Posole With Red Chili

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 lbs lamb shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (boston butt)
• 2 lbs fresh ham hocks (about 2 hocks)
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt, divided, plus more
• 8 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground toasted cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 lbs dried large-kernel hominy, soaked overnight (posole)
• 2 large onions
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves

Recipe

• 1 garnishes.
• 2 chopped avocado, fresh cilantro, and onion; thinly sliced cabbage, jalapeños, and radishes; lime wedges.
• 3 ingredient info.
• 4 new mexico chiles are sold at latin markets, specialty foods stores, and some supermarkets. look for dried hominy at natural foods stores and ranchogordo.com.
• 5 preparation.
• 6 red chile purée.
• 7 preheat oven to 400°. rinse and dry chiles; place in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, turning occasionally, until puffed, fragrant, and a slightly darker red, 5–6 minutes. let cool.
• 8 wearing gloves, use scissors to stem and halve chiles lengthwise. discard seeds for less heat. transfer to a medium saucepan and cover with 6 cups water. add onion and garlic; season with salt. bring to a simmer. cook until chiles are soft, 25–30 minutes.
• 9 drain chile mixture, reserving liquid. purée mixture and 1 1/2 cups liquid in a blender until smooth, adding more liquid if needed for a sauce that can coat a spoon. strain through a medium-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. do ahead purée can be made 5 days ahead. cover; chill.
• 10 posole.
• 11 season lamb shoulder and ham hocks with 1 tablespoon salt. rub garlic, chili powder, and cumin all over lamb; set aside. do ahead lamb can be marinated 1 day ahead. cover and chill.
• 12 drain hominy. transfer to a large heavy pot; add 12 cups water. stud each onion with 1 clove; add to pot with 2 tablespoons salt and bay leaves. cover; bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered and stirring often, until hominy begins to soften, about 1 hour (hominy takes longer to cook than lamb, so give it a jump start).
• 13 add lamb shoulder and ham hocks to hominy; pour in water to cover by 1 inch. cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed to keep ingredients submerged, until hominy is tender and lamb is very tender and falling apart, 2–2 1/2 hours. remove onions, bay leaves, and hocks. discard onions and let hocks cool slightly; pick meat from bones and discard any cartilage, skin, and fat. return meat to pot and stir in 3/4 cup red chile purée. season to taste with salt and more red chile purée, if desired.
• 14 divide posole among bowls. serve with remaining red chile purée and garnishes.