Pork and Hominy Stew – Pressure Cooker Posole
Pork shoulder cooked in a spicy broth until it’s fork tender, then it’s shredded and combine with hominy to make a hearty stew. If you haven’t tried hominy yet, give it a try. It’s delicious and a good source of fiber. Hominy is just dried kernels of corn that have been soaked in lime or lye until the kernels are soft and swollen, and slightly chewy.
Today I’m sharing a recipe that I adapted from a recipe in the October edition of Martha Stewart Living. In the Everyday Foods insert they’re featuring simple slow cooker meals, and I knew their Pork Hominy Stew (Posole) slow cooker recipe would make a terrific pressure cooker recipe.
Making Pork and Hominy Stew (Posole) in an Instant Pot
One great thing about making it in the pressure cooker is that you can brown the meat and the onions in the pressure cooking pot, and don’t need to dirty another pan; but maybe the best thing about making it in the pressure cooker is that the cook time is reduced from 8 hours on low in the slow cooker, to just 30 minutes in the pressure cooker.
I like to use an instant-read thermometer to verify the pork is at least 145°F in the thickest part after cooking. When reheating, you should reheat to a temperature of 165°F.
I had a large can of white hominy and a large can of yellow hominy in the pantry, so I doubled the hominy which help to really bulk up the recipe as well as add a fun color variation. My husband said if it was called stew, the broth needed to be thicker, so I added a corn starch slurry to the broth at the end of the cooking time.
You can find hominy in the hispanic section of the grocery store, but if you can’t find hominy, you could easily swap in white or kidney beans.
I served my stew with lime, sour cream and avocados. Shredded cheese and chips would be great additions as well.
Pork and Hominy Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- Coarse salt
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 4-inch pieces
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 4 cups chicken broth, divided
- 2 cans (29 ounces) hominy, drained and rinsed*
- Diced avocado and lime wedges, for serving
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cold water
Instructions
Select Browning and add 1 tablespoon oil to the cooking pot. Season pork with salt. Add the pork to the hot oil in the pressure cooking pot, and cook until pieces are browned on all sides. When browned, remove to a large bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon oil to the cooking pot. When hot, add the onion, garlic, and chili powder and sauté until soft, 4 minutes. Add 2 cups broth and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon.
Add remaining 2 cups broth and pork to cooking pot, Lock lid in place, select High Pressure and 30 minutes cooking time. When beep sounds, turn off pressure cooker and use a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then do a quick pressure release to release any remaining pressure. When valve drops carefully remove lid.
Remove pork from cooking pot and using two forks, shred pork.
Whisk together corn starch and cold water; add to broth in cooking pot. Select Saute and stir until broth thickens. Stir in shredded pork and hominy. Season to taste with salt. Serve with avocado and lime.
Notes
Tip: Squeeze a bit of lime juice directly onto avocados after chopping to prevent browning.
More Pressure Cooker Soups you might like:
Chicken Tomatillo Soup with Hominy
Spicy Chicken Soup
Picante Chicken and Black Bean Soup
This recipe is now one of my husband’s favorites, with a few tweaks: I add a 10 oz can of red enchilada sauce with the second addition of chicken broth instead of using chili powder and also add a 4 oz can of lightly drained chopped mild green chilies with the hominy. I drain but don’t rinse the hominy to help thicken the broth a bit more. This recipe can easily accommodate about 2 pounds of pork for a more meaty and hearty stew.
BTW, I shared this recipe with a Latina bank teller. She said she plans to use this posole recipe from now on. 🙂
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
That’s so nice to hear – thanks Rieko! Thanks too for sharing your changes.
Instead of the corn starch slurry, try making a roux of butter (or duck fat) and masa harina and stir that into the stew for a more Mexican flavor.
Thanks for the suggestions Rob.
This is AMAZING! I also added a tablespoon of chipotle chili powder. Do not pass on thi recipe!
Thanks Stephanie! Glad you loved it. Chipotle chili powder is a great addition. It would add a nice smokey flavor.
I love posole. This recipe looks amazing. I am new to pressure cooking, and like you, I love yo adapt recipes.
Thanks Patti! Have fun with your new pressure cooker.
I just made this for my husband and I. It’s a hit! We’ll be serving this for the next family gathering or work potluck! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Shannon! It’s great for a crowd. Have fun!
This is a actually a version of Mexican Posole which does not need a slurry added to it and is healthier without anyway. Serve it topped with shredded cabbage, avocado and cilantro and it’s delish!
wow, that was fast 🙂
can’t wait to make this!
Sometimes it’s easier just to do things while you’re thinking about it 🙂 Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Please update the title of this recipe to include “posole” since this is a variation of the classic mexican dish
Good idea.
Quite simply this is a great recipe. I doubled the recipe but didn’t double the hominy but added a little extra pork. Kids loved it and adults loved it too. Served with some shredded queso fresco, guacamole, mexican cream and some jalapenos. Next time I might add a can of mild diced chiles to add a little green to it, but this recipe wasn’t lacking anything, it was excellent. I use gas cooktop with Fagor pressure cooker and it worked great.
Thanks Aaron! I’m glad everyone loved the recipe. I love the way you topped it.
This is a take on a Mexican classic called pozole,one of my favorite soups.
My oldest son loves pazole that our dearest and oldest family friends makes(her family is mexican) and finding this recipe is going to make my son very happy! He is so silly because it will be his birthday in June and he always asks her to make some for him. LOL Her son does too. Looking forward to doing this soon!!
Thanks for sharing that story Darlene – I hope everyone loves it.
OK, OK…I need a pressure cooker; perfect thing to ask my girls to give me for Christmas! So…can you give me a good recommendation, you know…so I can give them a hint? Thanks…love this recipe; I’ve long been a fan of hominy, ever since I was a little girl!
I love the convenience of my electric pressure cookers. Both my Cuisinart and Instant Pot
I love the convenience of the electric pressure cookers. I use my Cuisinart and Instant Pot several times a week, sometimes both at the same time. Rice in one and meat dish in the other. I like some things better about the Cuisinart and some things better about the Instant Pot.
Cuisinart has a nonstick pot which is nice for clean up. The Instant Pot has a stainless steel pot which browns better and doesn’t get scratched. Cuisinart has a browning, sauté and simmer setting and a high low pressure setting. Instant Pot is releasing a new model in November/December that will also have a low pressure setting. Instant Pot is quieter and releases less steam while it’s cooking.
I’m going to review the new Instant Pot and host a giveaway as soon as it’s released.
Hope that helps.