The star of this month’s spice box, this classic New Mexican posole is a light brothed, deeply flavorful and moderately spicy stew perfect for January. Made with hominy, large kernels of puffed white corn (posole just means “dried corn” and hominy means “cooked posole”), for body and traditionally made with pork shoulder for flavor. Our ground chile powder blend of New Mexican chili peppers, ancho and guajillo chiles and arbol chiles provide fruity, peppery depth with a bit of heat. The beauty of this dish is the ability to swap in vegetables, chicken or beef for pork and garbanzo beans for the hominy (if you can’t find it locally) to suit your tastes. Top with winter root vegetables, like peppery radishes, chopped cilantro and lime to brighten this fun, warming dish just before serving.
Ingredients
RawSpiceBar’s Ground Chiles
RawSpiceBar’s Posole Spices
2 pounds pork shoulder (or beef shank, whole chicken; omit for vegetarians)
2 onions
6 cloves garlic
1 pound dried or canned hominy (can also substitute garbanzo beans or frozen corn)
24 oz canned whole tomatoes in puree
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
Sliced radishes, chopped avocado, fresh cilantro or lime wedges for serving
Preparation
2. Bring meat to room temperature. Pat meat dry to remove all excess liquid, generously salt.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or pot over medium high heat, until the oil is near smoking. Add and sear the meat, until well browned on each side. Try not to move the meat while it’s searing. Remove meat from pot and set aside.
5. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to dutch oven over medium heat.
6. Add chopped onions, scraping up the brown bits into the mix. Allow onions to begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
7. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add RawspiceBar’s Ground Chiles and Posole Spices in thirds until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
8. Increase heat to medium. Add chopped tomatoes (juice removed) and let brown, about 5 minutes. Add vegetable oil as needed to keep contents moist.
9. Add reserved tomato juice and sugar (or honey) & combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer.
11. Add seared meat back to pot. Cover and put in conventional oven at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow to braise for 2 hours until meat is fork tender.
12. When tender, remove posole from Dutch oven and temporarily remove meat. Chop meat into bite size pieces, about 1 inch each, set aside.
13. Puree pot contents into a sauce with an immersion blender (or leave chunky, if preferred).
14. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add canned hominy (or garbanzo beans) and chopped meat back to the pot and allow to cook for another 40-50 minutes on stovetop over medium-low heat until hominy is softened (if using dried hominy or garbanzo beans, soak over night first).
