Posole, because it's been a minute...

Wow, it's been a minute - like 2 years worth of minutes almost (over a million to be exact). So, in celebration of being fashionably late in making a new post, I'm sharing a no-fail posole recipe to celebrate fall that will absolutely KNOCK your socks off. If you've never heard of posole, it's a brothy, pork, hominy, and chile Mexican stew that is one of my all-time favorites. Pull out your 6 qt Dutch oven and get ready.

Makes 12 servings (and more depending on how hungry the crowd is)

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POSOLE

2 TBSP olive oil

2 yellow onions, diced

1 pound baby carrots, diced

2 habanero peppers, seeded and diced*

2 serrano peppers, seeded and diced*

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced*

4-5 pound bone-in Boston butt pork

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chicken stock

9 tsp. better than broth chicken stock concentrate

2 dried ancho chiles (2 extra hot hatch chiles are cool as a sub if you have those)

1 TBSP cumin

1 TBSP salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

2 tsp black pepper

2 - 25 oz cans white hominy

1 - 25 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 - 12 oz bottle Modelo or other Mexican lager

2 bay leaves

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

* If you and/or your family aren't really spicy food people, cut back to one pepper of each variety.*

Heat chicken stock to a boil in 4 cup glass measuring cup, add concentrate, mix well, and soak ancho chiles for 30 minutes in stock to rehydrate. Blend in food processor and set aside.

Dice onions, carrots, and peppers. Place olive oil in 6 Qt Dutch oven and add onions, carrots, and peppers. Saute until a little tender.

Cut pork off bone to the extent possible into 1 inch pieces. Cook over medium heat in a 12 inch nonstick skillet with the bone in with the diced pork. Cook until there is no red.

Add pork and bone to the pot. Add 5 cloves of minced garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minute. Add stock/ancho chile mixture. Add spices, hominy, crushed tomatoes, beer, and 2 bay leaves. Cook for at least 2.5 hours. Add the apple cider vinegar and brown sugar, and then cook 30 more minutes.

Pull bone and put any of the very tender meat into the stew. Discard the bone and bay leaves.

Garnish with any favorites like shredded cabbage, radishes, lime, rice, cilantro, avocados, or cornbread.

Enjoy, friends!