posole (pork and hominy stew)
Mar. 8th, 2011 02:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kindkitYesterday I made posole for the first time. There are a couple of things I'll do differently the next time I make it, but it was still really tasty and I thought I'd share my "recipe," which is adapted from an actual recipe in Diana Kennedy's The Cuisines of Mexico. Some day I'd love to make Kennedy's proper version, but one of its main ingredients is half a pig's head, an item not easily obtained.
1 lb (approx. 500 grams) posole, aka dried hominy. Hominy is available canned, but I have tasted canned hominy and disliked it quite a lot, plus the texture won't be the same, so I recommend dried if you can get it (it can be ordered from the intarwebs if need be).
2 lb (approx 1 kilo) pork shoulder, pork butt, or other stewing pork, cut into bite-size pieces
1-2 large bay leaves
A couple of teaspoons oregano, Mexican if possible
Salt
A couple of handfuls dried red chiles of your choice (Kennedy's recipe calls for chiles de arbol or dried serranos, both of which are very hot. I used milder chiles--a mix of guajillos, pasilla-anchos, and a couple of chipotles--because I had them on hand and because my flatmate doesn't like very spicy food. But bear in mind that the chiles will make a sauce which you serve on the side and add at your discretion. I'll use hotter chiles next time, although I did really like the flavor of the ones I used.)
Lime wedges
Cilantro (aka fresh coriander leaves)
The day before you plan to make the posole, put the dried hominy in a nonreactive container, cover with cold water, and soak overnight. In another container, soak the chiles in cold water overnight. (I forgot to soak the chiles in advance, so I covered them with boiling water in a tightly sealed container and let them soak for about an hour and a half. It worked fine.)
Drain the hominy and put it in a big pot, cover with cold water (NO SALT yet), and bring to a boil. Keep at a low boil for about an hour, until many of the hominy kernels have "flowered" or burst. Add the pork, return to the boil, then turn down to a simmer. Add the bay leaf, the oregano, and salt to taste. (It makes a prettier dish if you wrap the oregano in cheesecloth--or, more conveniently, put it in one of those paper sachets used for loose-leaf teas and staple the opening shut--so that it doesn't float around in the broth.) Simmer for three hours or more, skimming frequently for the first hour or so and adding water as needed, until the hominy and pork are tender. Basically, the longer the better.
Meanwhile, make the chile sauce. Remove the chiles from their soaking liquid (reserve the liquid), cut off their stems, and remove the seeds if you like. You'll be straining the seeds out anyway, but removing them now may make the sauce less hot. Put the soaked chiles in a food processor or blender with half a cup or so of the soaking liquid (add more if needed), and process to a fairly smooth loose paste/thick liquid. Strain through a medium sieve into a bowl and discard what won't go through the sieve. This will make a much smaller amount of sauce that you'd imagine.
Serve the posole with lime wedges, cilantro leaves, and the sauce so that everyone can adjust the flavor to their liking.
Here's what I'll do differently the next time I make posole: first of all, I'll make a pork stock in advance with pork neck bones or some such and add the stock along with the pork pieces for a richer flavor. Second, I'll use some hotter chiles. However, I don't think I'll do things I've seen called for in many online recipes, like adding onions, garlic, cumin seeds, or whatever. I really liked the clean flavor of the pork and hominy and I don't want to muddle it up.
I don't think this is a vegetarian-able recipe, but there are versions of posole using beef if you're not a pork eater.
1 lb (approx. 500 grams) posole, aka dried hominy. Hominy is available canned, but I have tasted canned hominy and disliked it quite a lot, plus the texture won't be the same, so I recommend dried if you can get it (it can be ordered from the intarwebs if need be).
2 lb (approx 1 kilo) pork shoulder, pork butt, or other stewing pork, cut into bite-size pieces
1-2 large bay leaves
A couple of teaspoons oregano, Mexican if possible
Salt
A couple of handfuls dried red chiles of your choice (Kennedy's recipe calls for chiles de arbol or dried serranos, both of which are very hot. I used milder chiles--a mix of guajillos, pasilla-anchos, and a couple of chipotles--because I had them on hand and because my flatmate doesn't like very spicy food. But bear in mind that the chiles will make a sauce which you serve on the side and add at your discretion. I'll use hotter chiles next time, although I did really like the flavor of the ones I used.)
Lime wedges
Cilantro (aka fresh coriander leaves)
The day before you plan to make the posole, put the dried hominy in a nonreactive container, cover with cold water, and soak overnight. In another container, soak the chiles in cold water overnight. (I forgot to soak the chiles in advance, so I covered them with boiling water in a tightly sealed container and let them soak for about an hour and a half. It worked fine.)
Drain the hominy and put it in a big pot, cover with cold water (NO SALT yet), and bring to a boil. Keep at a low boil for about an hour, until many of the hominy kernels have "flowered" or burst. Add the pork, return to the boil, then turn down to a simmer. Add the bay leaf, the oregano, and salt to taste. (It makes a prettier dish if you wrap the oregano in cheesecloth--or, more conveniently, put it in one of those paper sachets used for loose-leaf teas and staple the opening shut--so that it doesn't float around in the broth.) Simmer for three hours or more, skimming frequently for the first hour or so and adding water as needed, until the hominy and pork are tender. Basically, the longer the better.
Meanwhile, make the chile sauce. Remove the chiles from their soaking liquid (reserve the liquid), cut off their stems, and remove the seeds if you like. You'll be straining the seeds out anyway, but removing them now may make the sauce less hot. Put the soaked chiles in a food processor or blender with half a cup or so of the soaking liquid (add more if needed), and process to a fairly smooth loose paste/thick liquid. Strain through a medium sieve into a bowl and discard what won't go through the sieve. This will make a much smaller amount of sauce that you'd imagine.
Serve the posole with lime wedges, cilantro leaves, and the sauce so that everyone can adjust the flavor to their liking.
Here's what I'll do differently the next time I make posole: first of all, I'll make a pork stock in advance with pork neck bones or some such and add the stock along with the pork pieces for a richer flavor. Second, I'll use some hotter chiles. However, I don't think I'll do things I've seen called for in many online recipes, like adding onions, garlic, cumin seeds, or whatever. I really liked the clean flavor of the pork and hominy and I don't want to muddle it up.
I don't think this is a vegetarian-able recipe, but there are versions of posole using beef if you're not a pork eater.
