Simple Pork Posole

By BobD

Mexican posole is typically a thick, hearty soup made with hominy (chewy dried corn kernels with the hull and germ removed). For his version, Ethan Stowell slow-simmers chunks of pork butt in water with onion and garlic to create a dish that's appealingly brothy. He likes to make it with chicharrones (fried pork rinds) and pig's feet, hard-to-find ingredients that are omitted in the recipe here. The array of fun, potently flavorful condiments—jalapeño, onion, cilantro and lime wedges—is key to the dish.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds pork butt, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
• 1 onion, quartered
• 10 cups water
• Two 28-ounce cans hominy, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• Chopped cilantro, chopped red onion, chopped jalapeño and lime wedges, for serving

Details

Servings 8
Cooking time 150mins
Adapted from foodandwine.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a large soup pot, bring the pork, garlic, onion and water to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until the pork is very tender, about 2 hours.

Transfer the pork to a large bowl. Strain the broth into the bowl; discard the garlic and onion. Return the pork and broth to the pot and skim any fat from the broth. Stir in the hominy, oregano and cayenne and season the broth with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Ladle the posole into bowls. Pass with the cilantro, red onion, jalapeño and lime wedges at the table.