When researching Posole, also called pozole, to convert for the pressure cooker it became pretty clear that, although this dish is not complicated, it requires lots of steps (and cleanup). I removed all of the extra pots and making this recipe not only faster but even easier too!
Typically, the hominy needs to be cooked, the dried chiles need to be soaked, cooked and blended; and the meat needs to be fully cooked before all the elements are simmered together.
I simplified the whole process to just using the pressure cooker and a small chopper (the one that comes with your immersion blender) using the phase-in cooking method (adding ingredients to the cooker based on their cooking time). Making things this way also keeps the flavor where it should be: in the stew.
First, we soak hominy in plenty of water for anywhere between 12 and 24 hours – this brings down its pressure cooking time from 3 hours to 20 minutes. Then, we pre-cook the hominy (first phase). Next, we add all of the other ingredients, including the whole dry chiles so while the meat is starting to cook and hominy continues cooking the chilis are getting re-hydrated and sharing their flavor (second phase). When that’s done we fish out the re-hydrated chile, and whirl it in a chopper with a fresh pepper, raw garlic and a bit of the cooked hominy. Finally, that concoction gets plopped back into the cooker and everything is simmered together and thickened to perfection.
Easy!
| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 L or larger | none | 10-15 & 10min. | High(2) | Normal & Natural |
(per serving)
- Serves: 6-8
- Serving size: ⅛th
- Calories: 216.2
- TOTAL Fat: 11.5g
- TOTAL Carbs: 13g
- Sugar Carbs: 1.5g
- Sodium: 288.7mg
- Fiber Carbs: 3.8g
- Protein: 15.8g
- Cholesterol: 36.1mg
- 2 cups (240g) dry hominy kernels (aka pozole or posole or maiz mote), soaked overnight
- 4 cups (1L) water
- 2 lbs (1k) boneless pork (leg, shoulder or neck), sliced in large 2" chunks
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 dried ancho chilies, stems removed and seeds are shaken out (leave them in if you want extra heat)
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican Oregano, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 3 cloves garlic, divided (one in the pressure cooker, and two for the blender)
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 fresh red bell pepper
- thinly sliced radishes
- a cubed avocado
- a wedge of cabbage, thinly sliced
- lime wedges
- Add soaked hominy and water to the pressure cooker.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker.
- For electric pressure cookers: Cook for 15 minutes at high pressure.
For stove top pressure cookers: Turn the heat up to high and when the cooker indicates it has reached high pressure, lower to the heat to maintain it and begin counting 10 minutes pressure cooking time. - When time is up, open the cooker by releasing the pressure through the valve.
- Now add the meat, bay leaves, dry ancho chilies, oregano, cumin powder, garlic, and salt.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker, again.
- For electric pressure cookers: Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
For stove top pressure cookers: Turn the heat up to high and when the cooker indicates it has reached high pressure, lower to the heat to maintain it and begin counting 10 minutes pressure cooking time. - When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Natural release method - move the cooker off the burner and wait for the pressure to come down on its own (about 10 minutes). or, for electric pressure cookers, disengage the “keep warm” mode or unplug the cooker and open when the pressure indicator has gone down (20 to 30 minutes).
- Fish out and discard the bay leaves. Then, fish out the ancho chilies and about two heaping tablespoons of cooked hominy.
- In a small chopper puree the chiles, two spoons of hominy, fresh pepper and remaining garlic into a paste, and then plop that paste back into the pressure cooker.
- Simmer the contents of the pressure cooker un-covered for 5-10 minutes or until the desired thickness is reached.
- Serve with radish, avocado, cabbage, and lime garnishes.
Laura,
Posole is one of my favorites. I can’t wait to try this.
One question. Can you substitute canned hominy for the dry kernels and skip the soaking? I have ready access to canned hominy.
Thx
I have not tested it, but you should be able to start this recipe right at phase two with canned hominy. If the canned hominy has some liquid, measure that and add water ’til you get to about 3 cups.
Ciao,
L
Laura,
I did the canned hominy with your recipe today! I can’t thank you enough for this fantastic recipe. Everything turned out perfectly. I’ve never made posole before. Your recipe seemiligky elevated my cooking prowess way beyond my real skills. The posole was delicious! It made me giggle and smile and I didn’t want to leave the kitchen after dinner. Your recipe is blue chip!
: )
same question here. I only have seen canned one in stores around here. Thanks Laura
I, too, love Posole, having made it for the last 30 years based on a recipe my sister in law in New Mexico gave me. I have made it with either dried or canned hominy, depending on my schedule. Of course, the dried is better but using the canned hominy is very acceptable,
One comment: most of the Posole recipes I have seen leave the hominy whole rather than puréed. I think leaving it whole makes it seem a more satisfying and hearty dish. finally, don’t skip the garnishes. They make the dish more festive and suitable for a casual dinner party.
inabech,
Thanks for the comment on the canned hominy. Also, if you look at the recipe Laura only purées two heaping tablespoons of the hominy.
(I liked you use of the ‘é’ so much I copied and pasted it into my reply)
Inabech, please share your sister’s version, if you can!
I only blended a small amount of hominy to thicken the stew – it doesn’t go to “chili” consistency but it does make the cooking liquid a bit more velvety!
Also, when I was experimenting and testing the recipe I only garnished using radish and lemon- but after photographing the final version the family sat down and had the Posole you see in the photo with ALL the fixin’s and BOY what a difference – the lime in particular was intoxicating.
I have to go out of my way to find limes and avocados in Italy – but it is sooo worth it and I agree that it would definitely be a fun dish to serve at a party!
Ciao,
L
Ah, Laura, I only copied the recipe itself that says:
“10. In a small chopper puree the chiles, hominy, fresh pepper and remaining garlic into a paste, and then plop that paste back into the pressure cooker. ”
And didn’t notice your comment above that you puree only a small portion of the hominy. Perhaps part 10 of the directions should be modified to make it clear that only a small portion is being pureed.
Also, regarding my sister in law’s original recipe: it got lost and I make it from memory, which means it is a little bit different each time :-) I think your recipe captures the essence of her recipe and besides: it is a pressure cooker recipe. I can’t wait to try it.
TanyaL
That looks really delicious.
I really like the pictures especially showing the marbling of the pork raw. (I have the same hand blender)
I have dried chipotle chiles and ancho powder so might use 1/2 each? Chipotle is my favorite
.
Go for it! The trick is to get the “smoky” chile flavor in there. Which is why I offer so many alternatives in the recipe.
Ciao,
L
Ah, Laura, I only copied the recipe itself that says:
“10. In a small chopper puree the chiles, hominy, fresh pepper and remaining garlic into a paste, and then plop that paste back into the pressure cooker. ”
And didn’t notice your comment above that you puree only a small portion of the hominy. Perhaps part 10 of the directions should be modified to make it clear that only a small portion is being pureed.
Also, regarding my sister in law’s original recipe: it got lost and I make it from memory, which means it is a little bit different each time :-) I think your recipe captures the essence of her recipe and besides: it is a pressure cooker recipe. I can’t wait to try it.
Hi Laura
Did you manage to find hominy in Italy? I’m in Switzerland and can’t find it here, but limes and avacados are now readily available! :-) I guess I could check Amazon, but I am headed back to NJ for a visit …I need an empty suitcase just for food! Lol. Can’t wait to make this.
Tanya, my local Pakistani store (where I get coconut milk, etc.) just started to offer South American foods. He has masa harina, too! I haven’t shopped in Switzerland, yet but when I was visitng Germany I went to http://www.globus.de and they had quite a selection of international foods – I wonder if there is a similar store in Switzerland?!?
Ciao,
L
P.S. Look at what I found on amazon DE! http://amzn.to/1C8sE6a
Amazon USA did not have a good buy on a reasonably small quantity of white hominy, but I found some on EBay (Sweet Pea Spices company) and it had free shipping and arrived promptly. I have soaked the hominy and am assembling the ingredients. Can’t wait to make it in the pressure cooker.
Ohhhh I need to check my Indian grocer maybe the Chinese grocer as well, I ofeten find Mexican chilies in adobo ect. Great Idea! Thanks. PS Thank God for Amazon! Lol
Ingredients assembled and ready to go, with a hominy question:
I’m going to use canned and would like to make sure the hominy+ the 3 cups liquid goes in at Step 10 (other than the 2 T. used in Step 9). Does that sound right? Thanks!
You’re only supposed to use the 2T of hominy as written in the recipe step 10. That step is to fish out some hominy from the pot to make the pepper sauce/paste for flavor for the soup. You want it thick (hence 2T of the hominy) but not too much so.
Besides, the hominy itself is the start of the stew! Leave them be :)
You’re not the first person to be confused by step 10, so I have added “”two spoons of” before the word hominy there to make it really clear that you’re not supposed to puree’ the whole lot.
How did it turn out?
Ciao,
L
Splendidly!! Using canned, drained (reserved the liquid) hominy, I started the process at Step 5 (no hominy yet)with about 3# pork top loin boneless filet, about a cup of hominy liquid, and upped the meat cook time to 15 minutes (is that about right for the added 1# of meat, Laura? It was perfectly done at that point, in my opinion) I added the canned, drained hominy (8-9 cups) with all the other goodies at Step 10, + enough of the retained liquid to get to a soup/stew consistency. Result was near-as-good as my “authentic” Mexican pal had taught me to do it, ‘the hard way’. I am new to pressure cooking and have found this site to be a delight. BTW, the butcher advised me that carne asada would be a good posole meat and that some bones should be added to the meat during cook time.
It sounds it turned out well and glad to hear that it tasted so close to the original. BTW, you don’t need to increase the cooking time with more meat – though there is lots of play in this recipe.
Ciao,
L
Thanks for posting the recipe! Making a pozole has been one of my goals since I got my pressure cooker. I made the recipe, with a few deviations, and it turned out amazing!
Changes:
– I used about two medium sized cans of white hominy. The pozole I grew up with has a TON of hominy, so I didn’t think 2 cups would cut it.
– Because I stepped up the hominy, I also stepped up the liquid. I used 4 cups of chicken stock + 2 cups water.
– I threw everything into the pressure cooker and cooked for 20 minutes (since I increased the total volume)
That’s it! I’d say definitely go for the canned hominy if you have access to it. And I love the broth and fleet of hominy, so we had to step that up.
Next time I make this I think I’ll keep it as I have it posted here but will throw in a marrow bone or two for flavor/gelatin.
Joe, thanks for sharing your variation. BTW, two cups of dry is roughly equivalent to two cans of hominy. The stew, written as-is, comes out to about 1/2 meat and 1/2 hominy.
Welcome!
Ciao,
L
P.S. Please come back to rate to leave a rating for this recipe when you get a chance!
Just tried it and have to report my results. First, the taste is excellent. I really like it. However, the big problem for me was the dried corn. In the future I’ll probably go with canned hominy. I’m in Northern California and went to a Mexican grocery and bought “Maiz Blanco”, which came from Mexico. I soaked it for 24 hours. I made the recipe as described and the hominy/maize was not fully cooked, very “toothy”. The pork was exceedingly tender.
I removed the meat and cooked the hominy three additional times, 10 minutes each with a natural release and testing the hominy after. This was 30 minutes additional cooking and the hominy, while better, was still “toothy”.
I had no experience with dried hominy. I assumed that “Maiz Blanco” was posole. It looked similar. In retrospect I’m not sure if Maiz Blanco it went through nixtamalization, as the outer skin seemed intact. I would suggest that there be some type of test after step 4 (cooking of the hominy) to see how “al dente” it is and if additional cooking is needed. This might help adjust for the variation in the cooking time of the dried hominy.
Now I’m really curious if Maiz Blanco is posole? Does anyone know?
Well, when I first started experimenting with Hominy I brought home a pack of what I thought was hominy. Instead it was just large kernels of a special corn that had been cooked and dried – I can’t remember what it was called because I have since thrown it away. The “wrong hominy” looks like corn kernels with both the skin and germ. I spent two days testing the cooking time of these “corn rocks” pressure cooking them from dry (4 hours) and from soaked (30+ minutes) before I realized my error.
Look at what you have, and then look at the photo of the dried hominy at the top of this page. Do they look the same? I found the hominy to be rounder, less pointy, with no skin and the germ “mostly” missing. In Spanish it’s called “Maiz Mote.”
Glad to read that, otherwise, it turned out great. It’s better with hominy. ; )
Ciao,
L
Laura,
I’m sure that I also bought “corn rocks”. I’m going to try and rescue the dish by removing the “rocks” and meat and cooking a can of hominy in the cooking liquid plus a little additional water (Step 3).
Also, in the past, I have experienced similar results. No matter how long I cooked the hominy, it never seem to get soft. I have experience similar results with other hard grains from time to time when I have very old packages of many grains. My conclusion is to make sure that they are fresh. Perhaps the merchant sold you old stock.
Ina
I tried this today. “Toothy” is the word I would use for the hominy I cooked from dried, but in a good way. I think chewy would also describe it. This was a nice change from canned hominy that has a texture somewhere between gummy and mealy.
I have dried aji panca chilies. Can I use them in this recipe? My new Kuhn Rikon is begging me to make this dish!
Grace I’ve never used aji panca chiles but I read that they have a distinctive taste. So just be aware that the flavor could change more in the direction of these chiles – but overall it will still be delicious. Go for it!
Ciao,
L
Excellent dish. I made half, using 1 lb. of pork and one large can of hominy, which I rinsed and drained. I did not halve the spices or chilis. I sauteed some onions to start. In an above comment you said to use 3 cups of water even with canned hominy; this is WAY too much. I used 1 cup of water and that was more than enough. Puréeing a red pepper sounded odd to me, but it’s a brilliant idea. Pressure-cooked meat is an unappealing gray. Adding the puréed red pepper and rehydrated chilis resulted in a very appealing deep red.
Maybe you could edit the recipe to add the option of canned hominy, which makes this recipe quite easy.
The extra liquid in phase 2 is not for the hominy, it’s to “stew” the pork. Since you halved the recipe the cooking liquid should have been halved from 3 to 1 1/2 cups – I’m pleased to read that this recipe worked out for you, anyway!
I’m glad that you trusted me enough to go ahead and add that fresh bell pepper to the puree’ and that you were satisfied with the results!
Ciao,
L
Am I missing something? There is no way to save to a recipe box or print the recipe?
You can click on the print option above the comments under the heading “Sharing is Caring”. It’s the next-to-last button in the series with the picture of a little printer. Clicking on the button will take you to a website that will allow you to remove or keep text and photos.
Ciao,
L
I know this is not classified as a Mexican dish but I would like to point out that authentic traditional pozole is not made this way at all. Peppers (hot or bell) are not used nor is garlic.
Mexican cooking is very simple. Pozole is served with oregano, limes or lemons, salt and chile (rarely) as condiments so that each person can season their pozole the way they like.
It is a stereotype to assume that all Mexicans like peppers (hot or not) in their food. It just is not so. It would be like saying because there is basil in a recipe it must be Italian.
I am sure this is a good recipe but I wanted to make clear the difference.: )
IFortuna,
When I added fresh bell pepper – my touch to the otherwise traditional list of ingredients to add color and flavor- it was not my intention to stereotype Mexicans.
I mention in both the title and introduction to the recipe that I completely re-worked how to make this dish to reduce the time and cooking implements used.
I’m sorry to read that you were offended by my rendition of this classic Mexican dish – that was not my intention at all.
Please feel free to share your traditional pozole recipe with us along with any steps you do in the pressure cooker.
Ciao,
L
In response to IFortuna’s remarks about “Mexican” Posole, I have had Posole in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and varios regions in Mexico and South America. Each region has its own type of Posole, so there is no right or wrong recipe. Having said this, I am a real Posole fan, so I savor the variations.
Yes, I understand different regions and different countries have different ways of making posole. I too, have been in various regions of Mexico and used to live in New Mexico.
New Mexico has food unlike any place else in the world. It cannot be compared with this recipe either.
The same is true of South America. Peruvian food cannot be compared to Argentinian food. Each state is different.
The food also takes on the flavors and foods of the indigenous populations.
In Mexico, if one is on the tropical side there are lots of oranges and black beans and other local foods that are used in the cooking. Southern Mexico also has its own way of cooking.
However, generally, Mexico and Mexican families will keep to certain recipes handed down through generations and not influenced by outsiders or trendy food fashions. Foods will also vary from city to city or village to village usually with only slight and competitive variations.
Also, dining in an upscale tourist’s restaurant will be vastly different than dining with local people and where they dine. Dining in someone’s home is the true test of authentic cooking.
My point is this is not authentic traditional Mexican posole nor is it purported to be. I did not say it was wrong, I said it is not authentic traditional Mexican. Big difference. : )
Perhaps Laura should rename it “Authentic Italian Posole”. ;)
Don’t worry IFortuna. you should have seen the flack Laura got when she had the nerve to publish a PC version of Spaghetti Bolognese.
Well, seems everyone is trying to protect their tradition in various ways since the world is becoming a melting pot. There are a lot of fusion and trendy dishes that are wonderful. Cooking is an art delicious creations should be cherished.
I simply don’t want tradition to get lost in the shuffle. After over 45 years of cooking, I can appreciate new ideas and methods especially when they are given the chef’s authentic name.
Have you heard of Massimo Bottura? He is someone who is a cutting edge and inventive chef, however, people became enraged with him because he tampered with traditional Italian food. He finally overcame and is now a celebrated chef. : )
If I just want to cook pre-soaked hominy in the IP, what would the time and liquid be?
Elena, the recipe calls for pre-soaked hominy. : )
Ciao,
L
Sorry I meant just the pre-soaked hominy, without the meat. Is it 20 minutes or longer? I am new to the IP and finding your site helpful. Thanks.
Welcome, Elena! Yes, for stove top pressure cookers it’s 20 minutes and for electric it’s 25. You can get more details about this from our cooking time chart (under the grains header):
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooking-times/
Ciao,
L
I made this today but cut the recipe in half and used hominy I had cooked and frozen. For the meat, I used 1# of bone in pork loin rib chops. I used 2-3 c cooked hominy (I didn’t measure). I skipped the first phase cooking. I took the meat out and cubed it after the NPR. It was excellent! I had a small batch of Pork Posole in about 30 mins instead of hours!
So glad you enjoyed the process! Don’t skip the chili puree’ step – it’s what gives the Posole that rich, dark color.
Ciao,
L
Laura,
After discussing posole with a friend I ran across this article which does a good job of explaining what we should be looking for as an ingredient and hopefully it will clear up some of the issues I/we have had:
https://www.ranchogordo.com/pages/how-to-cook-posole-prepared-hominy
Thanks for sharing this link, gbguy. Good stuff!
Ciao,
L
Hi, new to pressure cooking. Could I make this with beef instead of pork? thanks!
Yes, you can substitute beef. Just follow the “beef stew” pressure cooking time in the second phase (12 minutes):
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooking-times/
Ciao,
L
This was my 1st posole it was delicious and I’ll definitely make it again
Pressure cooked (in an IP) soaked hominy for 15 min. Totally uncooked. Brought the pressure back up and cooked 35 min. Only slightly cooked. Disappointing. Making stock in the IP now and will combine ingredients (I am making a pose verde) and try an hour. Maybe that will work. I’m using high quality pose from Rancho Gordo, which I’ve cooked successfully many times, albeit conventionally for several hours. We’ll see.
Never did work out. I can definitely see this recipe with canned hominy. Though fully soaked, the recipe ended up taking well over an hour.
So how long did soaked rancho gordo hominy take to cook in the pressure cooker? I can’t believe how hard it is to find instructions for this, cooking times are all over the place on the internet! I’d really like to cook the pork and hominy at the same time if possible so the flavors meld.
In this recipe, they do cook together. Since Hominy takes longer it starts cooking first, but finishes with the pork.
Ciao,
L
I soaked my hominy for 36 hours then followed the recipe. It was still hard. Then I pressure cooked it another 30 minutes…still hard. Then I boiled it for nearly an hour…still hard. I bought my hominy from a Food 4 Less in an area with a high Mexican population so I thought I was buying the right stuff. I must have gotten the untreated kind with the skin still on it as described in the link from another post above. I’d make this recipe again. It was delicious, but I’ll definitely use canned hominy.
https://www.ranchogordo.com/pages/how-to-cook-posole-prepared-hominy
Iirc, it took another 40 min on top of the two times I cooked it, so 90 min. I have found it better to simply use a slow cooker and let it cook all day.
Changed the recipe for canned hominy and added onion and additional chilies.
Changed the Directions for Electric Pressure cooker only.
Browned the pork for additional flavor.
INGREDIENTS
• 1 medium white onion
• 2 – 30 oz. cans Mexican hominy – reserved liquid
• 4 cups of reserved liquid and water if needed
• 2 lbs boneless pork shoulder sliced in 1” – 2″ chunks
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 dried ancho chilies, stems and seeds removed
• 2 dried Guajillo chilies, stems and seeds removed
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican Oregano, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 3 cloves garlic, divided (one in the pressure cooker, and two for the blender)
• 1 tablespoons salt (to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Brown the pork then transfer to a plate on saute mode.
2. Saute onion till softened
3. Add the 4 cups of liquid, hominy, meat, bay leaves, dry ancho and Guajillo chilies, oregano, cumin powder, garlic and salt.
4. Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker.
5. Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
6. When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Natural release method – cancel the “keep warm” mode.
7. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
8. Puree the Ancho and Guajillo chilies, two heaping tablespoons of cooked hominy with fresh pepper and remaining garlic.
9. Simmer the contents of the pressure cooker un-covered for 5-10 minutes or until the desired thickness is reached.