Authentic New Mexico Posole Food

NEW MEXICAN POZOLE

Steps:

• Drain soaked hominy and put in large soup pot. Cover with water and bring to boil. Let simmer briskly for 1 hour.
• 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.
• 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 2 1/2 hours more, until meat is tender and posole grains have softened and burst. Skim fat from surface of broth.
• 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.)
• 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.

NEW MEXICAN POSOLE

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients, except the salt and hominy in a pot.
• Simmer the stew over low to moderate heat, uncovered, for 2 - 3 hours until the meat is very tender. If the mixture becomes too dry while cooking, add more water. (About mid way through this time, I fish out the chiles and gently scrape the now fully reconstituted inner flesh from the paper like skins. Stir the chile flesh back into the stew and throw the skins away.) About 1/2 hour before the stew is done add canned hominy.
• When posole is done, add salt to taste. The stew should be a sort of soupy stew, best served like chili, in bowls.

TRADITIONAL PORK POSOLE

Steps:

• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Place the peppers with cut sides down onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Cook under the preheated broiler until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, 5 to 8 minutes. Place the blackened peppers into a bowl and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 20 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and carefully remove and discard pepper skins. Dice peppers.
• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic in hot oil until tender and fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Stir pork into onion and garlic; cook and stir until pork is browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Add diced green chiles to pork; cook and stir until fragrant, 5 minutes.
• Pour white hominy, yellow hominy, chicken broth, water, cumin, chili powder, salt, and black pepper into pork mixture. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 15 minutes; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and pork is tender, at least 1 hour.

NEW MEXICO STYLE POSOLE - CROCK POT

Steps:

• Heat oil in a 6-quart crock pot, add pork, onion and garlic and cook until pork is browned. Drain excess grease.
• Add the water, chilies, enchilada sauce, tomatoes, taco sauce, bay leaf, salt, pepper and oregano, and cook over low to medium heat about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. After 2 hours, add more water if needed. Adjust seasonings if desired, and simmer 2 to 3 hours longer.

LAND OF ENCHANTMENT POSOLE

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook pork and onion in oil over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in the broth, hominy, chiles, jalapeno if desired, salt, cumin, oregano, pepper and cayenne. , Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until meat is tender. Stir in cilantro. Serve with tortilla strips if desired.