Pork and Hominy Stew

I’ve mentioned before that my household loves any food that’s even remotely Mexican or Southwestern, and hominy is an ingredient that pops up in those cuisines. Do y’all know what hominy is? It’s basically dried corn that is soaked until the corn puffs up to the size of a large bean, with a texture almost like a chickpea? Or a large piece of barley? Okay, it’s hard to explain. But it’s wonderful + has an awesome texture, trust me! The first time I gave hominy to Fearless Baby, she surprised me by gobbling it down, and asking again and again for “more!” So, I made it my mission to find some new, super delicious hominy-filled recipes to try out on my family.

My husband suggested trying a pork + hominy stew, as he used to eat something along these lines as a child, + thought that we’d all love it. So, I looked up a bunch of recipes, found one that seemed perfect, + gave it a try. And y’all, it turned out SO wonderful – a hearty, delicious, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food that is seriously bursting with flavor. There’s a wonderful variety of textures, between the fall-apart-tender pork, the awesomely textured pieces of hominy, + the softened tomatoes/chiles/onions. The flavor is absolutely amazing, too – slightly spicy, brightly tomatoey, + boldly seasoned. It is great eaten straight-up from a bowl, like a stew, or it’s also fantastic used as a taco filling with soft tortillas. It actually gets even better after a day or two in the fridge, so eating the leftovers will be a treat, not a chore. =) Y’all must give this a try + let me know if you love it as much as we do!

Pork and Hominy Stew

serves 6, adapted from Another Bite Please + Woman’s Day

Ingredients

1 (2 1/2 pound) boneless pork shoulder, excess fat trimmed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion, diced
2 poblano chiles, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 12 ounce can of beer (or substitute chicken or vegetable stock if you prefer not to use alcohol)
1 can (7 oz) diced green chilies
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 can (29 oz) hominy, drained + rinsed
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
lime wedges and tortillas, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven 350°F. Season pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook, turning to brown all sides. Remove pork and set aside on plate.

Add onion, poblano chiles and garlic to pan drippings in dutch oven and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in beer, diced green chilies, tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, ground cumin and remaining salt. Add pork and hominy to the pot. Cover and bake for 2 hours, or until pork is cooked through and fall-apart tender

Remove pork to a cutting board. Skim as much fat as possible off the liquid in the dutch oven. Shred pork with two forks into bite-size pieces. Return pork to pot, add in cilantro, + stir to combine. Add more salt + pepper if needed, to taste. Serve with lime wedges and warmed tortillas.

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