Pozole Rojo

By gnikylime

A combination of
http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/pozole-rojo
and
http://littleferrarokitchen.com/2013/10/pozole-rojo-mexican-stew-pork-hominy/

Better after a couple of days.

Ingredients

• Broth
• 3-1/2 pounds pork shanks [1.6 kg Eisbein], cut into 1-inch-thick pieces (ask your butcher to do this for you)
• 1-1/2 pounds fresh pork trotters [680 g. Spitzbein] (yep, pigs’ feet), cut in half lengthwise (ask your butcher, with whom you are becoming close friends)
• 1-1/2 pounds bone-in pork shoulder [680 g. Schweinekamm] (also called butt—go figure), cut into 3 or 4 large pieces (by, you guessed it, your butcher, whom by now you have invited to your pozole dinner because it’s just the right thing to do)
• Salt
• 1 large white onion, cut into eighths
• 1 head garlic, cloves broken apart, peeled, and halved
• 3 bay leaves
• Chili Sauce
• 1 199 g. can chipotles in adobo
• 2 T. chile de arbol or piquin powder
• 1 T. achiote powder
• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves
• Few sprigs of fresh oregano
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• 1/2 c. water (plus more if needed)
• 2 19oz cans hominy, drained and rinsed
• Garnishes
• Cabbage, sliced
• Tortilla chips
• Avocado
• Lime
• Radishes, sliced
• Fresh oregano and/or cilantro
• Queso fresco [or Speisequark]

Preparation

Step 1

1. Place all the meats in a large pot, cover with 4 quarts of water, add 2 tablespoons salt, and bring to a boil. Skim off the grayish foam that rises during the next few minutes, then add the onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Partially cover the pot and simmer over medium-low heat until all the meat is tender, about 2 hours. Remove the meat from the broth and let cool. Or, if time allows, cool the meat in the broth for the best flavor and texture. Remove onion, garlic, and bay leaf and discard.

2. Skim the fat from the broth (you should have 2 generous quarts of broth). Pull off the meat from the pork shanks and pull the shoulder meat into large shreds. Cut the bones and knuckles out of the trotters and discard, then chop what remains into 1/2-inch pieces. Add to the shredded meat (there will be about 6 cups of meat in all). Cover and refrigerate if not serving within an hour.

3. Add chipotles (roughly chopped) with adobo, chile de arbol or piquin powder, achiote powder, 1 onion (roughly chopped) , 6 garlic cloves, few sprigs of fresh oregano, drizzle of olive oil and about 1/2 cup of water to your blender (or food processor). You may need more water depending on consistency. Blend everything together until it is all pureed.

4. Add the pureed chile sauce to pork stock and stir through. Add hominy and cubed pork. Taste for seasoning. Bring soup to a gentle simmer and allow to continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes or more.