Sunday Soup #52: Lisa & Amy's Pozole

Wow... 52! One whole year's-worth of weekly soups... This is actually what I set out to do, this was my goal, to post enough recipes that I could make a different one every week for an entire year, and I've done it! It took me one year and nine months to reach this number, but I'll still call it a win. :-) They haven't all been good, but they've all been different, and I've enjoyed making every single one... I hope you've enjoyed them too!

Which brings me to Big #52... This one is kind of neat because it is a recipe I got from my friend Amy, who knows how much I love pozole. It was very brave of her because, pozole being my favorite soup, and me already having my own recipe that I happen to think is Da Bomb, she is letting me take a hack at this one. So, how did it go? Let's see...

This recipe came from: Amy Suzanne

This recipe came to me as a real "little of this and little of that" and "I don't measure, I just taste" type of thing, with some of the instructions and measurements being a little... "squishy" (yes, that is a technical term). To be fair, I think it was the original author of the recipe (Vivianne?) who simply provided the outline, and Amy similarly has to do a lot of interpretation when she makes it. So, the version of the recipe I am posting for you below is my own interpretation of what I got from Amy.  I'll give you the recipe I followed first, and then finish up with my normal impressions/analysis.

First, the recipe:

Vivianne's Lisa & Amy's Pozole
Cooking/Prep Time: About 2 hours
Serves: 10-12

Ingredients-

5 pounds pork (cubed)*

16 cups water

8 cups chicken broth

3 tsp crushed Mexican oregano

5 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp cumin

1 large white onion

10-12 dried New Mexico chiles

Salt to taste

4 cans (7oz) of El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco (aka, Hot Tomato Sauce)

1 large (#10) can (105oz) of white hominy

(optional garnishes)

Shredded cabbage

Chopped white onion

Chopped cilantro

Tortilla strips
Chicharrones (pork rinds)

Chopped avocado

Lime wedges

Chopped radishes

Sour cream
Cotija cheese or queso fresco

(*Although not part of the recipe Amy gave me, I chose to marinate the pork for a few hours in a marinade I created to punch up the flavor in all of my pozole meats: combine ½ TBSP garlic salt, 1 TBSP cumin, 7 TBSP water, 1 TBSP liquid smoke, and 1 TBSP lime juice, toss the cubed pork in it, and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours before use.)

1. Bring the water, pork, Mexican oregano, cumin, salt, and half (2 ½ cloves) of the minced garlic to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for an hour, or until it reduces by about half. Skim foam from the top, as needed. After it reduces, add the chicken broth, and bring back to a simmer.

2. While the pork is cooking, add the dried chiles to a medium sauce pan, fill with enough water to cover them, and boil for about 45 minutes. When done, remove the chiles (reserving the water) and cut the stems off. Place the boiled chiles, large white onion (roughly cut), the remaining minced garlic (about 2 ½ cloves), and about 2 cups of the water in which the chiles were boiled into a blender and purée.

3. Once the pork has been simmering at least an hour, add the chile slurry, drain and add the hominy, and add the cans of El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco.

4. Simmer another 45 minutes or more until the flavors properly combine.

5. Serve immediately and garnish as desired.

General Thoughts: First, let me say that I can't help but compare this to my pozole recipe that I know and love. It is the same thing I do with the pozoles I get out at Mexican food restaurants, compare them to my recipe that has become a family staple and that I make on special occasions. Is it fair? Maybe not, but it is the standard by which I judge... I told you, Amy was brave to give this one to me!

*Pics 1 & 2 - Pictures from when I made it (there are tons of yummy garnishes under that cabbage!)

Amy's pozole recipe intrigued me because it did not call for a lot of spices, so I was curious to see where the flavor would come from. My own recipe uses black pepper, cumin, oregano, chipotle powder, chili powder, salt, and more to punch my taste buds in the face and leave no doubt that I am eating a Mexican pork stew.

The flavor I got from this pozole underwhelmed me somewhat, and it was not spiced strongly enough for me (remember, I am a fire-eater!). The strongest flavors were of the pork (which is a good thing), tomato sauce (which is not something I enjoy in a pozole), and the pureed peppers (which did not pack enough spice for me). I could taste the cumin and the Mexican oregano, but I definitely needed to add more salt (which was on me, not the recipe, since it did say "salt to taste").

The garnishes are a MUST for this one... They are important to any pozole, but the lack of a really strong flavor from the soup itself makes them extra important here. Some good salty tortilla chips or chicharrones (pork rinds), as well as the salty cotija cheese, can really help.

Potential Improvements? For me, making this again, I'd need to find a way to give it a bit more bite (something with a bit of vinegar taste, maybe), add a lot more spice (subbing guajillo chiles in for the New Mexico chiles, for example), and find more savory, salty flavor (perhaps, with some black pepper, chili powder, and/or garlic salt). But, with that said, not everybody will find my particular pozole tastes to their liking, so use your own palate as your guide...

Polling the Fam: I think I made it clear how I felt about this one: it was okay for me, but I just needed more oomph. Becky likewise thought it was not as flavorful as she'd hoped, but thought it was fine overall. The boys, by contrast, really liked it... Hunter commented that "it was a solid pozole" and had three bowls! He liked it quite a bit, specifically highlighting the hominy, and reiterated that the garnishes are very important. Fox, our picky eater, also seemed to like it and commented that he thought it had a good combo of flavors. In the end, I'd say 3 stars, they'd say 4 stars, but... I don't give halves, and it is my blog, so...

Verdict: It was okay. (3 stars)

A special "THANK YOU" to Amy for letting me try this soup, and for giving me permission to give my honest opinions on the recipe!