This stew travels well (unlike me)
Home Movies Wednesday!
Hello and welcome to Home Movies… Wednesday! If you’ve found your way over by some miracle but are not yet subscribed, here, let me help you with that:
Hello and welcome to our last and final installment of Home Movies for 2023. WHAT A YEAR. We laughed, we cried, we made many salads and cooked lots of meat. We made bolognese and also went to Kentucky. There was Thanksgiving, there was a Brisket for Passover. We BAKED! Boy, did we bake. Anyway, we are taking a little break, so if you need to catch up, please do, there’s plenty of time (I don’t want to hear one request for another Home Movies until you’ve finished all your Home Movies, okay?).
Following in the spirit of last weeks lamb (which was a true “sleeper hit” if I do say so myself), this holiday I’m doing less because I can, because bigger is not better, because sometimes the most impressive thing you can do in the kitchen is making something truly ahead, something that gets better with time, something that travels well, something that says “I’m prepared, relaxed and unbothered” when the time comes to eat.
The first time I had pozole, I was working as a pastry cook at Quince in San Francisco (this was 2008-ish, if you can imagine anything happening that long ago). The head prep cook, Alejandro, would make a giant pot every Saturday morning when he came in at seven, knowing that by the time the rest of the cooks came in around noon, it would be ready for them. The spicy, life-giving soup made from bright red dried New Mexican chiles, hunks of fatty pork shoulder, and kernels of just-cooked hominy was, turns out, the only thing that could get us through a thirteen-hour workday that started with a Friday-night hangover.
Since then, I’ve been lucky to try many versions, in various places (my favorites have been in and around Oaxaca, Mexico City and New Mexico, though they call it something else there), all different, some thick, some brothy, some green, some red- but always perfect. At least once a year I make a version of it, often around the holidays (sometimes using leftover turkey the days following Thanksgiving, other times for a New Year's Day situation)—the only thing that prohibits me from making it more often, is that it requires the use of a blender (low barrier to entry, but still… for someone who hates using a blender, it is a barrier).
While this may not be a true pozole—it’s thicker and more stew-like, I’ve sort of combined the red and green versions by adding tomatillos to the chilies (for body and acidity), while also adding cabbage to braise alongside the pork (for more texture and a welcomed sour-braised-cabbage energy that is simply DIVINE)—you can, and should, still garnish it like one, piling your bowl high with shredded cabbage, coins of thinly sliced radish, and tons and tons of fresh lime.
For all your other questions about this weeks recipe, please see the comments section below! I’m here to help.
Thank you to AWAY for partnering with us for this weeks episode– I’ve had my matching white set for years now and it’s beat up in all the right ways. It says “wow, this person has BEEN somewhere!” and frankly, I love that.
Pork and Red Chili Pozole with Cabbage
serves 6-8
While this may not be a true pozole—it’s thicker and more stew-like, I’ve added tomatillos for body and acidity, and there’s cabbage braised alongside the pork—you can, and should, still garnish it like one, piling your bowl high with shredded cabbage, coins of thinly sliced radish, and tons and tons of fresh lime. Anything else should be an invitation to make it your own. If you’re looking for a more spiced version, I recommend tossing the pork with 2 teaspoons ground cumin before searing in the pot to allow the spices to toast in the pork fat. Swap the pork shoulder for chicken thighs, leave the cabbage on the side, use a new dried chili you’re excited about. Make it brothier by using half the amount of meat, make it thicker by simmering it even longer. Scale it up and make a double batch. Make it days ahead and gently rewarm before serving. Oh, and if you can’t find tomatillos, tomatoes are not really a good substitute, but this stew is good even without them– just different.
4 ounces dried new mexican or guajillo chilies
8–10 cloves garlic, chopped or sliced
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped; plus more, thinly sliced, for serving
4–5 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 ½”–2” inch pieces
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil
1 ½ pounds tomatillos, husks removed, halved or quartered
1 medium head green or savoy cabbage (not napa cabbage), ¼ of it thinly sliced, the rest torn into large pieces
1 (29 ounce) can hominy aka pozole, drained and rinsed
1 bunch cilantro, tender leaves and stems, for serving
2–4 limes, quartered, for serving
1 bunch nice radishes, thinly sliced, for serving
Tortilla chips or tostadas, crumbled, for serving
1. Using your hands (or scissors), remove the stems from the chilis and remove about half the seeds (or leave them all in if you are confident in your tolerance for spiciness). Tear (or slice/cut) the chilies and place in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Using tongs or a wooden spoon, toss the chilies occasionally, until they start to smell toasted, fruity, almost chocolate-y, about 2-3 minutes (they’ll change color slightly, but tough to tell given how dark red they already are).
2. Add the chopped onion, about half the garlic, 3 cups of water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low, letting the chilies and onions/garlic soften in the water for 5 or so minutes. Transfer all the chilies, onion and garlic to a blender or food processor along with about half the liquid in the pot (less if using a food processor since those tend to leak) and blend until the mixture is mostly smooth (a few bits and pieces here and there is fine); save the remaining water to use later and set both set aside.
3. Next, season pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot (preferably dutch oven– it doesn’t need a lid) over medium heat. Working in batches as needed (to not overcrowd the pot), add pork and sear until deeply browned all over, about 12–16 minutes total. Transfer pork to a large bowl, leaving the fat behind and set aside. If your pork is especially fatty, you may need to drain some of the fat off– I like to leave about 2–4 tablespoons in the pot, but if you have much more than that, pour it off and save for something like roasting vegetables or frying eggs.
4. Add remaining chopped or sliced garlic to your pot and cook over medium heat until lightly browned and toasted, 3–4 minutes. Add the chili paste and know it’s gonna splatter a bit at you/the stove/your shirt/etc., so stand back or apply apron as needed. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pot the best you can.
5. Add the pork back to the pot, along with tomatillos, torn cabbage, any leftover water from the chilies and 5 cups of additional water (the pot will be full– this is okay! The liquid will reduce, the pork and cabbage will shrink). Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat so it’s gently bubbling and let it do its thing, uncovered, unbothered, for 2-ish hours, until the pork is cooked through and tender, the cabbage is wilted and soft and tomatillos have burst and become jammy.
6. Add in drained hominy, season again with salt and pepper and continue simmering another hour or so, until the hominy has had a chance to become flavored by the broth, the pork is nearly falling apart, and the whole pot is nicely thickened.
7. Once the pozole is finished, you can serve and top with the sliced cabbage, onion, cilantro, tostadas, etc, serving with lime wedges alongside for squeezing over.
DO AHEAD: This stew does get better with age– it can be made and refrigerated 5 days ahead, frozen 2 months ahead. If making ahead, let it cool completely before covering and storing in the refrigerator (or dividing among containers and freezing). Reheat gently over medium heat before serving with all your toppings.
I love using my classic Dansk Købenstyle pot for soups and stews like this—it’s not too heavy, oven-safe, looks extremely cute on my shelf and table, and the lid can be used as a TRIVET! Bliss!
My striped button down that I bravely wear without an apron is from Uniqlo, currently sold out in most sizes, but this one from J. Crew is similar (and on sale!).
My favorite gold hoops are from Mejuri. They come in many different sizes and would make an excellent holiday gift if you’re still doing your shopping (I am still doing my shopping).
Pozole is such an underrated soup and it puzzles me that I don't see it on more menus in the states. I always make mine thicker too, even if it's not as traditional.
I always eat my pozole with flour tortillas that I bring back to NYC from Tucson.
No joke, this is dinner tonight. Saturday dinner: Turkey quarters. Because we bucked Thanksgiving tradition and had salmon. So excited to make this at home after grabbing some hominy at the Santa Fe Farmers Market.