My Peeps Love Posole !

Many of my friends have requested this hominy and pork stew recipe and I have written it out so many times, I thought I would share it here for easy access. I like to serve Posole when camping because it can be made at home, reheats wonderfully and is a welcome change from the obligatory chili around the campfire. I make mine with wild hog meat but regular pork butt works fine too.

I grew up traveling to Mexico and one of my favorite street foods was Posole. There is nothing like it late night if you are a little tipsy and starving to death. There are areas in Mexico that have a designated Posole day at their permanent restaurants or temporary street booths. In the big cities, it is traditionally served on the weekends. Here in Texas, you will find it on many taqueria menus. It is also a popular on special occasions such as New Year's Eve (thought to bring luck and prosperity just like black eyed peas).

Posole gets its name from a variety of large kerneled corn soaked in lime to remove the tough skin. Here in Texas, hominy, is substituted. There are three different colors of broth red, white and green derived from the chilies used. My broth has a lovely green tint not necessarily from the chilies but for the tomatillo and cilantro broth that I like to cook down.

The most important technique for Posole is to layer the flavors. You can't be in a hurry, so plan to do this on a day off. The roasting of the meat is another key to success.

Cooking tip:I use yogurt to tenderize the pork meat (in my case, wild hog meat). Indian Tandori meat is always so tender and moist because of its yogurt based marinade. Unlike other acidic marinades (wine, citrus, vinegar etc.) yogurt tenderizes without changing the texture of the meat. I like to rub all the meat down with a combination of chili powders and a bit of sea salt. After seasoning the meat, slather it with yogurt and marinate in the refrigerator anywhere from 6 to 24 hours.

Cooking tip: If you are planning to use a pork butt, I like to slow roast the meat in a very heavy Dutch oven. Place 2 quartered yellow onions in bottom of pan and then place 8 to 10 peeled garlic cloves on onions. Layer the meat over the top and cook covered on low heat 250 to 280 oven until fork tender, anywhere from 4 to 6 hours.





Buen Provecho!