New Mexican Pork Stew (Posole)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 26, 2011
Time
2¾ to 3¼ hours
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Don't use store-bought chile powder. Dried ancho chiles make all the difference. Dried chiles can vary greatly in size, which is why we're calling for a weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, 3/4 ounce of ancho chiles is approximately one and one-half chiles. Serve the posole with sliced radishes and green cabbage, chopped avocado, hot sauce, and lime wedges.
Instructions
- PREPARE CHILES Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chiles on baking sheet and bake until puffed and -fragrant, about 6 minutes. When chiles are cool enough to handle, remove stems and seeds. Combine chiles and 1 cup broth in medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until bubbling, about 2 minutes. Let stand until softened, 10 to 15 minutes.
- BROWN PORK Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook pork until well browned all over, about 10 minutes. Transfer pork to plate. Add hominy to now-empty pot and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and hominy begins to darken, 2 to 3 -minutes. Transfer hominy to medium bowl.
- SIMMER BROTH Heat remaining oil in now-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Puree onion mixture with softened chile mixture in blender. Combine remaining broth, pureed onion-chile mixture, pork, oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in now-empty pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until meat is tender, 1 to 1½ hours.
- FINISH STEW Transfer pork to clean plate. Add hominy to pot and simmer, covered, until tender, about 30 minutes. Skim fat from broth. When meat is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding fat. Return pork to pot and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Off heat, add lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. (Posole can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.)
Time
2¾ to 3¼ hoursYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Posole (also spelled "pozole") is a beloved Mexican stew that has become a favorite in New Mexico as well. This recipe is our version of New Mexican-style posole. Tasters preferred boneless country-style pork ribs in our stew to shoulder, loin, stewing pork, and baby back ribs. Replacing chili powder with dried ancho chiles—toasted in the oven rather than on the stovetop—gave the stew ample depth. Switching from water to chicken broth added both flavor and body to our stew, while browning the pork before adding it to the pot enhanced the flavor of both the meat and the broth. Hominy—dried corn that’s been soaked in lye to remove its skin—proved essential in our posole, since it is the key ingredient in traditional posole. Toasting the hominy in the rendered pork fat made it sweet, toasty, and chewy.
Before You Begin
Don't use store-bought chile powder. Dried ancho chiles make all the difference. Dried chiles can vary greatly in size, which is why we're calling for a weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, 3/4 ounce of ancho chiles is approximately one and one-half chiles. Serve the posole with sliced radishes and green cabbage, chopped avocado, hot sauce, and lime wedges.
Instructions
- PREPARE CHILES Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chiles on baking sheet and bake until puffed and -fragrant, about 6 minutes. When chiles are cool enough to handle, remove stems and seeds. Combine chiles and 1 cup broth in medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until bubbling, about 2 minutes. Let stand until softened, 10 to 15 minutes.
- BROWN PORK Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook pork until well browned all over, about 10 minutes. Transfer pork to plate. Add hominy to now-empty pot and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and hominy begins to darken, 2 to 3 -minutes. Transfer hominy to medium bowl.
- SIMMER BROTH Heat remaining oil in now-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Puree onion mixture with softened chile mixture in blender. Combine remaining broth, pureed onion-chile mixture, pork, oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in now-empty pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until meat is tender, 1 to 1½ hours.
- FINISH STEW Transfer pork to clean plate. Add hominy to pot and simmer, covered, until tender, about 30 minutes. Skim fat from broth. When meat is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding fat. Return pork to pot and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Off heat, add lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. (Posole can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.)
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