Simpler Posole, Navajo (Hominy Pork Stew)

bshemyshua's Note:

There are several Posole recipes here, and this particular Navajo Posole can be found 2 or 3 places on the net as well as in Spirit of the Harvest: North American Indian Cooking. But me and my family have enjoyed this recipe so much that I wanted to be able to share this with others on RecipeZaar. We usually serve this with white flour tortilias. Hope you enjoy this as much as we do. As a note we use canned hominy since blue dried posole(dried whole hominy) is not easily available to us. We have also easily adapted this to a crockpot. This recipe is from Marilyn Yazzie, Navajo, Tsenjikini (honeycombed rock) mother's clan, Tachiinnii (Red runs into the water) Father's clan. She favors using only fresh chiles, and likes it hot. She uses lean pork and no salt, for health reasons. If you're not so sure about fiery southwestern foods, use only 1 jalapeno, or use only mild green chiles, instead of jalapenos.Prep time varies depending on whether or not dried hominy is used.

• Total Time: 5 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 2 cups blue driedposole (dried whole hominy) or 8 cups hominy or 3 lbs frozen hominy
• ½ cup mild fresh green chilies, roasted, peeled and chopped or ½ cup canned chile
• 1 -3 fresh or canned jalapeno , peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 onion , chopped
• 1 -2 tomatoes, seeded, and chopped (1 cup) or 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 -3 lbs boneless pork roast
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
• salt

Directions:

1. Rinse posole in cold water until water runs clear.Soak for several hours or overnight in cold water.
2. Place posole with water to cover in large heavy covered pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer covered, till posole pops, about 1 hour. If using canned hominy or frozen hominy ,omit these steps.
3. Roast the peppers(if fresh)in a paper bag in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, remove, cool and slip skins off easily,chop.
4. Add everything but herbs and salt to Dutch Oven or crockpot and simmer 4 hours or set crockpot on high 4 hours.
5. Remove meat, shred, return to pot, add herbs and salt to taste.
6. Simmer, covered, 1 more hour.
7. Serve as stew or do as we do and spoon on to tortilias and roll up folding one end under burrito style.

Reviews

[Chef #1092552]

I thought this recipe was out of sight good. I used canned hominy, a can of chilis and tomatoes, and less pork. Threw it all in the crockpot while I spent the day canning. Oh my goodness-delicious. I did not have a problem with the liquid, maybe because I used canned hominy, but I did drain and rinse it. Will be added to our favorites.

[fluffernutter]

We used canned hominy and a leftover smoked pork butt. The fresh tomatoes and peppers and good-quality oregano really made the taste. Like the previous cook's comment indicated, I also needed some liquid to prevent sticking and burning.

[GaylaJ]

This was delicious, and I enjoyed the simple preparation. I used dried blue posole and a 3-pound pork loin roast. When I added the shredded meat back to the pot, I also added a can of chicken broth, as it seemed to need more liquid; I waited until right before serving to stir in the fresh cilantro. We ate it first as a stew with Deluxe Corn Muffins, then had leftovers, burrito-style, in Corn Tortillas. It does make a lot, and I have frozen some to look forward to later. Thank you for sharing your recipe!