Pozole es possible?

Pozole Rojo

 

(Mexican pork, chicken and hominy stew)

I had pozole for the first time at Richard Thomas’s house in New York about a year and a half ago n DAMN, was it goooood! His wife made a kick ass green pozole and shut it down! I made this for the first time last week during the storm here in LA. The definition of pozole is “foam,” because the Aztecs believed hominy resembled a foamy froth. Pozole is a dish for special occasions in Mexico. Occasions like breakfast, lunch and or dinner…Please excuse my very ghetto measurements on this recipe, as I went commando!

Ingredients

Soup

Smoked Pork neck bone : 1 1/2 to 2 pounds

(Except no substitutes! The depth of flavor you get from the neck bones is ridiculous! I usually keep some frozen neck bone meat on hand to toss into soups and stews when I cook. This is double, top secret chef knowledge!)

Chicken thighs: 1 1/2 to 2 pounds

10 dried ancho, or guajillo chilies

Fresh hominy, rinsed — 2 to 3 cups

Garlic

Celery

Carrots

Ground cumin: 2 teaspoons

Salt: 2 teaspoons

Water: 12 cups

Garnishes

Lettuce, shredded

Onion, finely diced

Radishes, thinly sliced

Limes, cut into wedges

Avocado, diced

Mint, chopped

Cilantro, chopped

Oregano, dried

Chile piquín, ground

 

Method

Cook the chicken thighs with chopped carrots, celery, bay leaf,

and onions and garlic in water until tender about an hour and a half

or two hours. Remove thighs and cool. Remove the meat from the

bones and shred the meat. Strain stock and reserve in

the fridge. After the stock has congealed I removed the fat at the top.

This is liquid GOLD!

Do the same with the neck bones.

I used dried hominy for the first time. Soaked it over night and

cooked it in salted water for about an hour and a half. I did all of

this the day before.

Meanwhile remove the stems and seeds from the chilies. Roast them

for a couple of minutes in an iron skillet. This gives it an even smokier flavor!

Add some of the reserved

stock and soak the chilies for 20 to 30 minutes until soft.

Puree in a blender with a chopped onion and two garlic heads.

Add the pork, chicken, hominy, garlic, ground cumin, salt and the reserved stock

to a large pot. I used mostly the pork stock, as it was richer and mixed it with a little of the chicken stock. Add the dried chile sauce to the stew and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes.

 Adjust seasoning and serve in big bowls with garnish.

*******

Variations

Pozole varies according to the region, The most basic is known

as pozole blanco, or white pozole and is very popular in

Guadalajara. It is the same as the above recipe but without the dried

chilies.

Pozole Verde (Green pozole):

Popular in the state of Guerrero. It’s the same as the recipe above

with the following variations. Toast 1 cup of shelled pumpkin seeds

(pepitas), and puree them in a blender with 1 to 2 cups of

of fresh cooked tomatillos, a chopped jalapeño, a couple of

leaves of lettuce, a few sprigs of chopped cilantro and a little liquid

from the stewpot. Strain through a sieve into a hot skillet and boil

for 5 minutes. Stir into the stew for the last 20 to 30

minutes of simmering.

*Sometimes a raw egg is stirred into the stew just before serving.

What would I do differently? Use more hominy! I didn’t make enough of it. So, here’s my secret weapon. I make the Pozole ahead of time. Freeze it…so, when friends drop by, I warm it up n throw this on’m in like 10 minutes! Killin’m soflty with my grub, killin’m softly…