New Mexican Pozole

Name: New Mexican Pozole
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds dried hominy (posole), available in Latino groceries, soaked overnight in cold water; 3 ounces dried red New Mexico chiles (about 10 large chiles); 2 pounds fresh pork belly, cut in 2-inch cubes; 2 pounds pork shoulder, not too lean, cut in 2-inch chunks; Salt and pepper; 1 large yellow onion, peeled, halved and stuck with 2 cloves; 1 bay leaf; 1 tablespoon chopped garlic; 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted until fragrant and coarsely ground; 2 cups finely diced white onion, soaked in ice water, for garnish; Lime wedges; Roughly chopped cilantro, for garnish; Toasted Mexican oregano, for garnish

By David Tanis

Total Time: 3 to 4 hours
Rating: 4(985)
Comments: Read comments

In New Mexico, there is abundance and generosity and plenty of comfort food at holiday parties. Posole, the savory and hearty, rather soupy stew made from dried large white corn kernels simmered for hours, is traditional and easy to prepare. Stir in a ruddy red purée of dried New Mexico chiles to give the stew its requisite kick. This is satisfying, nourishing, fortifying fare. The corn stays a little bit chewy in a wonderful way (canned hominy never does), and the spicy broth is beguiling.

Featured in: Posole Offers a December Warm-Up

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 servings

1½pounds dried hominy (posole), available in Latino groceries, soaked overnight in cold water
3ounces dried red New Mexico chiles (about 10 large chiles)
2pounds fresh pork belly, cut in 2-inch cubes
2pounds pork shoulder, not too lean, cut in 2-inch chunks
Salt and pepper
1large yellow onion, peeled, halved and stuck with 2 cloves
1bay leaf
1tablespoon chopped garlic
2teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted until fragrant and coarsely ground
2cups finely diced white onion, soaked in ice water, for garnish
Lime wedges
Roughly chopped cilantro, for garnish
Toasted Mexican oregano, for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Drain soaked hominy and put in large soup pot. Cover with water and bring to boil. Let simmer briskly for 1 hour.
Step 2
While hominy is cooking, make red chile purée: Toast dried chiles lightly in cast-iron skillet or stovetop grill, just until fragrant. Wearing gloves, slit chiles lengthwise with paring knife. Remove and discard stems and seeds. Put chiles in saucepan and cover with 4 cups water. Simmer 30 minutes and let cool. In blender, purée chiles to a smooth paste using some cooking water as necessary. Purée should be of milkshake consistency.
Step 3
Season pork belly and pork shoulder generously with salt and pepper. After posole has cooked 1 hour, add pork shoulder, pork belly, onion stuck with cloves, bay leaf, garlic and cumin. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches, then return to a brisk simmer. While adding water occasionally and tasting broth for salt, simmer for about 2½ hours more, until meat is tender and posole grains have softened and burst. Skim fat from surface of broth.
Step 4
Stir in 1 cup chile purée and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning. (At this point, posole can be cooled completely and reheated later. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.)
Step 5
To serve, ladle posole, meat and broth into wide bowls. Pass bowls of diced onion, lime wedges, cilantro and oregano, and let guests garnish to taste.

Ratings

4 out of 5

985 user ratings

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Comments

SG-SF7 years ago

I prefer to skip the pork belly and trim up the shoulder, then boil it for 15 min or so in the least amount of water to cover. Even high quality pork shoulder will throw off impurities. Skim off this grey foam, strain and rinse. It will also melt off some of the excess fat. Then return meat to pot. I use a combo of water and chicken stock. Delicious with green chili (anaheims) and tomatillo too. Just roast them both and proceed with recipe, minus the red chili and cumin.

Petaltown7 years ago

We had this on Christmas Eve. The pork was browned first, and it was delicious. I generally brown meat first before adding to a stew or soup.

Katherine7 years ago

I've been making posole for a long time. I use my slow cooker. I use pork shoulder as well, but green chiles, as the posole I've had in NM has been the green chile variety. It's fantastic in the winter with black beans and rice.

Mark2 months ago

I purposefully didn't read any of the community comments. This is a rather poor recipe. Problems include: 1: how many whole cloves to stick in the onion - too many makes for a far to overspiced pozole. 2: if you use dry hominy you will likely need to soak it for at least 2 days or you will run the risk of having pozole that never has the hominy tender at all - USE CANNED!! 3: this recipe is WAY too meat rich - cut back by half if not more

Nan2 months ago

Here in Albuquerque we can buy Chimisa brand ground roasted red chili. I “toasted” 1 TBLS of the med hot with the cumin seeds instead of making the slurry. I also used pork chops cut into one inch cubes and canned parole. This became an after work dinner that was delicious with some local Frontier tortillas. I also added some frozen roasted Hatch green chiles. The long version would probably be better but this is so good we like to have it often and this means I can whip up a pot in under an hour.

Miranda Baldonado ( Bernalillo New Mexico6 months ago

Love it!!!...

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