Pozole, A mexican treasure

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When the bones are cool enough to handle, pick the meat from them and cut the remaining pork into serving-sized pieces. Discard the fat and bones, and return the meat to the pot with the stock. Then add the hominy and chile, and simmer the soup — covered — for 2 to 3 hours. (The longer you cook it, the better it'll get!)

While the spicy treat is simmering, prepare shredded raw cabbage, chopped onion, chopped radishes (these are optional), and fresh lime halves or quarters as condiments, placing them on the table in individual serving bowls.

Once you're satisfied that the soup is ready, bring the kettle to the table and ladle out your pozole directly from the pot. (If you happened to use a pig's head for the stock, chop up the ears and stir them into your pork-and-hominy pottage . . . giving it that extra touch of authenticity!)

Dig down deep to serve portions thick with pork and hominy, but fill the bowls only half to two-thirds full . . . because there's lots more to come. Now, you see, each diner can doctor his or her serving by heaping the raw onion, cabbage, and radish on top . . . and then squeezing lime juice over everything. The cutup vegetables are traditional accompaniments for true pozole, but the lime juice is absolutely mandatory. If you omit it, you'll be serving a different dish entirely!

HOT SECRETS ABOUT CHILE

Trying to identify the various types of powdered chile can be as confusing as U.S. foreign policy. In fact, I once precipitated a small-scale family crisis in a Mexican food store when I tried to purchase some pasilla chile. The 10-year-old clerk pointed to one barrel, his 11-year-old brother to a second, and their father — the store's owner — to a third. The funny thing is, each could have been correct. There simply is no universally agreed upon nomenclature for chiles.

The wise shopper, therefore, chooses powdered chile by taste and smell. Place your finger in the spice and sample it, then sniff. If your sinuses clear, your vision becomes fuzzy, and your scalp begins to sweat, that particular variety may be more than you can handle! As a rule, gringos who are unfamiliar with very hot foods should avoid serrano and jalapeño chiles. I enjoy (and recommend) the fullbodied pasilla, New Mexico, and California chiles . . . but let discretion be your guide!

THE HOW-TO OF HOMEMADE HOMINY

I visit Mexico fairly frequently, and when I return, I always bring back a few kilos of local pozole corn to use when making my own hominy. (I also take the precaution of roasting the already dried corn for 30 minutes, at 275°F, to eliminate weevils.)

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