Cooking: Pork Posole

What I love about cooking is the informality of it (no need to be exact on your measurements unlike baking...you can just eyeball and guesstimate portions.  I bought a 6 pound pork shoulder, and halved it for this posole--I also left that layer of skin and fat on the other half to roast later into a porchetta)

The recipe I found online called for a cup of flour into which I also added a teaspoon of salt and pepper.

I had cut the pork into 1 1/2" pieces and then dredged it in the flour mixture.

Next I fried the pork in two batches, using a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of lard for each frying.

I sampled the fried pork, and I could've stopped there, it was so delicious.

I had chopped one yellow onion and four small cloves of garlic, which I sweated in olive oil until translucent and fragrant.

To scrape up the rest of the bits of fried pork with the sweated onions, I poured 4 cups of water and 1 cup of chicken broth into the pot, along with the fried pork, a couple of bay leaves and a teaspoon of Mexican oregano.

Simmer for a couple hours.

Then simmer for another hour, but for that last hour of time add 6 chopped tomatillos and a couple of jalapeños.  You could also toss in some chopped cilantro and a can of green chiles for extra green flavor.

I also added in a can of hominy with the green fruit for that last hour of cooking.

My posole is done cooking, but wait there's more.

I like a fresh and raw vegetal element to a meaty and rich stew, like sliced radishes.

 And chopped cilantro and chopped green onion.

Oh and the recipe called for roasting and adding fresh corn, which I forgot to add to that last hour of cooking.  Instead I added frozen sweet white corn to the stew which will cook when reheating.

Must not forget limes for a nice acid kick.

 And last but just as important is shredded green cabbage to top the stew along with all the other fresh vegetables for garnish.  

This is a great dish to bring to a potluck to feed a lot of people.