It's Time for Some Posole'

[DUCKMANNM]

Any you guys know what Posole' is? It is a stew made with pork elements and Posole'. Posole' is Hominy! There are as many recipes for Posole' as there are Mothers and Grandmothers in New Mexico, and also count the men who know how to cook! Nothing sticks to your ribs like a big bowl of Posole' and a bunch of hot buttered flour tortillas on a cold day! Here is a favorite recipe of mine!


Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs of Cubed Pork, fat trimmed off
6 to 8 Pork Neck Bones, fat trimmed off (the marrow in the bones give it more flavor)
1 Large white Onion
2 or 3 cloves Garlic
1/4 Peanut Oil, or equivalent lard
7 or 8 Dried Red Chiles (you pick the heat level)
5 tbsp. Crushed Red Chile
1/4 cup Red Chile Powder
5 or 6 Bay Leaves
2 tbsp. Coriander (dried Cilantro)
Dash or Oregano (don't over do it)
1 tbsp. White Pepper
Salt to taste
1 Bunch Cilantro (Mexican parsley)
1 lb Raw Posole' or 2 large Cans Posole', drained
2 Large Containers, or Cans of Chicken Broth
1 lb Butter
Some Lemons and limes
As many Tortillas as you think you can eat
A bottle of your favorite Honey


Prep

Trim fat off pork. Can be chops (save bones), shoulder, etc.
After trimming pork, cube the meat into pieces about 1 inch square, give or take
Peel Onion and Garlic, and mince (not dice, mince small)
Wash Cilantro and dry; pull or cut off leaves and mince, or not!
Cut Lemons and limes into wedges and then into triangles

Directions

In a large cast iron skillet, heat oil till hot! Add onion and garlic and saute till it starts to brown. Add cubed pork, White Pepper, Coriander, Oregano, and Chili Powder. Stir the meat with a wooden spoon till browned on all sides, remove from heat.

Using a large thick pot, pour in Chicken Broth and heat till hot. Add prepared meat , Pork Neck Bones, and Pork Chop Bones (if used) and cook to a boil. Reduce heat to med hot, and skim off foam/fat that rises to the top. May take 4 or 5 minutes. When liquid is clear of foam/fat, add dried Red Chiles, Crushed Red Chile, and Red Chili Powder. Bring to a roiling boil. Reduce to simmer, add raw Posole', or Canned Posole'. If using Raw Posole' simmer minimum 3 hours (or till Posole' is tender). If using canned Posole', simmer 45 minutes to an hour.

Serving

Pre heat bowls for Posole'

Microwave 10 Tortillas, or heat them individually in a large skillet (dry), on both sides.
Ladle Posole' into pre heated bowls, squeeze in Lemon/Lime Juice, and sprinkle with minced Cilantro. Slather butter on heated Tortillas, pour on some Honey, eat!

If you try my Recipe, come back on the Forum after your nap and Rolaids and let me know what you think!
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[William Dunn]

I discovered posole when living in Chicago. There are some great Mexican cafes on 18th Street. I make it starting with dried corn and making hominy from scratch.

[cheffy]

instead of dried Posole can I use those Chicos I bought from Jesus Guzman at the Santa Fe farmers market?

[DUCKMANNM]

Chicos are a VERY DEFINITE YES! You'll get even more flavor from the Chicos, and Chicos usually have a little bit of a smoky flavor. Chicos are typically ears of young green field corn, and you'll notice that they are about the size of small popcorn kernels. They (Chico Makers?) wet the ears down good and roast them in a Horno oven over a wood fire, usually Pinon (Peen-yone)! A Horno (whore NO) is a large clay oven shaped like the top half of a bee hive, and they are always outside! Then the Chicos are dried, and they'll keep forever. Chicos are often added to big pots of Pinto beans too! If you do the Pinto beans, don't forget to put a big chunk of salt pork in the pot! Sometimes when Chicos are made, they have beef short ribs or lamb/mutton added! You can do them any way you want. That's why there are so many recipes for different dishes in NM.

About Mexican restaurants! I'm sure the Mexican food in Chicago is good, but if you want real Mexican food, you'll get it in New Mexico. IN NM there is Mexican food, and then there is also Northern New Mexican food, which is entirely different. And I don't want to call anyone a wuss, but the Chile in New Mexico is probably about 40 times hotter than what you've ever had. If you've ever eaten a Jalapeno (HA La PEEN Yo) and know how hot they are, we have a Chile here in NM called a Habanero (Ha Bon YARE O) that is 10 times as hot as a Jalapeno. Eat some of either one of those two and you'll soon understand what the phrase "Come On Ice Cream!" really means!

[cheffy]

Oh Duckmannm I know what you mean about Mexican food. We did a three week tour of New Mexico and Arizona last Spring. I thought I’d eaten some good Mexican food. Then we hit NM. Jerry’s diner in Gallup ruined me. And then there were the places in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Taos and many stops in between.
We had Chico’s and pintos in Santa Fe and had to bring back a bunch.
And yes Ive had that chili. Heck sometimes even ice cream doesn’t help.

[DUCKMANNM]

Cheffy! That is what is known as "Mexican Heartburn!" If you get back to Albuquerque, Try El Pinto, Little Anita's, Sadies, or El Norteno!

[mdwwhw]

One of my grandmothers was born in the Silver City, NM area in the early 1900s. She made a posole starting with fresh sweet white corn. It’s been 40 or more years since I last had it, but the memory is strong. A great meal after a cold days work.

[DUCKMANNM]

Cheffy, I forgot to add one of the best remedies for "Mexican Heartburn" cause I didn't know if I'd get stomped for it! If you sort of read between the lines you can figure it out! Go into the smallest room of the house, lift both lids, and put the whole thing into the water!







What we know now is not as important as what we do not yet know!
Greg Hurwitz

[bigskybum]

Tomatillos! Add some of those too.

[cheffy]

Ok duckmannm, I finally got around to making this. I did a pork butchering demo at school last week so there were goodies left over like neck bones and lard.
I browned the cubes in the lard. Used Chicos instead of hominy. Hatch chilies, and chili powder from the Santa Fe farmers market. I threw in a shot of mezcal at the end for a little smokiness.
We had a New Mexico dinner. Prickly pear margaritas and biscochinos for dessert.

[BrownBear]

Only thing missing is a big handful of chicharrónes tossed on top.

Born in Silver City myself and grew up in points south of there, but in truth posole' is actually my second-favorite winter dish.

I'll take it as a close second, but only if there's no albondigas on the table.

[cheffy]

Oh I ish I had known about adding chicharrones on top. We are making those in class on a Wednesday

[DUCKMANNM]

Ditto on the Albondigas! I have not found any in New Mexico other than canned. I used to eat at a Mexican restaurant in California right on the Venice/Santa Monica line. Served the Albondigas with a side of Spanish Rice and a stack of buttered flour tortillas. The El Azteca had the best Albondigas in the World far as I am concerned! Thinking about it makes my mouth water! YUM YUM!

[BrownBear]

In truth it's hard to call one a favorite over the other because I make them in rotation through the winter. Always in large kettles for plenty of leftovers, of course.

Our favorite albondigas is a slight variation of this one. The only change is adding a wider variety of veggies, especially cabbage and broccoli. Basically whatever veggies are on hand.

One more tip on chicharrónes- They're the perfect salad topping. No more crumbled bacon on our salads!

[DUCKMANNM]

Lordy that looks good. I may have to make a visit to CA and eat my fill of Albondigas!

[bassman]

I'm getting heartburn and going for Rolaids just reading this thread. I might take the recipe and totally ruin it by making it much milder. Just as an example of my tolerance we use Jimmy Dean sausage a lot in house and I cannot take the Hot version by itself and many say it's not even hot. I mix it 50/50 with regular and like it like that. Around here in OK a lot of people carry there own small bottle of Hot Sauce just in case some don't have it. For Christmas I ordered a bottle of sauce from Australia called "Burn your Buns" sauce and she said it's tasty but kind of mild.

[cheffy]

Since we are stuck working from home we’re goingto make a big batch today. Should last the two of us several days. Plus the peppers should ward off any evil spirits

[mer]

We have a fantastic Mexican cuisine place just around the corner (our go to for eating out because the food, drinks and people are awesome) that had this on special. Good stuff, really good stuff.

[cheffy]

Just got back from the mailbox and what did I find.
A box from Jesus Guzman full of pasole, chicos , chili powder etc.
ready for cold weather now.

[mer]

Just got back from the mailbox and what did I find.
A box from Jesus Guzman full of pasole, chicos , chili powder etc.
ready for cold weather now.

Let us know how it turns out.