Every culture has its' bubbling pot of comfort food.....stews, cassoulets, and so on. In Mexico that's posole, a flavor-rich dish based on pork and hominy. But posole is all about the add-on toppings. Diced avocado, shredded cabbage or jicama, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, chopped red onion, jalapeno slices, even a very non-traditional handful of broken fritos.....thin radish slices are common, too. I have never been able to re-create a red posole as good as one I enjoyed at a Mexican beach somewhere near Tijuana long ago. We feasted on posole, avocado salads and grilled lobsters, and a margarita or three may have altered my memory, but whatever..... this version is as acceptably close as I will ever get to that flavor. Like most braised, or stew-type dishes, it's wonderful/better the next day. It's not labor-intensive to prepare, it just needs to cook very slowly for hours, so get an early start or plan to serve it the next day. I think the excessive condensation created doing the 'long, slow' part in a crockpot would dilute the broth too much, but it would come in handy to not be house-bound all afternoon, keeping an eye on the stove. If you experiment with a crockpot, I'd reduce the water to 1 cup.
The first step is to make hot sauce..yep, 'real' hot sauce. And no, you can't use your favorite bottled brand. Won't work. This is an authentic recipe. Not to worry about hot sauce, you can control the heat level in this dish - more about that later. If you ever need a really large quantity of hot sauce, save yourself a fortune by making it yourself, for pennies.
Break the stems off 3/4 c. dried chilies de arbol and 4-5 dried ancho chilies and shake out as many seeds as possible. You'll find them in cello bags in the produce section of the market. The arbol chilies are slender red ones and you'll need to slice them open to get the seeds out. The ancho chiies are much larger and darker, and you'll need to cut out the core end of the stem to make an opening for the many seeds to come spilling out. It's easy, but wear gloves or be cautious about the heat of the seeds and touching your face afterward. Put all the dried chilies in a bowl and cover with at least 2 cups boiling water, weighted down with a plate so they stay submerged. I just use the small pan I boiled the water in. Soak til soft, about 30 minutes. Transfer 1 1/2 c of the water and all the chilies to a blender and blend til smooth with 2 cloves of smashed garlic and 1/2 tsp salt. Drain and push it through a fine sieve or sifter with a rubber spatula. Discard the pulp that's left in the sifter, and be glad you got most of those seeds out earlier. Congratulations - You've just made hot sauce. Not to worry though, you will control the amount of heat in the finished dish. There are no tomatoes in posole, this sauce is where it gets it's red color, and the deep flavor of the sauce is what makes the dish.
Mix 2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp salt. Rub both sides of about 2 lbs trimmed boneless pork shoulder. Loin is just too lean. Use pork steaks if you can't find a shoulder. Heat 2 TB veg oil in a large dutch oven and cook 1 chopped white onion, in the oil over medium heat about 5 minutes. Add 4 diced cloves of garlic and cook 3 minutes. Push those aside and raise heat to medium high. Sear the pork on all sides until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Taste the chile sauce made earlier, to see what your level of spice/hot is. Add somewhere between 1/2 to 1 cup to the pot, along with 2 cups of water, 8 c. low-sodium chicken broth, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 large bay leaf, 1 TB dried oregano (Mexican if available). Bring to a low boil, then cover and reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours. I don't like "HOT" at all, and I use a full cup. Serve extra sauce for those who do like it hot, they can add it at the table.
Add 45 ounces ( pre-drained weight) drained canned white hominy to the pork. Simmer another hour, uncovered. By then the pork should be exceptionally tender. Lift it with a slotted spoon onto a cutting board or flat pan with an edge, roughly chop and return it to the pan. If it is too thick add a little more broth or water.
Put the toppings mentioned in the first paragraph in bowls and let people choose their own at the table. I am guilty of adding a plop of sour cream, which is even more renegade than crushed fritos! Very inauthentic. But tasty!
Pretend you are perched on a Mexican cliff high over the brilliant turquoise Sea of Cortez, and enjoy!
