| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 4 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 4 hr 5 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 heads garlic
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 whole ancho chiles, seeded and stemmed
- 4 pounds pork shoulder blade roast, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 2 pounds pork back ribs, cut into 2-rib portions
- Gray salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 quarts posole or canned white hominy, drained
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 2 onions, peeled and chopped
- 2 avocados, cut into chunks
- 2 lemons, cut into wedges
- 2 bunches radishes, washed and quartered
- 1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
- Dried Mexican oregano
- Tortilla chips or tostadas
- Felicitas’ Hot Salsa, recipe follows
- 2 ounces chiles de arbol (80 to 90 chiles)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Put the garlic onto a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with a little olive oil. Close up the foil and roast until the garlic is soft, about 45 minutes.
- In a large skillet, heat a thin film of oil over moderate heat. Add the chiles and brown on all sides. Remove the chiles and set the skillet aside.
- Generously season the meat with salt and pepper. Reheat the same skillet over medium heat and cook the meat until well browned on all sides, about 15 minutes. Do this in batches to avoid crowding the pan, adding additional oil as needed. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour off the excess fat from the pan. Deglaze the pan with about 1/2 cup water, scraping the browned bits off the bottom.
- In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a simmer and add the liquid from the skillet. Add the garlic, chiles, posole, oregano, and pepper to taste. Simmer 1 hour.
- Add the browned meat. Simmer gently, partially covered, about 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve the posole in soup bowls with the garnishes in individual bowls on the side.
- In a large skillet lined with aluminum foil, toast the chiles over moderate heat for about 5 minutes, until they almost smoke, stirring often.
- Bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil. Add the toasted chiles, garlic, and oregano. Simmer about 10 minutes, or until the chiles are soft.
- Pour into a blender. Blend on low speed for several seconds, then increase to high speed for about 1 minute or until smooth. Add water to thin out sauce if you prefer.
Reviews
I made this for tonight’s New Years dinner. I didn’t want to make a lot, so I made some adjustments – I only used 2 lbs of short ribs. It turned out great!!! It reminded me of the Pozole my mom used to make for us. Thank you Michael!
For jbjordan from Savannah GA: If a person doesn’t know that garlic needs to be peeled they shouldn’t be cooking. It shouldn’t be necessary to state the obvious.
I am a native New Mexican and just one look at this recipe I could tell is far from what is traditional. I can see it does have more nutritional benefits (garnishes) which some New Mexican food lacks. If you truly want the taste of New Mexico simplify and see if you can order frozen green chile or the powder from a company called “Bueno” . Frozen green chiles are the best route because they will hang on to more vitamins (Green chile is loaded with Vitamin C and many other antioxidants). Green Chile, pork sholder, hominy, garlic, onions, cumin, and salt/pepper to taste all simmering for a few hours is all you need to make a great New Mexican posole. You can garnish with some lime and cilantro. Cheese will cool the chile down. This is also a real cheap dish to make (if you live in New Mexico) and the leftovers are always better!
As with most recipes, this one can be adapted to your taste and style.
I cook the pork roast whole after browning, with onions, carrots, celery,fresh jalapenos, oregano and lots of whole cloves of raw, not roasted, garlic (peeled for the cook who added it to the stew pot with peel on as Michael’s instructions didn’t specify peeling). Think beef pot roast or stew. Add fresh or dried chilis to your taste.
When the meat is tender, pull it out of the pot and let it cool. When it is cool enough to handle shred it.
Remove the carrots and celery from the pot. Discard.
While you shred the pork, simmer the canned (drained and rinsed) hominy in the broth in the stew pot. Cooking canned hominy for two hours will cause it to turn to mush, you just want to warm it in the broth.
Return the shredded pork to the pot to warm.
I serve it as Michael’s recipe suggested, with lots of fresh garnishes.
As for the folks who dispute the authenticity of the recipe, Is there an authentic American meatloaf recipe? Or is your/my mama’s/grandmother’s/neighbor’s/husband’s/ aunt’s the only way to make true authentic meatloaf?
I cook the pork roast whole after browning, with onions, carrots, celery,fresh jalapenos, oregano and lots of whole cloves of raw, not roasted, garlic (peeled for the cook who added it to the stew pot with peel on as Michael’s instructions didn’t specify peeling). Think beef pot roast or stew. Add fresh or dried chilis to your taste.
When the meat is tender, pull it out of the pot and let it cool. When it is cool enough to handle shred it.
Remove the carrots and celery from the pot. Discard.
While you shred the pork, simmer the canned (drained and rinsed) hominy in the broth in the stew pot. Cooking canned hominy for two hours will cause it to turn to mush, you just want to warm it in the broth.
Return the shredded pork to the pot to warm.
I serve it as Michael’s recipe suggested, with lots of fresh garnishes.
As for the folks who dispute the authenticity of the recipe, Is there an authentic American meatloaf recipe? Or is your/my mama’s/grandmother’s/neighbor’s/husband’s/ aunt’s the only way to make true authentic meatloaf?
This recipe is easy and taste wonderful. My husband is a native of Mexico and even though it’s not traditional Pozole it was delicious. It will be in my recipe book for may years to come!
I lived in Guerrero where Pozole (that is the correct spelling) is a weekly Thursday tradition. Lots of garlic, lots of pork, lots of hominy (not the canned version, but the dried hominy which unfortunately is difficult to find here), and tons of sides are key to a great pozole. There is the clear white pozole, than the red (more common in Jalisco), and the green pozole. This is a wonderful version and very tasty. I think Michael did a wonderful job with this pozole as I find it true to the real deal.
My family enjoys Posole. This recipe really is a great one. I thought my “personal” recipe was good. This one was better!
My husband is native to mexico. He said this is not Pazole and he has no idea what it is. He would rather have canned Pazole. Good note I liked it
I’d like to say that this was good because I LOVE this show and this chef…but…I can’t. It was due to my California neighbor who was a former Taos N.M. resident that I attempted this recipe. She came over to save the day by adding a N.M. red chile which is indicative of the dish and then helped with some ancho chile peppers. Not because it needed the ‘spice’, I’m not about the dish having en elevated temperature but because it was just too bland without it.
Maybe I’ll mix this with another recipe. There’s a Rachel Ray Posole which has a bunch of ingredients that this one does not and they might mix well together? Basically, if you’ve tasted REAL posole, this recipe will disappoint you.
Sorry — Tracy (Coronado, Ca)
Maybe I’ll mix this with another recipe. There’s a Rachel Ray Posole which has a bunch of ingredients that this one does not and they might mix well together? Basically, if you’ve tasted REAL posole, this recipe will disappoint you.
Sorry — Tracy (Coronado, Ca)
Well, I grew up eating posole in New Mexico and all over Mexico and this is not like any posole I’ve ever eaten. For one thing Michael put the toasted chiles in the pot whole and the garlic he just split and left the paper skin on – not attractive for presentation. Better to blend the pealed garlic and chiles in a blender with a little warm water to make a smooth puree and then add to the pot – that way you’re not picking garlic skin and chile out of your bowl. Also, too much pork – posole is basically simple folks food – stick with just the ribs or other bone in cuts used for seasoning NOT as the star ingredient. Also, if you can find frozen or dry posole they are a much better alternative than canned hominey. The canned just falls apart.