Pozole (pronounced po-zo-lay) is my favorite Mexican stew. It can be made with either pork or chicken, and you can even make a vegetarian version using sprouted wheat berries. When our friend Rosie offered to teach me how to make it, I was so excited!
First we headed to the grocery store to pick up some maiz nixtamal, also known as hominy. This is corn that has been treated with a weak lye solution. This treatment increases the availability of nutrients from the corn and also makes it very tasty.
Start with the biggest stock pot that you own. First rinse the corn, then cover with water in a large pot and bring it to a boil. Then drain that water, add more to cover and bring to a boil again. Keep adding water to the pot and boiling for several hours, until the kernels are nice and tender and look fluffy.
From the carniceria (butcher shop) across the street, we picked up the following:
- a piece of kind of dried out pork skin – the same kind for making chicarrones. We asked for pork rinds without a lot of fat. Go figure.
- soup bones
- two pork ribs cut into pieces
- a nice hunk of pork leg, no bones, probably about a pound
This little piggy went to market
I threw it all in the pressure cooker and filled it about halfway with water, and cooked for 25 minutes. When the meat is finished cooking, make sure to pull out any hairs that were left on the pork skin – yum. Drain the corn and add it to the pork stew.
Then add the following chile and tomato mixture.
- Guajillo chiles, about 6 good sized ones. Pull out the stem and shake out the seeds, then cut into large pieces and soak in water. If you want to remove all spiciness, you can also remove the veins of the chiles.
- 3 or 4 plum tomatoes
Throw the chiles, their soaking water, and tomatoes in a blender with enough
Los ingredientes
water to blend and puree until completely smooth. Add this mixture to the corn and pork. Then add:
- A whole onion, with a cross cut in the bottom
- Cloves of garlic to taste
- Salt to taste
Bring it back to a boil for about 15-20 minutes to combine the flavors. At the VERY end of cooking, throw in a small handful of oregano and cook for 2 more minutes. Then turn off the heat. When dishing up the pozole, make sure each bowl has a good combination of corn, pork and broth.
Serve with small dishes of the following garnishes. The garnishes are very important and are what really make the pozole experience come together.
- Cabbage – sliced very thinly and treated with Microdyn
- Minced onion (and I mean tiny – Rosie re-chopped mine to be smaller!)
- Minced hot peppers – any kind will do: jalapenos, habaneros, etc. Use a plastic bag or a glove to protect your hand if using very spicy peppers.
- Sliced radishes
- Lime wedges (very important)
What is Microdyn, you ask? Since coming to Mexico, Microdyn is our new best friend for disinfecting vegetables that you intend to eat without cooking. It is an ionized silver microbiocide of 0.35% concentration.
A little help in the kitchen
I don’t know if this is bad for me to eat or not, but for the moment I’ll assume it is better than getting amoebas or diarrhea from salads. While this wonderful tool is cheap and available in every supermarket, not every cook uses it. We still avoid raw lettuce and cabbage in most restaurants unless they specifically tell us they’ve washed things carefully.
Buen provecho!
The pozole turned out delicious. I ate it for lunch, then dinner and breakfast the following day! It is a great food for hangovers, by the way. I can’t wait to try making it again in the states to see if I can get the same results.
~ Amy
Vagando 