Blue Corn Posole

In my quest for a decent blue corn posole, I'm trying something a little different this time. Well, a couple of things.

Blue corn posole, dry

First, I'm crocking it.  When I've made the posole on top of the stove, I've not been happy with how the blue corn hominy cooks up.  Some pieces are solid and very chewy.  Others split apart and are... very chewy. 

I think the chewiness is just part of blue corn, but am hoping that crocking will at least help it cook more evenly.

The second thing I'm doing is roasting the pork, onions, garlic, and chilis before adding them to the stew.  The hope is for a little more depth of flavor.

Blue corn posole is a two-day process.

Day one is easy. Take the dried hominy, and soak in water to cover.  This time around, I started the soaking mid afternoon. 

Day 2 is a little more involved.

First, trim the pork of extra fat, and render it in an iron skillet.

Rendered pork fat

This provides something like unfiltered lard to use in the skillet when roasting everything. 

It also provides cracklins, which can later be used in corn bread. 

Cracklins are like unflavored bacon.  They're a hillbilly delicacy.

Cracklins

After rendering the fat, drain some of it off, and use the rest to sear the pork. 

Rub some of the fat on the seared pork, 1 quartered onion, 2 halved and seeded jalapenos, and 4 cloves of garlic.


Put everything in the oven to roast.  I'm roasting at 350 (f). 

Pork and vegs, ready for the oven

Next, wash and quarter 6-8 tomatillos.  Drain the soaking water from the posole.  Add tomatillos and posole to the crock pot, and add a couple of quarts of water.  Add salt to taste and about 1/2 tsp or so dried oregano.  Set the crock pot on low, and let the hominy and tomatillos cook while the pork and vegs roast.

Tomatillos and posole in the crock pot

Cool the pork and vegs. Cube or shred the pork and chop the vegs.  Add to the crock pot and cook about 4 hours, until the hominy is tender and the broth is tasty.  Add additional seasoning to taste.

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. package dry blue corn posole
2.25 lbs thick cut pork loin steaks
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 jalapeño chili peppers, cut in half and seeded
4 small cloves garlic
6-8 tomatillos, quartered
About5 1/2 tsp oregano
1 frozen garlic cube, or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
Freshly ground salt and pepper
Cilantro

Directions:

1. Day one: Soak the posole in a covered glass bowl for at 12-18 hours.
2. Day two: Rinse pork, pat dry, and trim fat.
3. Cut fat into small pieces, then render in an iron skillet.
4. Remove cracklins from the skillet and drain and reserve most of the fat. Leave about 1 Tbsp fat in the skillet.
5. Sear the pork on all sides.
6. Rub onions, garlic, and jalapeños with some of the reserved fat, then place in skillet with the pork.
7. Roast pork and vegs in 350 (f) oven for about an hour or so, until pork is done. Let cool.
8. While pork is roasting, drain and rinse the posole, then put in crock pot with about 2-3 quarts water.
9. Add tomatillos and oregano, and start cooking on low.
10. Remove vegs, cut onions, remove skins from jalapeños, and add to crock pot.
11. Shred or cube pork and rub it around in the skillet to get some of the skillet liquor mixed into the meat.  Add to crock pot.
12. Cook on low for about 6 hours, adding remaining seasonings to taste after a couple of hours.
13. Serve garnished with cilantro.

The finished product