KATY'S POZOLE: AN AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RECIPE FROM ART’S MOM

This recipe is a Mexican Holiday classic. I made it last week. It's great for a post-New Year's recovery meal. Forewarning, it's a long recipe, but totally worth it!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 2 lbs chicken thighs, with skin and bones

• ½ lemon

• 1 bulb of garlic

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• 1 tablespoon epazote

• 1 /2 white onion

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano

• 4 cans or 32 oz canned white hominy, drained and rinsed

• 1 ancho chile and 3 chile guajallo

For garnish:

• Sliced radishes

• Shredded cabbage

• Cilantro

• Lime wedges

Prep

1.  Place the cubed pork shoulder and chicken in a Dutch oven and just cover with lightly salted water. Add in ½ lemon , the epazote, and a few bay leaves.

2. Add the rinsed hominy.

3.  Bring to a boil, then skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.

4. While the pork and chicken are cooking, roast the chiles on a griddle until they become aromatic, and you see some blisters. Be careful not to burn them.

5. Roast ½ onion on the griddle and 4 - 6 garlic cloves. If the cloves are small, you can roast the entire garlic bulb. Remove the garlic skin after roasting.

6. Put the roasted chiles in hot water for about 10 minutes so they can soften.

7. Add the softened chiles and water to a blender. Then add the roasted onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano, 1 tablespoon of salt. The mixture should be liquified. If you see particles, strain it.  

8. Add the chile mixture to your broth. 

9. After the chicken has cooked, remove it from the Dutch oven and take off the skin. Remove the bones and return the meat to the Dutch oven. 

10. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed

We always serve this with thinly sliced radishes, shredded cabbage, and cilantro as garnishes. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice before eating.

Enjoy!