Red Pork Posole With Pickled Onions And Queso Fresco Recipes

PORK POSOLE

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a medium (11-inch) pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium-high heat. Add the pork and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned on all sides. Transfer the pork and any liquid to a bowl and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the pot, add the onions, and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the poblano and bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, chili powder, and oregano and cook for one minute. Return the pork and its juices to the pot.
• Add the chicken stock and salsa verde and bring to a simmer. Stir in the hominy, black beans, corn chips, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 teaspoon salt, depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock and the chips.
• To serve, ladle the posole into large soup bowls. Garnish with a squeeze of lime and top with avocado, scallions, radishes, tortilla chips, Cheddar, and sour cream. Serve hot.

RED POSOLE WITH PORK

Steps:

• Place pork shoulder, onion halves, garlic, bay leaf, and cloves in a large pot. Pour in 14 cups water (pork should be submerged). Bring to a simmer and cook, skimming as needed and turning pork occasionally, until meat is cooked through and tender but not yet falling apart, 2 1/2-3 hours. Transfer pork to a plate; let cool slightly. Strain broth into a large bowl, then transfer back to pot. Slice pork into 1/2" slices and add to broth.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Toast all the chiles on a rimmed baking sheet until brown (do not char) and starting to lightly puff in places, about 5 minutes. Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan; add chiles. Remove from heat and let chiles soak until softened, 10-12 minutes. Blend chiles and cooking liquid in a blender until smooth; season with salt.
• Add chile purée to pork and broth. Bring to a simmer, add hominy, and cook, skimming off fat from surface, until pork is so tender it's nearly falling apart, 45-60 minutes; season with more salt.
• Divide posole among bowls, top with onion, cabbage, radishes, and oregano. Serve with lime wedges.
• Do Ahead
• Posole can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

RED POZOLE

Steps:

• Place pork shoulder in the refrigerator. Transfer pork shanks and feet into a large pot on the stove. Add onion, carrot, and celery, salt, pepper, cumin, and bay leaves. Pour in 3 quarts water. Turn heat to high and bring to a simmer.
• Skim foam from the surface and add Mexican oregano, rubbing it between your hands as you drop it into the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently until pork is tender and will easily come off the bone, about 3 ½ hours.
• While the pork is simmering, place unpeeled garlic cloves in a dry pan over medium heat. Roast the cloves, shaking the pan occasionally over the heat, until slightly charred on the outside and just starting to get soft on the inside. Remove from the heat and transfer into a bowl to cool.
• Place guajillo and ancho chile peppers into a 4-cup liquid measuring cup and set a strainer over the top. Ladle some simmering broth from the pot into the strainer until chiles are covered. Let soak until the pork is finished simmering.
• When pork is finished cooking, set a strainer over a large bowl. Remove pork and vegetables with a slotted spoon and place in the strainer.
• Meanwhile, peel the cooled garlic cloves and add them to the chile pepper and broth mixture. Puree chile mixture with an immersion blender until smooth.
• Pass pureed chiles through a strainer into the pot of broth. Add a spoonful or two of the broth to the pureed chiles to help it pass through the strainer if needed. Pour the remaining 1 quart of water through the strainer, then add the pork shoulder to the pot. Simmer over medium-low heat.
• While the pork shoulder simmers, remove bones from pork shanks, then cut shanks and feet into smaller pieces.
• Once the pork shoulder has simmered for 1 ½ hours, add diced shanks and feet to the pot. Stir in hominy and continue to simmer until pork is very tender, about 1 more hour. Skim any fat from the surface as it cooks and season with more salt if needed.