Slow Cooker Posole Recipe

I love real Mexican food. Mole sauces, posole, simple carne asado or al pastor tacos garnished with only onions and cilantro. Of course, I’m not so pretentious that I don’t like the cheap stuff too, like sloppy refried beans and rice served with a big spoonful of sour cream alongside my  burrito or enchiladas. Hell, I even love fast casual Tex-Mex, because let’s be real, I could eat queso from Moe’s every day and I live a block from an Armadillo Grill. (I truly believe the only way I could ever get tired of queso is for someone to make me do one of those Man Vs. Food “You must eat fifteen pounds of chips and queso to get your name on the wall” challenges. Then, only maybe. Are you listening Travel Channel?)

God, I’m hungry.

But the thing is, those authentic Mexican dishes are good for a reason. They take time and often a few off-the-beaten-path ingredients. (And mole requires like thirty ingredients!) So in my attempt to make posole the easy way, I stumbled upon a slow cooker recipe online which I have repeatedly made and doctored quite a bit. It’s always delicious, filling, and like most stews, it makes excellent leftovers. So seriously, make this. Mom, that means you, I know you haven’t yet.

Disclaimer – This is definitely not an authentic Mexican recipe. I did not soak dried chilies de arbol and ancho chilies for hours and blend them. As soon as I find a great Hispanic tienda and a long afternoon to cook, I promise to attempt it the traditional way. The slow cooker just makes this so easy. The ancient Mexicans did not use canned enchilada sauce. Pardon me, I’m just a lowly gringa.

Traditionally, posole was a stew made by the indigenous people of Mexico for special or ceremonial occasions. It’s still served on Christmas Eve in the Southwest and Mexico. Corn was a very important staple crop and its abundance was critical to life back in the day. It even had a goddess attributed to it by the Aztecs. Don’t make me give you a fifth grade history lesson and remind you that they called it “maize.” Anyway, since corn was so important to survival, the locals had to find ways of preserving it. I tell you this in order to explain to you what hominy is, because you’re going to need it for this recipe.

Hominy is dried corn that has been soaked in a lime or lye solution (ancient peoples mixed limestone and water). This soaking causes the hulls to fall away and the corn kernel itself softens and nearly doubles in size. You can buy it canned in the Hispanic section of the grocery store ready to eat. If you were to grind up dried hominy, it would become hominy grits. Ahhh, now we’re getting somewhere. The Meso-Americans used hominy to make hearty stews, and when the Spanish came in the 1500’s, pork became a popular addition. Gosh, that’s so interesting, Rachel, thank you for that.  Lesson over.

Slow Cooker Posole Recipe  (makes about 8 servings)

• 2 lbs Boneless Pork Chops (If making just for a 2-3 people, 1 lb is enough)
• 28 oz. Enchilada Sauce (I get the big can from the Hispanic section, it’s cheaper)
• 8 oz. can Tomato Sauce
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 4.5 oz. can Chopped Green Chilies
• 25 oz. can White Hominy, drained (also in the Hispanic section)
• 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes, more if you like it spicy
• 1 and 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 and 1/2 tsp Honey
• Lime juice
• Cilantro, for garnish, but not totally necessary.

Directions

1. Place boneless pork chops in slow cooker. Pour enchilada sauce and tomato sauce over the top.
2. Toss in chopped onion, garlic, and green chilies. Add the drained hominy, then the red pepper flakes and oregano.
3. Add chicken broth until the slow cooker is almost filled (one cup is an estimate). Stir everything that’s floating above the pork.
4. Cover and cook on Low for 7-8 hours. (I turn my slow cooker on at 8 AM when I leave for work and everything is done when I get home at 6 PM so I know it will keep and be delicious even if it cooks for 10 hours).
5. Come home to delicious smell. Retrieve pork that is still in tact. I use a spider for this part.
6. Turn slow cooker to High and leave the lid off.
7. Once pork is cool enough, shred it using your hands, removing any fatty pieces that you don’t personally want to eat. (You’ll know them when you squish them between you’re fingers and you’re like “yeeewwk.”)
8. Stir shredded pork back into slow cooker. Add honey and salt.
9. If you are happy with the consistency, serve now. If still too thin, wait a few minutes, keeping the lid off to let it reduce. (This will depend on how much pork you ended up with.)
10. Add lime juice to taste, garnish with cilantro.* Consume.

*Alternative garnishes include sliced radishes, shredded cabbage, queso fresco, onions, crispy tortilla chips.

When I brought this posole to a large Mexican-themed gathering, I let it sit on warm with the lid off for over an hour before we partook in its deliciousness, so feel free to let it sit a while.  Posole is full of texture from the shredded pork and slow cooked hominy, which doesn’t disintegrate like you might think. The stew is meaty, almost tangy, and (to use the description given by one guest) it’s “sneaky spicy” because the heat comes on a little later. The spice level will depend on the enchilada sauce you use (most is mild) and of course how much red pepper you throw in. Don’t forget the lime juice!

Would it be terrible now if I said “Buen provecho”?  Because I just did. Sorry.