Red Posole - Chili blends? Straining?

Question

I've been looking for a reasonably 'authentic' Red Posole that I'm adapting for a slow cooker. Basically make the sauce in advance, brown the meat, maybe sautee the onion, yada yada yada...

There have been a number of chili blends I've seem from all Ancho, all Guajillo, to 50/50, to some featuring Chili de Arbol... As a chemist and a coffee roaster, I love finding the perfect combinations.. Any suggestions?

Finally, I see most recipes strain the blended chili/onion/garlic/spice mix but others seem to use it as it. Is there a preferred method? Do you love flavor by straining?

Thanks!!

Answer

I made a red pozole a couple of weeks ago, though I more often make a so-called "white" version. "Reasonably authentic," as you put it, is all you can aim for, because as you probably understand, every proverbial Mexican grandmother has her own recipe. For red, I have used various combinations of arbol, guajillo and ancho. The "perfect combination" is what suits YOUR palate. All guajillo or all ancho is too mild for my taste, so I add a small percentage of arboles. The red pozole I made a couple of weeks ago was an experiment in that I used 100% puya chiles. I have no idea if anyone's Mexican grandmother uses puyas in pozole, but I thought the experiment was a success. Just the right amount of heat for my taste, along with a deep flavor similar to guajillo.

As for the process, I do strain the chile puree. Judging from the (admittedly small sampling of) pozole I have eaten in Mexico, it is more of a soup than a stew. I suspect straining it does leave behind certain flavors in the solids, but perhaps those flavors just aren't traditionally expected in pozole? As far as the chile puree is concerned, the process I use to make Tex-Mex "chili" aka "chili con carne" is quite similar to the process I use to make pozole, except that when I am making chili I do not strain the puree. In chili, those bold--maybe even harsh--flavors are appealing to me.

Answer

A common approach is to dry fry the chiles, soak them, then puree and strain. A food mill does the last 2 steps together - neatly separating pulp from skin (and seeds).

Guajillo has a tough smooth skin, Ancho not quite so tough. I think the straining or food mill is more important when using Guajillo, to avoid putting bits of skin the soup. But if your blender gets it fine enough, the use it directly.

To me blending the onions along with the chiles is more typical of either a salsa that will used as is, or of Indian cooking. Especially in a long cooked soup/stew like posole, there's nothing wrong with soft diced onion and garlic.

When I get posole at a taqueria (at least in the Seattle area), the broth is lightly seasoned. I get to spice up with minced raw onion, cilantro, chiles and Mexican oregano. Menudo is a bit more spicy, but comes with the same condiments.

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Red Posole - Chili blends? Straining?

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