EASY POSOLE STEW
Flavors intensify with longer cooking time – I like to leave it on low overnight in a crock-pot.
Flavors intensify with longer cooking time – I like to leave it on low overnight in a crock-pot.
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups leftover ham cut into 1-inch pieces
- 6 cups broth (canned chicken or homemade ham broth)
- 4 cans posole (white hominy drained)
- 6 large green chilies seeded and diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin (more if desired)
- 2 carrots chopped
- 4 large plum tomatoes chopped
- 4 ounces fresh green beans cut into 2-inch lengths
- Carbohydrate 10.50487 g
- Cholesterol 66.505 mg
- Fat 50.8216275 g
- Fiber 3.05662506771088 g
- Protein 9.5852275 g
- Saturated Fat 18.39093175 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (399g)
- Sodium 860.827 mg
- Sugar 7.44824493228912 g
- Trans Fat 4.5055745 g
- Calories 533 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring broth and pork to boil in large pot. Add cumin and diced chilies - return to low boil.
- Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add garlic cloves, onion, carrots, tomatoes, and green beans; sauté 5 minutes.
- Mix veggies into posole stew and let simmer for at least an hour (till tender).
- Add white hominy near end of cooking time since it is already tender.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper; add dashes of hot pepper sauce if desired.
- Ladle stew into bowls.
- Serve with garnishes: roasted chilies, pico de gallo or salsa, tortilla chips, shredded cheese, lime wedges, sour cream.
Unlike a standard chicken soup that relies on a rapid boil to extract flavor from raw poultry, posole requires a gentler approach centered on simmering already-cooked meats and sturdy hominy. Adapting this recipe for smaller or larger groups involves more than simply multiplying numbers by two. Starch absorption rates and liquid evaporation curves change when you alter pot dimensions, requiring careful attention to maintain the proper balance of broth to solid ingredients.
- When halving the recipe, reduce the total cooking liquid by slightly more than half, as a smaller volume reduces faster in a standard five-quart Dutch oven over a medium flame.
- Double batches demand a heavy-bottomed stockpot with at least a twelve-quart capacity to ensure the heat distributes evenly without scorching the bottom layer of hominy.
- Add ground cumin directly into the hot fat during the vegetable saute step rather than the liquid to release fat-soluble aromatic compounds before combining everything.
- Incorporate canned hominy during the final twenty minutes of simmering so the kernels absorb flavors without disintegrating into the broth.
- Store leftovers in an airtight glass container for up to four days in the refrigerator, noting that the starch from the hominy will continue to thicken the liquid as it chills.
Reheating refrigerated portions requires adding a splash of chicken broth or water to restore the initial consistency since starches bind liquid during cold storage. Extended refrigeration allows the green chilies and cumin to fully permeate the pork and vegetables, resulting in a more integrated flavor profile on day two.
