Brian in the Kitchen Recipes
BRIAN IN THE KITCHEN brought to you by Stittsworth Meats
December 13 2017
Mexican Christmas Dinner - Pork and Chorizo Pozole
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds trimmed boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt Freshly ground pepper
1 large white onion, quartered
2 cloves
1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican, plus more for garnish
2 bay leaves
2 quarts beef broth
1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
4 plum tomatoes, halved
3 garlic cloves
1 ounce each of ancho and guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 pound fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed
Two 15-ounce cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
Thinly sliced radishes, chopped onion and cilantro and lime wedges, for serving
In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season the pork with salt and pepper, add to the casserole and cook over moderately high heat, stirring twice, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add 1 piece of the quartered onion, the cloves, the 1 tablespoon of oregano, the bay leaves and 6 cups of the beef broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderately low heat until the pork is tender, about 40 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.
Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet. In a large bowl, toss the tomatillos, tomatoes, garlic and remaining 3 pieces of onion with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Add the vegetables to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until blistered in spots, about 10 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a blender.
In the same skillet, toast the chiles over moderately high heat until slightly darkened, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of beef broth and bring to a simmer; cover the skillet, remove from the heat and let the chiles soften for 5 minutes. Add the chiles and broth to the blender with the vegetables and puree until smooth. Strain the vegetable-chile puree into a bowl. Wipe out the skillet.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet. Add the chorizo and cook over moderate heat, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chorizo, hominy and vegetable-chile puree to the casserole and bring the pozole to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish the pozole with radishes, onion, cilantro and oregano and serve with lime wedges.