Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds beef shank
1 white onion, quartered
1 large carrot, roughly chopped to yield 1/2 cup
1 stick celery, roughly chopped to yield 1/2 cup
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons salt, plus extra for seasoning
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 (29-ounce) can Mexican-style hominy, drained
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups thinly sliced cabbage, for garnish
1 cup thinly sliced radishes, for garnish
10 lime wedges, for garnish
1/3 cup dried oregano, for garnish
10 corn tostadas, for garnish
Pasilla-Guajillo Salsa, recipe follows (optional)
Directions
Place the beef shank in a large heavy stock pot. Add enough cold water to cover the beef shank completely. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic cloves, and bay leaves. Season with 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of peppercorns. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the meat is fully cooked and tender, about 2 hours. Be sure to constantly skim the fat from the surface of the liquid while cooking.
Remove the meat from the pot and let cool. Strain the liquid and return to the pot. Add the hominy and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Using a fork, shred the meat into thin pieces and return to the pot adding 1 cup of water, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve hot, garnished with cabbage, radishes, lime wedges, dried oregano, tostadas, and Pasilla-Guajillo Salsa, if using.
Cook's Note: Stir the Pasilla-Guajillo Salsa directly into the pozole if you want it to be spicy and red in color.
Pasilla-Guajillo Salsa:
3 pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
3 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
3 cloves garlic
2 cups warm water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Soak the chiles and garlic cloves in warm water until the chiles are soft. Place the chiles, garlic, and water in a blender and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with Beef Pozole as a garnish.
OUR NOTES:
This is a hearty, rich and filling winter soup.
It's somewhat labor intensive and I forget where I saw it (I think it was "Simply Delicioso" but I'm not sure).
I braised the shanks (I thought I saw them do it that way when I first saw this dish on TV).
I would recommend using approximately half of the hominy the recipe calls for and skipped the pozole (it's too hot for Frank).
I got 5 large bowls of soup for approximately $7.00...
