Posole Rojo (Pork and Hominy Stew) - Corn Recipes | Anson Mills - Artisan Mill Goods

Step 1

Day one: Combine all the garlic except the 4 reserved cloves, 3 of the 4 onion quarters, the pork, bay, peppercorns, and ¾ teaspoon salt in a large Dutch oven. Cover with the stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the pork is fork tender, about 3 hours. Remove from the heat and cool the pork in the broth for 1 hour, then transfer it to a large plate. Strain the broth through a chinois or fine-mesh strainer set over a large heatproof bowl (do not press on the solids in the strainer), and refrigerate it overnight. When the pork is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-size pieces, discarding the fat, gristle, and bone. You should have just over 1¼ pounds of meat. Place it in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. Day two: Bring the water to a boil in a teakettle. When it boils, turn off the heat. If the chiles appear dusty, wipe them clean with a damp paper towel. Heat a comal or medium cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat until hot, about 3 minutes. Add a few of the chiles and toast them on both sides, using tongs to lightly press them against the surface of the pan, until fragrant and ever-so-slightly darkened, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not allow the chiles to blacken or char or they may taste bitter. Pull the tops off the toasted chiles to remove the stems, shake out the seeds, and toss the chiles into a medium heatproof bowl. Toast and seed the remaining chiles in the same fashion. Pour the hot water over the chiles, place a small plate on top of them to keep them fully submerged, and let stand until softened and plump, about 30 minutes. Remove the chiles from the water; pour the water through a fine-mesh strainer and reserve. Coarsely chop the remaining 4 garlic cloves and add them to a blender along with the softened chiles, the remaining onion quarter, the cumin, and ¾ cup of the chile soaking water. Purée until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed and adding up to ¼ cup more of the chile water to obtain a smooth texture. Pour the purée through a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl to remove bits of skin and seeds; work the mixture back and forth with a rubber spatula to force it through. Scrape the bottom of the sieve occasionally to remove the purée that is clinging to it. Spoon off the fat from the surface of the chilled pork broth; add 2 or 3 tablespoons of this fat to a large Dutch oven and discard the rest. Heat the fat over medium heat until shimmering. Pour the strained chile purée into the pot, and cook to lock fresh garlic flavors into the paste, stirring frequently, until the paste is slightly thickened and has darkened in color, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, the shredded pork, and the hominy and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes. Add the crushed tortilla chips, orange juice, the clove-studded orange half, and adobo sauce, if using, and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, to blend the flavors, about 20 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning, then remove and discard the orange half. Ladle the stew into bowls and serve, passing the garnishes separately.