In this recipe, the classic Mexican stew, pozole rojo, is made super-juicy and a little smoky with the science of sous vide que.
Course: ,
Dinner
Soups and Stews
Cuisine:
Mexican
Makes:
Servings:
Takes:
Equipment
- Sous vide immersion circulator
- resealable plastic bags or sous vide bags
- food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless pork butt (shoulder)
- 1 medium-size ancho chile
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 1 medium sweet red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 quarts low-sodium pork stock or chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 (15-ounce) can white hominy
- Morton Kosher Salt to taste
- Hot sauce to taste
Garnishes
- 1 cup sour cream
- 5 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro and/or parsley
- 10 lime wedges
Notes:
Optional garnishes. It is not uncommon to see all manner of goodies swimming on pozole. Try shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, matchstick carrots and/or jicama, chopped onion, tostadas, chicharróns, or avocado.
Pigs' feet. Octavio Peña at SeriousEats.com adds a pig's foot when making the stock and removes it before the stock is blended. Pigs' feet are loaded with rich collagen which makes the stock more flavorful and thicker feeling.
Metric conversion:
These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page
Method
- Sous vide the pork butt. 24 hours before serving, trim all surface fat off the butt. If it has a bone, remove it, and cut apart 2 pounds of boneless meat. Trim off any more excess fat. Salt the meat with 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt per pound. Bag it in a sous vide bag and sous vide at 140°F for 12 hours. When it is done, cut a tip off the bag and drain the liquid and refrigerate for later.
- Smoke it. Fire up your smoker or, if you have real good temperature control, your grill. Aim to keep the cooker between 175° and 200°F. Remove the meat from the bag, leave it wet, and smoke it for 30 minutes at that low temperature. Keep the liquid in the bag refrigerated. Once smoked, refrigerate the meat in a separate bag.
- Simmer. Heat a 2-quart pot. Remove the stems and seeds from the anchos and break them into 1-inch chunks. Toast the chiles over medium-low heat in the pot for about 3 minutes, no oil, flipping often. Cut the stem off the onions, peel them, and coarsely chop. Peel and coarsely chop the garlic. Remove the stem and seeds from the sweet bell pepper and coarsely chop it. Put the chicken stock, the liquid from the sous vide bags, the onion, garlic, bell pepper, bay leaf, and cumin in the pot. If you are using a pig's foot, add it now. Simmer about 1 hour.
- Blend. Let the stock cool for about 30 minutes, then blend it until smooth in a food processor or blender. Pour it back into the pot. Drain and rinse the hominy, add it to the pot, and simmer for 1 hour. At this point, the stew can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days or frozen for weeks.
- Warm up the butt. Chop the pork butt into 1-inch cubes and be careful to remove concentrations of fat. Add the pork to the warm stock and heat for only about 15 minutes before serving, just enough to warm them but not enough to dry them out. Taste and add hot sauce to your tolerance level and salt if needed.
- Serve. Choose your garnishes and chop, slice, and dice. Remember that avocado browns quickly, so don’t cut it open until just before serving. Ladle into bowls and serve. You can add toppings before serving or just set toppings on the table, and let your guests select.
Nutrition per Serving
Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 136mg | Sodium: 719mg | Potassium: 1153mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 3255IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 3mg