Pozole Rojo {Pork & Hominy Stew}

This beautiful hearty stew all began with a Slow Braised Boston Butt Pork Roast on Sunday.  We bought the biggest one we could find (6+lbs.) so we could enjoy a variety of meals from it’s goodness.

We’ve made Pozole (Posole Rojo) several times, but never when we would actually be writing about it and sharing it with all of you.  So I did a good bit of research before tackling this one.  And I’m oh so glad I did.  The star ingredient, in my opinion, are the dried red chiles.  Yes, the slow braised pork and hominy are the signature ingredients, but turning dried chili pods into a fabulous red sauce just feels like authentic Mexican cooking.

I had done my recipe research and now had a short list of ingredients to pick up and remembered co-workers talking about this wonderful Mexican market not a mile from the office.  Why hadn’t I been there before now….oh my wow!  Our big little town has the usual big box and chain stores, fast food restaurants and shopping outlets, and enough gas stations and dry cleaners to satisfy most.  However, for those who aren’t afraid to veer off the path ever so slightly…we have some wonderfully colorful establishments worthy of our patronage as well.

This Pozole Rojo recipe caused me to visit just one of these hidden gems, Carniceria Hernandez Taqueria.  I walked in with “Guajillo Chiles” written on scratch paper, only to discover a fabulous market with gorgeous produce, hand cut meats, authentic Mexican cuisine cooked to order, and walls of dried chiles, herbs, and spices.  Bingo!

The pods although considered dried are actually pliable.  The recipe instructed me to remove the stems, large veins, and seeds from the dried chiles.  I found using scissors to cut the length of the pepper the easiest way to accomplish this.  You then lightly roast them in a hot cast iron skillet, cover them with boiling water to soften, then blend them with garlic and onion into the fabulous red chili sauce.

This Pozole Rojo recipe on Simply Recipes has some wonderful step by step instructions.  Because we started with cooked pulled pork, we adjusted accordingly.  The stew itself is quite basic.  It is the myriad of garnishes and toppings that allows each who enjoys Pozole Rojo to make it their own.  Delicioso!

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Pozole Rojo {Pork & Hominy Stew}

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 8 cups broth pork or chicken
• 4 cups cooked and shredded Boston butt pork roast
• 1 tsp. dried oregano preferably Mexican
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 oz. dried guajillo red chiles or ancho chiles or a combination of both
• 3 cups boiling-hot water
• 1/2 large white onion diced
• 2-3 garlic cloves sliced
• 1-2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbl. canola oil
• two 30-ounce cans white hominy rinsed and drained

For garnishes…

• sliced radishes avocado, cabbage, diced white onion, cilantro, limes, tostada shells

Instructions

• Shred about 4 cups of cooked pork and reserve.
• For the red chili sauce, use scissors to cut the chiles lengthwise and remove the stems, large veins, and seeds. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, working in batches add chiles in single layer, turning with tongs for about 1 minutes until slightly softened. Place the chiles in a medium sauce pan, add 3 cups boiling water, cover and allow to soak for at least 30 minutes.
• In a blender purée diced onion, sliced garlic, and 1 tsp. salt with chiles and soaking liquid until smooth. Strain sauce through a mesh seive to remove the tough bits.
• Add canola oil to cast iron skillet over medium heat and carefully sauté the chile paste for 3-4 minutes until smooth and thickened. Add more salt to taste.
• In a large dutch oven, combine broth with red chili sauce, oregano, and cumin. Bring to a boil, the reduce to a low simmer. Add in cooked pulled pork and rinsed and drained hominy. Simmer pozole 30 minutes and, if necessary, season with salt.
• Serve pozole with assorted garnishes and tostada shells.

Notes

Can begin recipe with 4 lbs. country style pork ribs, browned, then slow cooked in 4-5 quarts of water combined with the seasonings and the red chili sauce for 2-3 hours. Remove bones and skim fat before serving.

The post Pozole Rojo {Pork & Hominy Stew} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I took yesterday off from work to cook.  That was the sole purpose of my day and I was in heaven.  I’ve shared often that my work family loves to eat.  In fact, everyone either loves to eat or loves to cook (or both).  Which makes for some great special occasion spreads.  Today we celebrated Mardi Gras with a giant pot of Chili Gumbo and a platter of Mardi Gras Wings.  It was a good day.

I was a bit nervous at the thought of making gumbo.  I had some true Cajuns to feed and by no means wanted to compete with what they grew up on.  That would require making roux, from ingredients not already in my pantry (fee-lee, fii-lee, fo)…which would inevitably require me to leave my house and my pj’s.  Remember, I took the day off to avoid such things.

So instead I first sought out a gumbo recipe that would utilize some of the pounds and pounds of Andouille sausage in my freezer.  Long story short, we helped rescue a Trader Joe’s freezer truck filled with bacon and sausage.  It was the least we could do.

So while looking for a recipe that didn’t require file powder, I stumbled upon this beauty for Chili Gumbo.  Great flavor combinations that came together easily.  I highly recommend this recipe, which got a thumbs up today from my work family.

Did I mention I was cooking to feed my entire work family?  The Chili Gumbo recipe listed below is doubled from the original and easily fed twenty people.

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Chili Gumbo

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 20

Author adapted from Abbie Argersi via Food52

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 dried Guajillo chilis
• 1 dark beer
• 30 ounces Chicken Andouille Sausage or favorite
• 2 Tbl. olive oil
• 3 Tbl. ground cumin
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 onions diced (about 4 cups)
• 4-5 jalapeno peppers diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 4 celery ribs diced (about 2 cups)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 Tbl. chili powder
• 1 30- ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 14.5- ounce can diced tomatoes
• 3-4 cups beef broth
• 3 Tbl. red wine vinegar
• 3-4 Tbl. Cajun seasoning according to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour in a baking dish. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until golden brown, stirring every 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove stems and seeds from dried peppers and chop them fine. Place in bowl and pour in beer. Set aside.
• In a large skillet place Andouille sausage in one-inch of water. Heat over medium heat, turning once until water evaporates. Remove sausage and slice them. Brown them in oil then remove from the pan. Add cumin to pan and toast for one minute before adding ground beef. Season beef with salt & pepper and brown. Remove from pan and reserve with Andouille.
• Add the onions to the pan and cook them for 5 minutes. Add in celery, jalapenos and garlic; cook mixture until just softened. Add the vegetable oil, toasted flour and chili powder; stir for 3-4 minutes.
• Add in diced tomatoes, chilis and beer, and cooked meats with their juices. Add 3 cups of beef broth, red wine vinegar and 3 Tbl. Cajun seasoning (or more to taste). Simmer for at least 30 minutes. If too thick, add additional cup of beef broth.
• Serve with cooked white rice, lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and Louisiana Hot Sauce

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