Note: This is one of two chicken pozole recipes I’m posting this week. For more about the recipes, their origins, and to see the other more refined recipes, click here.
This is a dish I taught myself in high school, possibly a heresy, a recipe I either dug out of an old cookbook and possibly misunderstood, or one passed by word of mouth from a family friend – and one that’s probably evolved over the years without me really knowing it. It’s simple, a one pan meal with few steps that produces a rich, soft, rustic step that’s truly great mopped up with handmade Sonoran style flour tortillas.
Rustic Chicken Thigh Pozole
Course: Main, SoupsCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes1
hourA rustic chicken thigh based take on Pozole, a chili and hominy stew.
Ingredients
- For the stew
4 Bone in, skin on chicken thighs
3 cups chicken stock
1 can Mexican style hominy
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 cup boiling water
4 dried California chilis
2 dried ancho chilis
4 cloves garlic
1 fresh serrano chili (opt)
1 large onion
1 tsp dried ground cumin
1 tsp chopped fresh Mexican oregano or ½ tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
- Garnish
Sliced jalapenos
Sliced avocado
Cilantro
Limes
Shredded cabbage
Jicama
Sliced Radish
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350° F.
- Remove the stems and as many seeds as possible from the dried peppers, tear into small pieces, and place in a heat proof bowl.
- Pour boiling water over the dried peppers and allow them to soften for 10-15 minutes.
- After the chilis have softened, remove them from the water, retaining the chili infused water for later use. Chop the softened peppers into very fine pieces.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- In an oven proof pan, brown the chicken well on both sides, until a good amount of fat has rendered out.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Discard all but ~1tbsp of chicken fat.
- Trim, peel, and dice the onion.
- If using, remove the stem from the serrano pepper, and chop finely.
- Sautee the onions and serrano (if using) in the remaining 1Tbsp of fat until the union is translucent and just starting to brown.
- Add the chopped chili mixture, oregano, and cumin and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the retained chili liquid, tomatoes (with liquid), and chicken stock.
- Drain the hominy, and add to the pan.
- Return the browned chicken to the pan. Bring to a simmer, then transfer to the oven.
- Cook for one hour to 90 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked and falling from the bone.
- Prepare Garnish
- Slice jalapeños into coins.
- Shred cabbage.
- Peel and cut jicama into 2 inch batons.
- Quarter limes.
- slice radishes into thin coins.
- To Serve
- You can choose to serve the chicken pieces whole, or remove them, discard the skin, and shred the meat.
- Ladle stew into individual bowls, top with chicken.
- Allow each diner to garnish as the please with cilantro, cabbage, radishes, jicama, and lime juice.