Celebrating New Year’s with Delicious Posole Recipe

We all have our traditions for New Year’s. Some eat black eye peas. Others eat this food or that.

And we all have our traditions to ring in the New Year.

My wife and I sit up and toast in the New Year with a tradition she started long ago. At the stroke of midnight, we eat twelve grapes. Then we say goodbye to the old and toast in the new using a non-alcoholic cider.

But, the thing I look forward to is when I make Posole on New Years Day as a meal, and we have the family over. I look forward to it because I’m allowed into the kitchen and get to mess it up to my heart’s content (of course I get to clean it). Let just say, that by the time I’m finished almost every utensil has been used, even if I didn’t need it.

Now when I say “Posole,” a lot of people equate that with “menudo.” Sorry, despite being raised around it, and everyone I know eating it, tripe is something I’ve just never developed a taste for. Frankly, I consider tripe an abomination before God and about the only way I’d eat it is at gunpoint (and it better be a really big gun – like one off a battleship).

Did I mention I can’t stand tripe?

Posole is defined as a “Mexican stew.” It has a base of hominy, meat, and spices. There are countless recipes for it out there and so there’s no one true way to make it. That said, there are some people out there defend their recipe as if it’s Gospel Truth. Find one you like, use it, or make up one of your own.

So, when Julie and I got married, and my not being a fan of menudo, I began making my version of Posole and I’m happy to share my recipe with you.

The core ingredient is Hominy. I like to mix both the white and golden and I buy the large cans of those.

But first:

A large round steak, at least several pounds worth – cut up and diced. You can also use stew meat but you might want to cut it down into smaller cubes.

I also toss in several pounds of pork stew meat cut down to manageable size.

I put the meats in a large mixing bowl the night before and let it marinade over night in the fridge. The marinade is a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic (powder and minced), onion powder, oregano flakes, chili powder (prefer red chili), chili pequin – not much more than a shake or two – this stuff can be fire, and vegetable broth. Just for kicks, I toss in tumbler or two of Jack. Note that this is to taste so I don’t mention a thing about measurements.

The next day, I empty the meat, broth and all into a large stew pot. I add in raw onions (cut large since my daughter doesn’t like onions) and a tablespoon or two of minced garlic and a dash of oil. Depending on my mood, I may add in chopped celery and an occasional carrot. I also add a couple of quarts of Pico de Gallo purchased at the store. Cook it all up until the meat is done.

I turn the heat down, toss in a couple of cans of green chili, two or three cans of stewed tomatoes (prefer Rotel) and a couple of cups of water. Toss in a bay leaf if you want. I stir it up and let it simmer for about half an hour. If you want a real treat, replace the cans of green chili with actual green chili, roasted, peeled, and cut into small chunks. Do be careful about this if you don’t know anything about fresh chili. It comes in all variations of heat and while there’s some you can eat like you would a chocolate bar, there’s others that if you take a bite, you’ll think NASA is launching a rocket in your mouth.

Finally, I add in the hominy which I’ve drained. I replace the liquid I dumped with beef or vegetable broth. Then I bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, cover it, and let it simmer for the better part of the morning. Stir occasionally. Towards the end of the process, you might need to add more salt, pepper, chili, or garlic to taste.

We serve it up in soup bowls purchased straight out of Mexico. It can be garnished with more chopped onion, a squeeze of fresh juice squeezed from a lemon, and corn tortillas.

Tamales make an excellent side dish. We buy ours from Tamales from Heaven in Evans, Colorado.

Note to self. Get a picture of it this year.