

Preparation
If using dried hominy, soak the hominy a gallon of water for at least eight hours until it’s doubled in size. (just use canned!)

In a large pot, heat up the lard (Pam) and cook the onion for 10 minutes. Add the pork and brown on each side for a couple of minutes. Throw in the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Pour the water into the pot and add the ham hock, oregano, cumin, ground cloves and ancho-chile powder. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a low simmer.

Meanwhile, take your New Mexican chiles and cook on high in a dry cast-iron skillet until the pop, a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat, add water to the skillet and let the chiles soak until hydrated, about half an hour.

Drain the chile-soaking liquid, and place the chiles in a blender. Add one cup of water and blend on high until a smooth puree has formed. Stir the chile puree into the soup pot.

After a couple of hours, add the hominy to the pot along with the juice of one lime and the chopped cilantro. At this point, adjust your spices and add salt to the pot. Continue to cook on low for a couple more hours.

Pour into bowls and serve with diced onions, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, avocado slices and tortillas or tortilla chips.