Ancient stew, modern style: Making posole your own
In pursuit of posole
By Kristen Browning-Blas
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/27/2010
Posole seems to be one of those dishes that requires special ingredients - pig's feet, a certain dried chile, the advice of an abuelita - to achieve authentic flavor.
But if you don't happen to have hog parts, guajillo peppers or a Mexican grandma, you can still make an authentic posole. Turns out posole - the hominy-based stew - is one of those folkloric dishes that follows very few rules and takes on the character of the cook.
"I make it with pork. Or beef. Or chicken. If you have bacon, you can add bacon, whatever you want," says Maria Salas, whose 30 grandkids qualify her as an abuela de verdad (a real grandmother).
Now retired, Salas taught Mexican cooking classes at the Northside Aztlan Center in Fort Collins, and enjoys chatting about recipes with her physical therapist, Krista Rudolph, and other patients at the Orthopedic Center of the Rockies.
It's one of those dishes that gets cooks talking, comparing notes on spices and cooking methods. Rudolph lived in Roswell, N.M., for six years, where she learned to make a practical version of the stew, using canned posole, enchilada sauce and chicken stock in the crockpot.
Salas thinks that's just fine. But the dried posole does have more flavor, she says. "It's more work, just like with beans." Planning, overnight soaking and a pressure cooker make it do-able.
Sticklers for authenticity like Diana Kennedy ("The Cuisines of Mexico") and Rick Bayless ("Mexico: One Plate at a Time") will guide you through posole's rather complicated process and ingredient list.
One of Kennedy's recipes begins: "Two days ahead, put one pound whole corn kernels into an earthenware pot and cover it with water . . ."
If she didn't lose you at "two days ahead," and you make it through to " 1/2 pig's head," you will be halfway to the type of posole served in Jalisco, where they top it with minced onion, sliced radishes and shredded lettuce.
Mexican cooking expert Bayless calls it "rib-sticking fiesta food . . . the succulent pork and the meaty kernels of hominy cooked from dried corn, prodded awake by pungent Mexican oregano, crunchy raw radish and cabbage and piercing lime and red chile."
It's that combination of textures that makes posole - essentially a humble stew - so interesting to cook and to savor.
We tested canned hominy and dried-soaked-cooked posole. Simmered vs. pressure-cooked. Packets from Los Chileros against bulk posole from a Mexican market.
While Salas gives her blessing to use canned, we agreed with her that the dried posole is more flavorful. It's a 24-hour process that starts with soaking the posole overnight, then cooking it for two to three hours on the stove, or about an hour and a half in a pressure cooker.
Results: The bulk posole tasted the "corniest," with an earthy sweetness. The pressure cooker makes everything more tender.
Using canned posole allows you to skip all that and get straight to the fun of deciding how to flavor the puffed kernels. The least complicated way is to serve the prepared posole with a sauce ladled over it.
Or just cook it with a little chile powder and whatever meat you have on hand, says Salas. "If you don't like onions, don't use them, or use powder. You like garlic, put garlic in it."
She seasons her posole with chile rojo, cumin and oregano.
"Then, you can eat it with galletas - crackers - or tortillas," she says.
According to this abuelita, you can't go wrong, no matter how you make it.
Kristen Browning-Blas: 303-954-1440 or
[email protected].
Know your corn
POSOLE Stew made with dried hominy (corn). The Spanish word comes from the Aztec language Nahuatl, "pozolli," or "foamy," from the cooked corn's bubbly appearance. "Posole" is often used to refer to the dried corn itself.
NIXTAMAL Another Nahuatl-Spanish word, from the process used to treat the dried corn with an alkaline solution that makes it more digestible and nutritious. Dried again, nixtamal is usually labelled "posole" or "maiz para posole." Ground into a wet paste, it is called masa for tamales or corn tortillas.
HOMINY Dried corn treated with an alkaline solution to make it more digestible and nutritious. Usually sold in cans.
MAIZ PARA POSOLE "Corn for posole."
CHICOS Small dried corn kernels.
Kristen Browning-Blas
Explore more on posole
"Simply Simpatico, A Taste of Mexico from the Junior League of Albuquerque"
"The Cuisines of Mexico," by Diana Kennedy
"From My Mexican Kitchen," by Diana Kennedy
"Mexico One Plate at a Time," by Rick Bayless
"Body, Mind & Spirit: Native Cooking of the Americas," by Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs
Posole
Grocery stores carry Los Chileros brand white corn posole in 12-ounce bags for $2.69. Mexican markets often carry dried maiz para posole in bulk, around $5 for 3 pounds.
Ingredients
2 cups dried posole
6 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
Directions
In a large glass bowl, cover posole with water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse.
Place posole in a large Dutch oven or pressure cooker. Add at least 6 cups water, and salt. Bring to a boil. If using a Dutch oven, simmer 3 hours. For a pressure cooker, seal, pressurize, and cook 1 hour. De-pressurize pot, check posole. If it's still hard, return to a boil, reseal and cook another half-hour.
Drain and rinse. The kernels won't necessarily open up like popcorn, but the posole is now ready to add to stews or to serve with a sauce, or to freeze for later use. Keeps three days, refrigerated, or about three months frozen.
Red Posole With Pork
If you use canned posole, this recipe works fine in a large Dutch oven on the stove. If you are using dried, soaked posole, a pressure cooker will help tenderize the kernels. For vegetarians: Substitute chopped mushrooms for pork, use vegetable stock in place of chicken. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil or bacon fat
1 large onion, chopped
1 Fresno (or other red) chile pepper
1 pound cubed pork
1 tablespoon Spanish smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons toasted ground cumin
1/4 cup dried, ground chile rojo, mild, medium or hot (not chili powder)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup beer
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 quarts chicken stock
About 2 cups dried posole, rinsed, soaked overnight and pre-cooked, or 1 29-ounce can Mexican-style hominy
GARNISHES
Chopped cilantro
Sliced radishes
Shredded cabbage
Shredded cotija (or other hard) cheese
Sour cream
Directions
In a large Dutch oven, heat oil to medium high. Add onion and chile pepper, saute until onions are golden. Add pork, paprika, oregano, cumin and ground chile, salt and pepper, cook until pork is browned. Add garlic, cook a minute more, then add flour. Cook, stirring, until flour has turned golden. Pour in beer, simmer a couple of minutes, scraping any brown bits from bottom of pan. Add tomatoes, chicken stock and posole.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer at least one hour (up to four).
If using a pressure cooker, bring to a boil, seal and cook about 1 hour. The pork will be very tender and easy to shred.
Serve with assorted garnishes.
Green Posole with Chicken
If you use canned posole, this recipe works fine in a large Dutch oven on the stove. If you are using dried, soaked posole, a pressure cooker will help tenderize the kernels. It's also good with beef or pork, or tofu or mushrooms. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil,vegetable oil or bacon fat
1 large onion, chopped
1 jalapeño (or other green) chile pepper, chopped
1 pound chicken, cut into 2-inch strips
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon toasted ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 cups chopped roasted, seeded green chiles (about 6-8, or as many as you like)
3 tablespoons flour
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
Juice of 1/2 lime
About 2 cups dried posole, rinsed, soaked overnight and precooked, or 1 29-ounce can Mexican-style hominy
GARNISHES
Chopped cilantro
Sliced radishes
Shredded cabbage
Shredded Cotija (or other hard) cheese
Sour cream
Lime wedges
Directions
In a large Dutch oven, heat oil to medium high. Add onion and jalapeño, saute until golden. Add chicken, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper, cook chicken through.
Remove chicken and shred using two forks to pull apart. Return to pot, add garlic and green chiles, cook a minute more, then add flour. Cook, stirring, until flour has turned golden. Add tomatoes with their liquid, chicken stock, lime juice and posole. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer at least one hour (up to four).
If using a pressure cooker, bring to a boil, seal and cook about 1 hour. Chicken will be very tender and shred-able.
Serve with assorted garnishes.
