When Scott was on The Drive, he couldn’t resist showing his chef skills in the making of Pozole. If you care to try it another way…try this.
In a previous podcast, Scott Motschenbacher, executive chef at Oxbow Country Club.
He gave us his version of Pozole. Delicious. Listen to learn it the expert way by clicking
HERE
.
But, here’s another recipe I picked up from the internet:
Pozole is a super easy and amazingly tasty stew made with pork, dried chiles, and hominy. To some people, pozole is all about the garnishes. It is traditionally served with warm corn tortillos to help soak up the savory broth and topped with a variety of fresh, flavorful, and crunchy garnishes including:
- fresh cilantro leaves
- chopped green onion
- sliced or shredded radishes
- shredded green cabbage
You can buck with tradition and dress the shredded cabbage with a bit of lime juice and toasted cumin seeds, include chunks of avocado, or go crazy and treat the stew more like a chili and add cheese or sour cream to the mix too.
Yes, the whole thing requires a bit of time, but most of that time is just the pot on the stove or in the oven, with no work required by the chef. For extra flavor, ask the butcher for a pork shank or knuckle bone to add to the pot, too.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork shoulder or butt
- 3 cloves garlic
-
3 dried
r
ed Mexican chilis or other large, somewhat mild, dried red chilis - 2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
- 3 1/2 cups cooked hominy (2 cans, 15-ounces each)*
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
Steps to Make It
- Cut the pork into chunks. Most classic pozole recipes will have fairly big pieces, but if you prefer to cut it into bite-sized pieces, that works also. Decide what size you prefer and go with it. For extra flavor, include a few pieces of pork shank or knuckle bones in the mix.
- Put the pork in a large pot and cover with cool water. Bring to a boil. While the pork heats up, peel the garlic and remove the stem and seeds from the chilis. Skim off any foam that has formed in the pot. Add the garlic, chilis, and salt to the pork. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer, cover, and cook until the pork is fork-tender, about 90 minutes. You can also do this by putting the covered, oven-proof pot in a 350 F oven for the same amount of time. This allows you to be totally hands off.
-
Add the cooked or canned and drained hominy and
oregano
. Continue cooking at a simmer until the flavors blend and the pork is very tender, another hour. Add additional water to keep ingredients covered as necessary, returning the mixture to a boil and reducing back down to a simmer when needed.
- Taste the broth and add more salt as necessary. Serve the pozole in deep bowls and let everyone top their portion with garnishes as they like.
(Jack Sunday is a radio veteran with 50-years “behind the mike.” He likes to say he’s not old…just aging. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter @nodakjack. Listen weekdays, 4-6pm on KFGO.)
