Easy Pozole Recipe with Pork Ribs and Chicken

I was making a pozole recipe using pork ribs and realized that I wanted more meat, so I added chicken breasts to create my take on a traditional chicken pozole recipe. Use enough hominy (maiz molido) and you will have a delicious and hearty pozole soup for these cold days.

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INGREDIENTS:

3-4 thick boneless (country style) pork ribs

12 cups of water

6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

4 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable broth (I use cartons available at Trader Joe's)

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

1/4 white onion, chopped

4-5 stalks celery, rinsed very well and chopped

7-8 large carrots, sliced thickly (about 1/2 inch)

1 ancho or jalapeno chile (optional)

Salt to taste (3 tablespoons at least)

Two or three 29-oz cans of hominy (sold in Mexican stores, also available in Grocery Outlet)

2-3 chiles en adobo, from the can, mashed in 1 cup water

Lime wedges (optional)

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INSTRUCTIONS:

Crush garlic cloves enough to easily peel them, then slice garlic in 1/4 inch slices. In the meantime, use a large heavy kettle and fill with the 12 cups of water and 4 cups of broth. Add the sliced garlic and pork ribs and bring just to a boil. As the liquid begins to boil, use a ladle to skim off the foam and discard. This will made the broth clearer. Add the Mexican oregano and salt, and stir. Allow pork and broth to simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes to one hour. The pork ribs should be very tender.

With tongs, remove the pork ribs to a bowl and place them one at a time on a large cutting board. Use caution: they will be HOT! Use two forks to pull apart the pork into shreds.

While you are shredding the pork ribs, add the chicken breasts to the broth.  Add back the shredded pork. Allow broth with chicken and pork to continue simmering for 20 minutes more.. Remove the chicken breasts from the broth with kitchen tongs, and follow the same process as above for shredding the pork ribs. You may leave the pieces larger for the chicken, if desired. Add the chicken back to the pot and stir lightly.

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At this point, you can add your favorite red chile seasoning. Some people make it from scratch, but I like easy, so I always have canned chipotles en adobo on hand. Open the can and use a fork to take 3-4 chiles and some liquid and place in a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup with water to make one cup, then use the back of a spoon to mash the chiles into the water. Discard the solid parts and pour the liquid into the broth. Check for taste by spooning a little of the broth into a saucer to cool, and sip. Add salt if necessary.

Store unused chipotles in a clean glass jar in the fridge. They will keep for months if the container is airtight. I use a small Mason jar for this purpose. 

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Drain the canned hominy and add them to the pot. Add the chopped onion, sliced celery and carrots to the liquid and cook until tender, about 20 minutes more.

If desired, a roasted jalapeno or ancho chile can be added for more spiciness.

You can roast chiles over a gas flame (if only roasting one) or under the broiler (if roasting several at one time). Turn with tongs as the skin of the chile blackens and puckers. Smells heavenly! Remove seeds and chop chile pepper to desired size. I used ancho chile and sliced it into large chunks. You can also roast chiles on a Mexican cast iron pan, called a comal, available in Mexican stores or on Amazon. 

Makes 8-10 servings. Serve with lime wedges. You can store leftover pozole in refrigerator. Tastes even better the next day!

 

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