Ingredients
Pork & Hominy Broth:
| 2 lbs | Nixtamal (fresh hominy) * available at mercados |
| ½ bunch | Cilantro |
| 3 | Bay Leaves |
| 1 tsp | Black Peppercorns |
| 1 | White or Yellow Onion, halved and peeled |
| ½ Tbl | Kosher Salt |
| 2 ½ lbs. | Pork Butt |
Chile Base:
| 1 ½ oz | Dried California Chiles |
| 1 ½ oz | Dried Guajillo Chiles |
| 1 | Onion, chopped |
| 6 | Garlic Cloves peeled |
| 3 tsp. | Sea Salt |
| 1 ½ tsp | Ground Cumin |
Instruction
Accompaniments: Shredded cabbage or lettuce, dried oregano, lime wedges, sliced radishes, tostadas or tortilla chips, chopped white onion, avocado, cilantro, sliced fresh chiles, queso fresco
- Rinse and drain nixtamal and place in large stockpot. Wrap cilantro, bay leaves and peppercorns in cheesecloth and tie ends to seal Place in pot along with onion, salt and pork butt. Cover meat with12 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2 ½ – 3 hours. Pork should be tender but not yet falling apart. Remove pork from pot and when cool enough to handle, remove excess fat and shred meat into large chunks.
- While the pozole is simmering, prepare the Chile base. Remove stems and shake out the seeds and remove membrane. Wipe chiles with a lightly damp paper towel to clean. Place chiles in a bowl. Bring 2 cups water to boil and pour over chiles. Allow to hydrate for 30 minutes covered. When chiles are tender, transfer to a blender with cooking liquid, onions, garlic, salt and cumin. Blend until smooth.
- When nixtamal is very tender, remove cheesecloth sachet and onion. Add shredded pork back to pot along with Chile base. To get the most Chile, add a small amount of water to blender base, cover and blend. Scrape into pozole to extract the most flavor. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add water if stew is too thick. Season to taste with salt.
- Chiles can be toasted for deeper flavor—individually lightly toasted on a skillet or batch baked in the oven at 350F for 3-5 minutes. Be very careful not to over toast as the chiles burn quickly and will turn bitter.
- If using canned hominy, here’s a trick from former Bon Appetit food editor, Rick Martinez to boost the corn flavor. Rinse and dry hominy, then bake at 425F, single layer for 12-15 minutes, tossing halfway through bake time. Bake until lightly fragrant and starting to brown. Allow to cool and add along with Chile base.
- I added apple cider vinegar to a bowl and it did give it some brightness.