Lamb Neck Pozole
Pozole is a classic Mexican soup utilizing hominy (nixtamalized corn), red chiles and typically pork or chicken. Common garnishes are shaved raw cabbage, radishes, cilantro, avocado, jalapeño, lime, raw onion and jicama. Any combination of these garnishes are awesome. The more the merrier!
I love lamb and the flavor you get from braising lamb on the bone is hard to beat. If you can’t find lamb necks it’s ok to substitute lamb shanks or bone-in lamb shoulder.
I like to overnight braise in the oven at a really low setting. Like 250°. If I don’t have any high quality stock, I’ll typically use a Mexican lager, like Modelo, as the braising liquid.
You will need
5 lb bone-in lamb, preferably neck or shank
2 onions, chopped
15 cloves garlic
1 can chipotle in adobo
10 each dried Guajillo chiles
10 each dried Pasilla chiles
(Feel free to add more red chiles if you like spice. Arbols, fresh fresnos and dried chipotles will make it much spicier)
12-oz crushed tomato (some recipes rely solely on red chiles, but I like tomato in mine)
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons smoked paprika
Salt & cracked pepper
8 cans of Modelo, or another Mexican lager of your choice. You’ll need enough to submerge all the lamb and ingredients in a braising pan.
24-48oz canned hominy, drained.
Tabasco, to taste
Braising & assembly
Season the lamb with salt and pepper thoroughly. Add all ingredients to a braising pan or large Dutch oven. Cover and cook very slow for a long time. Think 350° for 4-5 hours or 225-250° for 8-12 hours.
Once cooked, remove the lamb carefully. Skim any excess fat from the braising liquid and purée in a high powered blender, like a Vitamix. Be careful, as hot liquids expand. Season this broth as it will be the base to the soup. It is very possible that you may need to thin out this liquid with some additional stock or water. It should have a viscosity slightly thicker than a broth, but not so thick that it coats the spoon like potato soup.
Pull the lamb meat until you have removed all the fat and bone and set aside the cleaned meat. Only the delicious edible meat should be folded back into the puréed liquid. Add a few cans of hominy to the soup. The quantity is really up to you. I like to have at least 1/4 of the volume of the soup be hominy.
Now you should do the final seasoning of your soup. I like it to be spicy, salty, and full of red chili flavor. I like to use Tabasco at the end as well to make sure it has enough heat and acid.
Garnish your soup with any of the above mention vegetables. Tons of them. Be very generous with these as it is an entire meal in a bowl and the raw textures against the bold flavor of the soup is magic. Enjoy!
