Cowboy Pozole
The cold winter nights are coming, and if you’re looking for something to keep you warm we’ve got a traditional Mexican Pozole that will do the trick! Tender pork and hominy is simmered together in a homemade red chili sauce.
So, what is pozole? Pozole is hominy, which is white corn that is soaked in a lye solution to make it swell. It’s then washed, drained and canned.
Preparing the Pork Shoulder
Step 1:
We’re going to take about 5 pounds of pork shoulder. I like to stand it up and cut it down the edge of the bone to remove it completely from the bones.
You’ll notice large white seems throughout the pork and that’s your diagram of where to cut. Cut down those streaks to separate the meat. This will make for more tender bites. Once you get most of those cut through, you’ll then trim off any of that excess fat and discard.
From there, cut the meat up into about 1-inch cubes and add to a large stock pot with 12 cups of water. If you’re not comfortable trimming your own pork, you can sure have the butcher do this for you.
Tip: don’t throw away the bone! Use that to flavor a big ol’ pot of pinto beans. In that recipe I used ham hock, but throw that bone in there for more flavor!
Step 2:
Roast the jalapeño and serrano peppers over the open fire, on the grill or in the house over your burner. Just roast them until they are blistered black. Cut the stem off and take the seeds out then add them to the pot with the pork. Cook over a medium- high heat for 1 hour. As that cooks, you may need to dip off any excess foam that forms while cooking.
The foam is that fat cooking out, so the less fat on the pork, the less foam you’ll see.
Let’s Make the Sauce
Step 3:
Take 2 tomatillos and peel and core the tops out. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F. for about 20 minutes or until they get tender..
Step 4:
Meanwhile stem and seed the guajillo and ancho chiles. Add them to a medium saucepan.
Next, stem and seed the chili de arbol and add to the saucepan. Those little chilies are hot, so if you think it might be a little too much spice for you, leave this chili out.
Add the onion to the saucepan and cover the contents with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the chiles are tender, about 20 minutes.
Step 5:
When the chiles get good and tender, strain the contents of the saucepan well and put in a blender. Add the tomatillos, garlic cloves, oregano and cumin to the blender.
Then add a ½ cup of chicken broth. A little tip here is I like to use 2 Knorr bouillon cubes dissolved in 4 cups of water. Boil that until it dissolves well. This will give a more rich flavor than regular chicken broth. Be sure to reserve the remaining broth to use later.
Step 6:
Mix everything well in the blender. Then, strain the contents well through a strainer. Take a spatula and stir it around to get that all to drain really well. This is helping filter out all the tough skin and seeds that were left.
Step 7:
Add the strained red sauce in the pot with the pork. Then, stir in ½ tablespoon chili powder, the remaining 3 1/2 cups of the chicken broth and 2 bay leaves. Give it a good stir.
Step 8:
Cover and simmer for about 1 hour or until that pork gets fork tender.
Step 9:
At this point stir in 4 cans white hominy that have been drained. I also like to give it a little Red River Ranch Mesquite seasoning, about 1 tablespoon full (you can use any seasoning you prefer or salt and pepper).
We’re going to let it simmer for about 30 more minutes to let those flavors incorporate. Be sure to take out the bay leaves before serving.
Tip: If you like this broth to be a little thicker when it gets done, you can stir in some masa to the desired thickness. You can also thicken it with a little cornstarch (mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 cup cold water. Stir into the soup and bring to a boil and cook until it thickens).
I like to serve a hearty bowl of this with a tortilla or you could also spoon it over cornbread. However you serve it, just be sure to share and we hope it helps keep y’all warm on those chilly days!
Watch this recipe in action!
Posole - Cowboy Kent Rollins
Ingredients
- 1 4 to 5 lb. pork shoulder trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 roasted jalapeno seeded and sliced
- 1 roasted serrano seeded and sliced
- 16 cups water divided
- 2 tomatillos peeled and cored
- 4 dried ancho chilis stemmed and seeded
- 10 dried guajillo chilis stemmed and seeded
- 1 dried chili de arbol stemmed and seeded
- 1 large white onion cut in fourths
- 6 garlic cloves cut in halves
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon chile powder
- 2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Red River Ranch Mesquite seasoning or coarse ground salt and pepper
- 4 15 ounce cans of white hominy drained
- Shredded cabbage sliced radish or tortillas for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a large stew pot, add 12 cups of water, the pork, jalapeno and serrano. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 1 hour. As the mixture cooks, dip off any excess foam. The more fat the pork has on it, the more foam may appear. Dip it off a few times during the cooking process, if needed.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the tomatillos on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until they are blistered and tender. Set aside to cool.
- In a medium saucepan, add the dried chilis and onion. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender.
- Strain the contents of the saucepan into a blender. Add the tomatillos, garlic, oregano and cumin.
- In a small saucepan, dissolve the chicken bouillon in the remaining 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil for a couple minutes. Pour ½ cup of the broth into the blender and blend well until smooth. Reserve the remaining broth.
- Pour the contents of the blender into a strainer and strain well into a medium bowl. Stir the strained chili sauce to the pot with the pork and water. Stir in the remaining 3 ½ cups of chicken stock, chile powder and bay leaves.
- Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour over medium heat, or until the pork is tender. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Stir in the Mesquite seasoning (or salt and pepper, to taste) and hominy. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.
- Serve topped with shredded cabbage, thinly sliced radishes or tortillas, if desired
