PORK POSOLE (A MEXICAN PORK AND HOMINY SOUP)

Pork Posole (a Mexican pork and hominy soup) image

Posole is a rich and flavorful pork and hominy soup that has a mild chile broth. I decided to make it today, and wound up with one of the best soups I have ever made! The cooking is simple, yet it is packed with rich flavors that are not spicy at all. My (lucky) friend Chris showed up just as it was done, so of course I had to...

Provided by Michelle Tow

Time 3h5m

Number Of Ingredients 20

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Ingredients

PORK BROTH
1 family pack of bone-in pork chops (6 chops in mine)
1 onion, coarsly chopped
1 stalk of celery, coarsly chopped
2 qt water, more as needed if it evaporates too much
1 Tbsp mexican oregano
1 tsp salt
3 bay leaves
2 clove garlic, roughly chopped
2 30 oz cans of hominy
1 Tbsp lime or lemon juice
PEPPER SAUCE
1 pkg dried guajillo chiles (commonly sold in markets in the southwest)
4 clove garlic, whole
2-3 c water
pinch salt
TOPPING OPTIONS
sliced avocado
chopped cilantro
crushed lime flavored tortilla chips

Steps:

1. Pork and broth: put pork chops in a large pan and cover with water. toss in the onion, celery, garlic, boulion cubes, oregano and bay leaves and simmer for a few hours until they are tender enough to pull off the bone. remove the chops and cool on a plate. While the chops cool, pour the broth through a mesh strainer to remove and discard all the pieces of onion, celery and bay leaves, then return broth to the same pot. Remove the pork from the bones when cool and shred the meat by hand, returning to the pot. Drain and add 2 30 oz cans of hominy to the pot. Place on a low simmer.
2. Chile Sauce: Guajillo chiles are NOT spicy at all, but bring a wonderful and earthy flavor to this soup when added in this way. To make this sauce, bring garlic, 1 tsp salt, and the whole bag of chiles to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for about an hour. If the water boils down too much, add more water as necessary to keep the peppers covered. then turn off the heat to cool a little. When slightly cooled, put the peppers, garlic and about half of the sauce in a food processor and puree. After you add the pork back to the pork broth, put a strainer over the pot and pour the pureed chile mix into the strainer and push it through with a rubber spatula. You are removing the bits of skin and seeds that remain, and the puree of chile will drop through into the soup. If there is additional liquid from the boiled chiles pour this through as well so that the flavors are not lost ... this is filled with wonderful flavor that should not be lost!
3. after the chile sauce is added, simmer the soup for about a half hour. 5 minutes before serving, add a tablespoon of lemon or lime juice to the pot, taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary.
4. Spoon into a bowl and serve. Put the toppings in bowls/plates on the table, and let your guests use the toppings as they please.