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.

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Pork Souvlaki {with Tzatziki Sauce}.

It’s time for a relatively wordless Wednesday.  These skewers of happiness happened.  A simple marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic and fresh oregano infuse the tender pork chunks with classic Greek flavor.

Marinate at least two hours or up to overnight.  Thread onto skewers and grill.  Reduce remaining marinade.  Serve Pork Souvlaki on pita flat bread, with sliced red onion, tomato and freshly made Tzatziki Sauce.  Fresh and flavorful.  Enjoy!!

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Pork Souvlaki {with Tzatziki Sauce}

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 4 bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 mins.
• 1 lb. pork loin 1-inch cubed
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbl. red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbl. chopped fresh oregano
• 2-3 garlic cloves grated
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. salt

To serve…

• 2 pita flat breads
• thinly sliced red onion
• diced fresh tomato
• fresh oregano sprigs
• Tzatziki Sauce see recipe link in post

Instructions

• Combine pork cubes and marinade ingredients in a zip top bag. Marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
• Heat grill or grill pan to medium-high.
• Thread marinated pork cubes onto soaked bamboo skewers. Pour marinade into a small saucepan and boil to reduce for 2-3 minutes.
• Grill skewers for 2 minutes per side or to 160 degrees when checked with an instant read thermometer. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

To serve…

• Place pork souvlaki skewers over pita flat breads. Drizzle with reduced marinade. Sprinkle with thinly sliced red onion, diced tomato, fresh oregano. With a healthy side of Tzatziki Sauce.

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Christmas Leftover Chili began by assessing the leftovers in the fridge.  Here’s a quick run down of what we found.

• A hunk of Prime Rib leftover from Christmas Eve dinner.
• 1/2 lb. of ground beef & 1/2 lb. ground pork leftover from Swedish Meatballs Christmas Day.
• An open jar of Rao’s Marinara sauce that was served with our Risotto Balls on Christmas Day.
• A bottle of Victoria beer leftover from my company Christmas Party.
• A Cowboy Cut Ribeye Bone leftover from a Christmas present :)

Our Chili started by frying bacon in the cast iron skillet.  No surprise to those that know us ;)

First, dice up two onions, 5 jalapenos, and a big hunk of prime rib leftover from Christmas Eve dinner.  From this point I will give you the process pictured below.

Remove browned bacon from the cast iron skillet, then add in diced onion and jalapenos.  Saute until just tender then transfer to a large crockpot.  Now add 1/2 lb. of ground pork and 1/2 lb. of ground beef to the skillet to brown off. Now add this to the crockpot along with the cubed beef and crispy bacon.  Deglaze pan with a beer.  We used a bottle of Victoria (thank you Rogelio for the tip on this beautiful beer).  Add that to the crockpot.  Then came a can of diced tomatoes (preferably no-salt added) and about 2 cups of tomato sauce (Rao’s Marinara Sauce is to die for).

Seasoning is often to taste.  I’m giving you my best assessment of the volume of spice that went into our Christmas Leftover Chili, adjust according to taste preference.  Here we go:

• 1 Tbl. chili powder
• 1 Tbl. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. ground oregano
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground thyme
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

This is when we threw in the rib bone from our Cowboy Cut Ribeye enjoyed on Friday night.  Totally optional.

Once all the goodness was in the crockpot we set it to low and walked away.  Not too far away.  I believe crockpot cooking is meant to happen on week days, when no one is home.  Rule #1 ~ Don’t lift the lid.  Let me tell you that was nearly impossible as the aromas of this rich beefy chili seeped into the air.  That’s when we decided to turn it to high and move dinner time up an hour or two.

I’m convinced that in our house, the best dishes happen when I stay out of the grocery store and instead shop my fridge & pantry. I hope you’ll adapt and personalize this recipe and then share the results with us.

I’m also quite proud to share that Christmas Leftover Chili is the 500th Recipe posted to Lemony Thyme.  Hehe.

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Maple-Brined Grilled Pork Chops

B is for Braising in our house, but also for Brining, especially when it comes to Pork Chops.  It you want moist, tender, juicy pork chops take the extra time to give them a nice soak in a brining liquid.  For some quick tips on Brining Basics click here.

Our standard brining-method goes something like this…

Use a 1/2 cup of kosher salt for every quart of water (if you’re using table salt, reduce by half).  You want only enough brine to cover the meat, so choose a plastic or glass container just large enough to hold your meat which reduces the amount of brine required.  Bring the water and salt to a boil, then cool completely before pouring over meat.  Adjust brining time according to protein.  Rinse meat before cooking.

In addition to the standard brine above, for these chops we used roughly:

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup cider vinergar

¼ cup brown sugar

5 cloves garlic

10 peppercorns

3 sprigs of rosemary

not enough red pepper flakes

Wow.  The chops had a subtle hint of sweet maple flavor which was such a nice surprise.  When grilled the natural sugars come to the surface and burst with flavor.  Maple-Brined Grilled Pork Chops served over a simple bed of spinach with Rosemary, Parmesan & Paprika Oil Roasted Potatoes = Winning.  It is Eat Out of the Fridge/Pantry Week afterall.

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I love hash.  Growing up in New England it wasn’t unusual for us to have Hash and Baked Beans with our eggs for breakfast (or dinner).  I’m not really sure if that was common in all households or if it was just that Mom loved them both so much.  This Pork & Sweet Potato Hash is a great way to use last night’s leftover pork.

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Pork & Sweet Potato Hash with Poached Eggs {Breakfast for Dinner}

Cuisine Breakfast

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 cup cubed cooked pork leftover from last night’s tenderloin or roast
• 1 cup cubed cooked sweet potato
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 sprigs fresh lemony thyme leaves only minced
• 2 fresh sage leaves minced
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 2 Eggs
• sea salt & freshly cracked pepper

Instructions

• In a heavy skillet, add 1 Tbl. olive oil and saute onion until tender.
• Add cubed pork, sweet potato, and fresh herbs and cook over medium heat pressing down ingredients to brown slightly, turning occasionally.
• Once hash has heated well and gently browned.
• Season with salt & pepper to taste.
• Serve topped with poached eggs.

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Sometimes a recipe comes to you…

Wow! What kind of intro is that?! Recipes come to me in my sleep, in line at the seafood counter, checkout counter, bookstore, kitchen table, pillow talk, water cooler….love to eat.  I completely love talking about food.  My co-workers are amazing inspiration.  We eat together, share leftovers, and stories of recipe incarnations.  Today I went to the grocery store at noon to pick up lunch for a few girls in the office.  At the deli counter were prepared Cuban Sandwiches.  I love a Cuban!  And that’s how it happens.  How can I deconstruct a Cuban sandwich and turn it in to “What’s for Dinner?”

Cuban Stuffed Pork Chops.  Makes perfect sense.  The Recipe I found by Bobby Flay called for a beautiful citrus marinade.  We scaled it back to the juice of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lime, 1/4 rind of both.  The marinade gives the chops a wonderful bright flavor, however it’s the classic Cuban sandwich ingredients in the middle that make this dish so fantastic.

We served these chops with some simple Crispy Sweet Potato Chips.  Check out this great microwave recipe by Our Best Bites.

Note: done is a little tricky since the chops are stuffed.  Individually you must decide your level of doneness.  We recommend an instant read meat thermometer and don’t forget to rest all meat for about 10 minutes = 5 more degrees of doneness.

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Cuban Stuffed Pork Chop with Sweet Potato Chips

Course Entree

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author lightly adapted from Bobby Flay

Ingredients

For the marinade…

• juice of 1/2 orange plus 1/4 of rind
• juice of 1/2 lime plus 1/4 of rind
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 3 garlic gloves
• salt & pepper

For the chops…

• 2 butterflied pork chops pounded to 1/4″ ish thickness
• 4 thin slices deli ham
• 4 thin slices Swiss cheese
• 1 Tbl. mayonnaise
• 1 Tbl. Dijon mustard
• 2 dill pickles thinly sliced

Instructions

For the marinade…

• Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree.

For the chops…

• Butterfly the pork chops and pound to 1/4″ ish thickness, then place in zip top bag with marinade for 1-2 hours.
• Then layer-in thin sliced ham & Swiss cheese with a schmeer of mayo & Dijon, topped with a few thin sliced dill pickles.
• Fold the butterflied chop in half and grill over medium heat until done, 3-4 minutes per side..

Notes

Note: done is a little tricky since the chops are stuffed. Individually you must decide your level of doneness. We recommend an instant read meat thermometer and don’t forget to rest all meat for about 10 minutes = 5 more degrees of doneness.

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