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So, Tommy's column got me thinking. Where can I find a big bowl of Pozole that doesn't suck?

At my house this week. I know that's not a particularly helpful answer, but yours is a dilemma I solved by upping the number of Mexican dishes I learned to cook at home. Pozole is not that hard to make. Why not get a recipe and make it yourself? I find canned white hominy (Goya brand can be found in most supermarkets) quite acceptable in the dish, and all the rest of the ingredients are not hard to find.

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Inspired by Zora's post but wanting to keep it simple, I found a recipe for crockpot pozole using country style pork ribs. Christmas Eve morning, put the simple ingredients in the pot, and after picking up my parents at the airport, served what I learned was a traditional Mexican (Mexican-American?) Christmas Eve meal with crusty bread. A virtue of the dish is that each person could spice it to their particular taste with different salsas and hot sauces. Also cut up some avocados and (still-surviving) cilantro from a container on the deck for toppings, and everyone was happy. (Kept the theme going later that night with some Aztec hot chocolate from a recent Post recipe). Thanks for the tip, Zora.

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Inspired by Zora's post but wanting to keep it simple, I found a recipe for crockpot pozole using country style pork ribs. Christmas Eve morning, put the simple ingredients in the pot, and after picking up my parents at the airport, served what I learned was a traditional Mexican (Mexican-American?) Christmas Eve meal with crusty bread. A virtue of the dish is that each person could spice it to their particular taste with different salsas and hot sauces. Also cut up some avocados and (still-surviving) cilantro from a container on the deck for toppings, and everyone was happy. (Kept the theme going later that night with some Aztec hot chocolate from a recent Post recipe). Thanks for the tip, Zora.

You're most welcome--I'm glad to hear that you have joined the rank of local practitioners of Mexican home cooking. Believe me, you won't find anything near as good in local restaurants.

I just came back from L.A. My first stop after arriving at the airport there was a Oaxacan place I like, where I had barbacoa de chivo and a tamal de mole negro. Oh, man! Now I've got to make me some of that at home!

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You're most welcome--I'm glad to hear that you have joined the rank of local practitioners of Mexican home cooking. Believe me, you won't find anything near as good in local restaurants.

So tell me, Zora, I've had Posole at Oyamel (a long time ago) and Fuego Cocina y Tequileria (recently), and wasn't captivated by either. Does this soup require long cooking to have depth? That is what those soups lacked, in my opinion: depth.

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So tell me, Zora, I've had Posole at Oyamel (a long time ago) and Fuego Cocina y Tequileria (recently), and wasn't captivated by either. Does this soup require long cooking to have depth? That is what those soups lacked, in my opinion: depth.

The only good posole I have had in the area is at La Sireneta.

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The only good posole I have had in the area is at La Sireneta.

I've really enjoyed the versions at Taco Bar in Gaithersburg and Distrito Federale in Silver Spring; they're much better than others I've had around here, but I can't say whether they're up to par with Sireneta, which I haven't tried . . . and I'd be willing to bet Zora's is better than all of them!

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So tell me, Zora, I've had Posole at Oyamel (a long time ago) and Fuego Cocina y Tequileria (recently), and wasn't captivated by either. Does this soup require long cooking to have depth? That is what those soups lacked, in my opinion: depth.


I have eaten the posole at Oyamel, but have not had Fuego Cocina's version. The Oyamel posole is made with dried red chiles and is quite "traditional." I suspect, however that it is assembled fairly quickly from separately prepared elements, and I agree with you--does not have the depth of a long, slow-cooked stew. I prefer posole verde, made with tomatillos and fresh poblano chiles instead of dried guajillos. Traditionally, posole is food of poor people, made with pork neck bones. Long-cooked pork bone broths, as is true with ramen, have a cloudy, soulful depth to them. (The only problem with pork neck bones is that when the posole cooks long enough for the meat to fall off the bones, the bowl is full of little pieces of bone that you are constantly pulling out of your mouth. Even when the cook attempts to remove bones prior to serving, there are always those that are missed.) While I don't often use pork neck, I always make posole with pork on a bone, as large a bone as possible. And I usually slow cook it in the oven for a few hours with lots of aromatic herbs. I think that the afforementioned restaurants probably assemble, broth, onions, garlic, chiles, meat and cook them together for a short amount of time.

p.s. Thanks, Marty!
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I've enjoyed the posole at Oyamel. I've tried to make posole at home, but I really didn't like the hominy. (It was the only brand they had at WF.) Zora, what hominy brand do you recommend? And where to find it? Thanks.

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The only posole we have tried has been Fuego's, and both Mr. S and I really have enjoyed it. I'd love to make it at home, but I'm overwhelmed trying to find the right recipe for it. I'm hoping someone can steer me to a good recipe or two--preferably for the slow cooker. Thanks!

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I've enjoyed the posole at Oyamel. I've tried to make posole at home, but I really didn't like the hominy. (It was the only brand they had at WF.) Zora, what hominy brand do you recommend? And where to find it? Thanks.

When I use canned, I usually use Goya. With dried posole corn (also called nixtamal), I can't recall brand names, but it needs to be soaked overnight prior to cooking in the stew, added at the beginning. When I make posole with canned hominy, I add it for the last half-hour, because it is already so soft.

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Dried posole is available at Grand Mart, Super H, and Shoppers, and the two most common brands I've seen are La Fe and Goya. I don't soak over night, but find it blooms beautifully and still has a bit of tooth to it after an hour in the pressure cooker.

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I enjoyed the dish at Taqueria Tres Reyes. I had previously only had it at family events in New Mexico. The TTR version was a redder broth, although not particularly hot. Also the hominy was chewier than my family version, but I am not sure that's a bad thing.

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I enjoyed the dish at Taqueria Tres Reyes. I had previously only had it at family events in New Mexico. The TTR version was a redder broth, although not particularly hot. Also the hominy was chewier than my family version, but I am not sure that's a bad thing.

The pork was cooked in lard before the stewing when I tried it. Seemed like a birlliant idea at first bite, but soon became too much. Never tried it again. Love their hurraches.

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(The only problem with pork neck bones is that when the posole cooks long enough for the meat to fall off the bones, the bowl is full of little pieces of bone that you are constantly pulling out of your mouth. Even when the cook attempts to remove bones prior to serving, there are always those that are missed.)

Is it possible to encase the pork neck in something resembling an oversized, locking tea strainer while it's cooking, and then distribute the meat in the soup afterwards? I don't know what material it would need to be made of (or not made of), or if these types of things even exist.

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Is it possible to encase the pork neck in something resembling an oversized, locking tea strainer while it's cooking, and then distribute the meat in the soup afterwards? I don't know what material it would need to be made of (or not made of), or if these types of things even exist.

cheese cloth?

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Torterilla Sinaloa has an awesome posole, comes with about a dozen of home made tortillas.

I second this, for those willing to drive to B'More for their posole fix! (While there, you might want to also pick up a bushel of tortillas, and chips.)

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You really don't know how to cook at all, do you?

I'm a "conceptual cook."

(Picture Roger Ebert trying to direct a movie. (*))

(*) About eight years ago, Todd Kliman and I were sitting in BlackSalt, and we thought of pitching a "Siskel and Ebert" type show dealing with local restaurants. Nothing ever came of it, but I'm pretty sure it would have been popular.

Ciao,

Tin Cup

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I thought of this, but I don't know how it (or anything else, for that matter) stands up to heat.

cheesecloth would work, same as herbs when making stock. When I was a kid we liked the "try not to break a tooth on the bone" game though.

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The pork was cooked in lard before the stewing when I tried it. Seemed like a birlliant idea at first bite, but soon became too much. Never tried it again. Love their hurraches.

Surprised to hear that with the amount of pork fat I just ate at your place :D

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I tried the posole verde at Fuego Cocina on Friday night. When I make it, it is a stew, chock full of hominy, chunks of pork, identifiable bits of green chile and tomatillos. This was a thin green broth with long shreds of overcooked pork and a few kernels of nixtamal. The broth itself was tasty, but extremely spicy. I satisfied my curiosity, but it isn't something I would order again. The empanadas were tasty, if a little bit greasier than last time I had them.

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