Pork Posole
4 pounds pork butt or shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into bite sized pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 yellow onions, diced
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked, cored and chopped
4 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped (yes it sounds like a lot, but once they are seeded, they aren’t that hot. As such, depending on how spicy you want the soup, seed only some of them)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon, dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
8 cups chicken stock
2 cans hominy
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
(To garnish)
1/4 small head green cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
10 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 limes, cut into wedges
METHOD
Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Brown the pork chunks on each side, making sure to get good, golden color. Be careful not to over-crowd the pot. As such, this will have to be done in batches. Reserve the browned pork on a plate, while you continue browning.
Pour out the excess fat, then add the onions and a large pinch of salt. Saute for about 5 minutes, scraping up the brown bits that are left in the bottom of the pot. Add the tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic and oregano and continue to cook for another 3 or 4 minutes.
Add the reserved pork, any accumulated pork juices, the chicken stock. Cover the pot, crank the heat to high and bring to a boil. Remove the lid, turn the heat down to low and simmer gently until the pork is tender and starting to fall apart, which should take about 1 1/2 hours. Add the hominy for the last 30 minutes of cooking.
Stir in the cilantro and taste for seasoning. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with the shredded cabbage, diced red onion, sliced radishes, and lime wedges.