White Pozole

Pozole Blanco

Serves 12 Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 4 to 4½ hours if using dried hominy; 1 hour if using canned Can be made up to 4 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated

Pozole is one of Mexico’s most famous meals in a bowl, and it’s perfect for entertaining, since it is even better when prepared a day ahead of time. It has many variations, and whether they are white, green, or red, or made with chicken or pork or both, you can be certain that whoever had a hand in the dish will tell you that her version is the very best.

All pozoles begin with a white version to which a cooked sauce, red or green, may be added. For me, white pozole speaks of cold rainy days in the company of family and friends, while red pozole means music, parties, and friends gone wild. I encourage you to taste both versions.

As with most Mexican dishes, you can customize your bowl with garnishes: pozole tends to be served with a large number of them. Add lettuce, onion, and radishes as you like and serve the refried beans on the side with chips. Please do squeeze some lime juice into your pozole; a shot of citrus takes it to where it should be.

• 1 pound dried hominy (see the sidebar; also called maíz mote pelado or giant white corn) or three 29-ounce cans hominy, drained and rinsed
• 1 head garlic, papery outer layers removed (if using dried hominy)
• 2 3-pound chickens, cut into serving pieces
• 1 white onion
• 5 cilantro sprigs
• Kosher or coarse sea salt
•  
• Accompaniments, as desired
• 5–6 limes, halved
• 10 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 head romaine lettuce, leaves separated, rinsed, dried, and thinly sliced
• ½ cup chopped white onion
• Dried ground chile, such as piquín, or a Mexican mix, such as Tajín
• Dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• Tortilla Chips or Tostadas
• Refried beans, homemade or store-bought

1. If using dried hominy, place it in a large pot, add water to cover by at least 4 inches, and add the head of garlic. (If using precooked hominy, start with step 2.) Don’t add salt now, or the hominy will toughen. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat, partially covered, for 4 to 4½ hours, or until the hominy has “bloomed,” or opened (it will be chewy). Add 2 teaspoons salt. Skim the foam from the top as the hominy cooks and check the level of water occasionally, adding more if needed.
2. Meanwhile, place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover by at least 2 inches. Add the onion, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the chicken is cooked through and tender, about 40 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking broth.
3. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.
4. In the pot, combine the cooked hominy and its broth or the canned hominy and 2 cups water with the shredded chicken and its broth. Taste for salt, add more if necessary, and cook for 10 minutes more; the pozole should be soupy.
5. Serve the pozole in soup bowls, with the garnishes in bowls on the table.

MEXICAN COOK’S TRICK: The word pozole, from the Náhuatl, means “foam.” When hominy, the main ingredient of pozole, is cooked, it opens up in such a way that it appears to bloom and forms a bit of foam on the surface—that’s how you know when it is ready. If you use precooked hominy from a can, or from the refrigerated bags found in many Latin or international markets, rinse and drain well before using. Pozole can also be made with pork, and many cooks use a combination of pork and chicken. Substitute 3 pounds chicken parts and 3 pounds pork shoulder (butt) for the 2 whole chickens used here and cook as directed in step 2. Just keep in mind that the pork takes twice as long to cook. Reserve the broth to add to the pozole.

Hominy, or maíz cacahuacintle, also known as giant white corn or maíz mote pelado, looks like corn kernels on steroids. White, superthick, and meaty, these giant kernels are an excellent choice for stews and soups. They are also used to make masa as well as some traditional sweets and drinks. And the cobs are eaten street-style, grilled and dressed with crema or mayo, chile, and lime (for a recipe adapted for sweet corn, see Crazy Street Corn).

The dried hominy available in stores has already been peeled and “beheaded,” or descabezado—lightly cooked in water with slaked lime to soften and remove the outer skin and tougher part of the kernels.

Cooking dried hominy is simple: Just throw it in a pot, cover it with water, bring to a simmer, and wait for it to “bloom”—it will open like a flower, in 4 hours or longer. (Soaking the hominy for 2 to 12 hours will reduce the cooking time.) As with dried beans, don’t add salt until the end, or it will toughen the kernels.

In Mexico, and sometimes in the United States, you can find plastic bags of fully cooked hominy and its broth in the refrigerated section of markets, which is even more convenient and much better than canned. You can also purchase canned cooked hominy, which will do in a pinch. Just be sure to drain and rinse it well before using.