Just the picture of the finished soup, garnished with Cabbage and Cilantro, along with the recipe. Short and Sweet...JJ
View attachment 516066
Pozole Rojo
Stock/Broth
3-4Lbs Chicken on the Bone or 3-4Lbs Pork Country Style Ribs, plus 2 pounds, total, Trotters and/or Fresh Hocks. These are Optional but add a Rich Mouthfeel from the extra Gelatin.
1Lrg Onion (8oz), Rough Chopped
1Lrg Rib Celery, Rough Chopped
1Lrg Carrot, Rough Chopped
3ea Whole Cloves Garlic
2ea Sprigs Thyme
1ea Bayleaf
6ea Stems of Cilantro
1tsp Kosher Salt
8Cups Water, or to cover meat.
The Soup Ingredients
2ea Ancho or Mulato Chiles
2-3ea Pasilla Chile
2-3ea Guajillo Chiles
Other Chiles as desired totaling about 2oz. Toast in a dry pan, over Low Heat until Fragrant. Don't let them burn! Cool, remove stems and seeds and grind into a powder.
See Note* below...
2C Diced Onions (1Lrg)
2C Diced Celery (2-3 Ribs)
2C Sliced Carrots (2-3 ea.)
2T Tomato Paste
1Tbs Sugar
3ea Cloves Garlic, minced
1tsp Fresh Thyme Leave (2-3 Sprigs)
1tsp Dry Mexican Oregano, or other.
2-3tsp Kosher Salt
1tsp Grnd Black Pepper
1/2tsp Grnd Cinnamon (1/2 Small Stick)
1/4tsp Grnd Cloves (4-5 Whole)
1/4tsp Grnd Cumin, or more to taste
1-14oz Can Diced Tomatoes
2-30oz Cans Posole, drained
NOTE: You can Substitute 4-5 Tablespoons of your favorite Chili Powder, if whole Chiles are not available or convenient...
The Garnishes
Sliced Red Radishes
Diced Sweet Onion
Shredded Cabbage
Diced Avocado
Lime Wedges
Cilantro Leaves
Queso Fresco or other Grated Cheese (Jack,Cheddar, Etc.)
Crema* or Sour Cream
Flour Tortillas
Heat a 8Qt pot over high heat and add 2-3Tbs Fat of your choice and brown the meat, remove it to a plate and if there is a lot of additional fat rendered remove some, keep it, until you are left with about 2Tbs in the pot. At this point add the vegetables and saute them until golden. If the Garlic Cloves are getting too brown, remove and add back later. I ALWAYS sweat or saute my aromatic vegetables for soups and stocks because it creates and concentrates a ton of flavor that you can't get by adding raw veg to soup. For light colored soups, just sweat them over med/low heat until softened a bit. For dark soups saute until golden or even brown. Time to add the Water, fairly quickly as it's going to spit and pop, and the herbs. Scrape the bottom of the pot to get all the brown goodness that accumulated on the bottom of the pot. Add the meat to the pot, bring everything just barely to bubbling, reduce the heat to low and skim any floating scum. Cover the pot and simmer until the meat is tender and easily removed from the bones. If the level has dropped add some water. Now cooked, remove the meat to cool until it can be handled. Strain the stock into another pot, to remove the veggies, and keep warm. This stock contains very little Salt so the flavor will be flat and not that good, we will fix this later. Reheat the 8Qt pot and add 2-3Tbs of the reserved fat. Add the remaining Onions, Celery and Tomato Paste. Saute these just until the tomato paste begins to darken. Add the Garlic and saute another minute. Add the Stock and all remaining ingredients, Except the Meat. Bring to a boil reduce the heat to low and simmer the until the Celery, Onions and Posole are tender but still firm. Adjust seasoning adding more Salt, Sugar and Pepper to taste. Add the meat to the soup, turn up the heat, bring the soup back to a simmer and Serve in big bowls with all the Garnishes on the side so everybody can customize the Pazole to their tastes...
This Recipe Serves 4 to 8...Enjoy!...JJ
FYI...This is Cooked in 2 stages because I like there to be FLAVOR in my Soup Veggies. The Pozole can be made in 1 step, to save time, but the Vegetables will be very soft and pretty much tasteless.
...JJ
