THE POSOLE, COMPLETE

Odel proclaimed it the best pot of posole EVER!

Freshly cooked dried corn (hominy), went into…	… Posole, a stew of meat, hominy, chiles and spices.

Al and Kelly (The Bayfield Bunch) were invited for dinner, so I kept the heat on the mild side. We served the traditional accompaniments: shredded cabbage (put it in the bowl first, then ladle the steaming stew on top), chopped green onions, chopped radishes, and chopped cilantro.

Though it is an extra step, rehydrating and cooking the dried corn was worth the effort (though I would still use canned hominy in posole when I don’t have dried – which is just about always).  Thanks to the home-cooked hominy, the broth of the completed stew had that wonderful toasted corn flavor I associate with fresh corn tortillas – yummy. 

If you are interested in making a batch of posole, my recipe for posole in the Crockpot is in the recipe archive on the left side of the blog, easily adapted to a pot on the stove.  It is very mildly seasoned, so increase the seasoning if you like it hotter.   Use the best canned hominy your can find (I like Juanita’s, available in the Mexican section of major supermarkets); ditto for the green chiles.  When I used canned – which is most of the time – I use Hatch brand, and if you’ve ever been to Hatch, New Mexico, you know why!   I took the photo above in mid-September several years ago, as we drove down the main street of tiny Hatch.  It seemed as though every roof in town was used to dry the local product.