Pozole is a unique dish that definitely will be a fun one to make for dinner. It has a lot of veggies some tasty pork, and other additives that make it something worth looking into if you want to flavor your dinners in a unique way.
INGREDIENTS
3 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 2″ pieces
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large yellow onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
2 dried chiles de arbol, stem and seeds removed
2 dried ancho chiles, stem and seeds removed
2 dried guajillo chiles, stem and seeds removed
3 (15-oz.) cans hominy, drained and rinsed
Thinly sliced radishes, for serving
Thinly sliced green cabbage, for serving
Freshly chopped cilantro, for serving
Steps:
Get the pork and season this with the paper and salt. Get a large pot, heat it with medium heat then put the pork, the garlic, the onion, the cumin in this, the cloves, the broth and the bay leaf, then enough water to cover the pork by a couple inches. Boil this, then lower the heat, simmer this, and then simmer for about an hour and a half, skimming the foam off the top parts of this as needed.
Take the dried chiles and put them in a bowl that’s medium-sized, and then put two cups of water that’s boiling over them, let this sit to soak for about 30 minutes, and then get the chiles and about a half cup of the liquid it was soaking in into the blender, then blend it until everything smoothens, adding a bit more water as you need this.
Add the puree of chili and the hominy to the pork pot. Cook this simmering, covered up, until the pork is super tender, at least 90 minutes, sometimes a bit more.
Serve this with cabbage, radishes, and some cilantro as well for a really banging taste to your dish.
Tips
How long should I let the pork simmer for?
The cook time may seem a bit shocking, but here’s the thing, it’s something very simple to let boil, and then, you can do other things while it sits to simmer. So if you want to leave this for longer than the cook time, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
As a rule of thumb, the longer you let something sit to simmer, the better this will taste over time, and it is encouraged to let this sit for a bit.
You want the meat to be soft, tender, almost buttery in texture, and it will have an amazing aroma to this as well, especially the longer you keep this going for.
How can I make this less spicy?
This soup is meant to be spicy, but if you want to make it less, just use different levels of chili puree to adjust this. The different types of dried chiles does add to this, and it can make it taste smokier, or with more of a heat to it, and sometimes it’s a bit more savory. You can also pull the membrane out and the seeds within each of these before you soak it too.
What toppings can I use for this?
You can add toppings that’ll offer a counteraction to the heat and offers newfound freshness with every single bite.
Radish and sweet cabbage are good if you want to make this a little bit cooler, and if you want to add more green, then consider herbs.