An Inspired Cook

Traditional New Mexico Posole is a rich hearty stew made from red chiles, pork and dried corn also known as hominy.  Most New Mexicans have a bowl of posole and tamales during the holidays between Christmas and New Years.  I will miss being in NM for the holidays, seeing the lighted luminarias and the aroma of chile in the air which is breathtaking this time of year.  But I won’t miss out on having a comforting bowl of posole with a pork tamale.  This year I made a more traditional red chile posole and it was so good, it reminded me of home.  Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

I am using some Ancho and Guajillo chiles for the sauce and also to grind for seasoning.  Also an onion, garlic cloves and salt.

Take 10 – 12 dried chiles (I have about 10 pods of ancho and guajillo) and add to a pot filled with enough water to cover the chiles.  Bring the pot just to a simmer, then turn off the heat, cover the pot and let steep for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  I removed the stems but left the seeds, it will preserve some of the heat and the seeds will be strained later.

For the pot, I have a 2 1/2  pound pork tenderloin.  You can use a shoulder or pork butt roast, whatever you have on hand.  Also I am including a whole onion, 2 cloves garlic, some ground ancho chile, smoked paprika, Mexican oregano, coriander, salt and pepper plus a box of chicken stock.

Mix the spices together and sprinkle over the meat.  Mix it in so that the pork is covered in the spice mix.

Heat a dutch oven with a drizzle of olive oil and add the pork to sear.

When the pork has begun to brown, add in the grated garlic and stir the pot.

Add in the box of chicken stock and stir the pot to pick up any crusted tasty bits on the bottom of the pot.

Add the quartered onion.  Once the onion has cooked, I will fish it out of the pot and add it to the red chile sauce. Bring the stew just to a boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover the pot and let simmer for 2 – 3 hours.

The red chiles are now sufficiently soaked and soft.  Remove the chiles from the reserved water and place in a blender. Add 2 cups of the reserved chile water to the blender and puree.

The sauce will be thick, strain the sauce into a large bowl.

The seeds and skin have been strained to leave a beautiful thick red sauce.

Once the stew has simmered for a few hours, remove the quartered onion pieces and place in the blender.  Add the strained chile sauce back and puree.  Salt to taste.

The stew has been simmering for a few hours on the stove and the meat is so tender.  There’s a lot of flavor already in the pot but we’re going to add some more.

Add the pureed chile sauce back into the pot and stir.  I love the vibrant red going on here!

Last comes the hominy, drain 2 cans and add to the pot .

Time to taste!

Fill your bowl and enjoy with a tortilla or tamale.





New Mexico Red Chile Posole

Seasoning Mix

2 tablespoons Ancho Chile, ground
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
1 teaspoon Smoked Spanish Paprika
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Coriander

2 1/2 pounds Pork Tenderloin, (cut into 1 inch cubes) you may substitute Pork Butt or Pork Shoulder Roast
1 large Onion, quartered
2 cloves Garlic, grated fine on a microplane hand grater
1 (32 ounce) box of Chicken Stock
2 cans Hominy, drained
10 – 12 dried Red Chile, such as Ancho, Guajillo, NM Hatch Red Chile
4 cups Water or more to cover chiles
Salt to taste
Olive Oil
Stem the dried chiles and set in a pot and cover with water.  Heat water to a simmer, turn off the burner, cover the pot and let chiles steep for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Combine the seasoning mix ingredients and sprinkle over cubed pork.  Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat and drizzle with olive oil.  Drop the cubed seasoned pork into the dutch oven and sear.  Stir the pot to sear the pork on all sides.  Add the grated garlic and stir a minute more.  Pour in the box of stock and add the quartered onion and bring just to a boil.  Cover the pot with a lid, turn down the heat to low and cook for 2 – 3 hours.

Remove the chiles from the water and place in a blender.  Pour about 2 cups of the reserved water over the chiles and puree.  The mixture should be thick and vibrant red in color.  **If the sauce is too thick, add a little more of the reserved water.  If too thin, blend in a tablespoon of flour.  Strain the pureed chiles, then pour the sauce back into the blender.

Remove the cooked onion pieces from the stew and place in the blender along with the strained chile sauce.  Puree the mixture and salt to taste.  Add the red chile sauce and cans of hominy to the stew and stir the pot.

Serve with tortillas or tamales.

Makes 8 servings