IOTM: Steak and Green Chile Posole
Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 11:43 amTwo days ago I had a 3 lb chuck roast that I was going to turn into a batch of Chili. But it turned out I didn't have the right beans on hand, and I did have a bag of dried hominy from New Mexico plus plenty of fresh jalapenos from the garden, so I decided to make a green chile posole instead substituting beef for my usual pork.
But after I got the meat cut into fairly small strips and dice and seared off in several batches, I decided the steak-y taste of the meat was so delicious that I hesitated to just turn it into a thousand tiny boiled pot roasts vs somehow preserving that steak flavor. So the decision got made to set the browned beef aside on a tray, deglaze that pan and add the liquid to some broth in which to cook the polenta along with several cloves of garlic, a handful of dried oregano, a dried red ancho chile and several fresh jalapenos. When the hominy was done, I added four whole charred and chopped fresh pasilla chiles and some dried red flakes for more heat, and then added the beef back just before serving. The result was terrific, combining the complex flavors of the long-cooked hominy and various chiles with the hearty steak flavor and piquant fresh pasillas. To serve, I topped each bowl with freshly grated cheddar and finely shredded green cabbage.
And it was excellent! A definite do-again. And one of those happy dishes that seemed to suggest itself as I went along, almost as if IT knew what it needed to be before I did.
But after I got the meat cut into fairly small strips and dice and seared off in several batches, I decided the steak-y taste of the meat was so delicious that I hesitated to just turn it into a thousand tiny boiled pot roasts vs somehow preserving that steak flavor. So the decision got made to set the browned beef aside on a tray, deglaze that pan and add the liquid to some broth in which to cook the polenta along with several cloves of garlic, a handful of dried oregano, a dried red ancho chile and several fresh jalapenos. When the hominy was done, I added four whole charred and chopped fresh pasilla chiles and some dried red flakes for more heat, and then added the beef back just before serving. The result was terrific, combining the complex flavors of the long-cooked hominy and various chiles with the hearty steak flavor and piquant fresh pasillas. To serve, I topped each bowl with freshly grated cheddar and finely shredded green cabbage.
And it was excellent! A definite do-again. And one of those happy dishes that seemed to suggest itself as I went along, almost as if IT knew what it needed to be before I did.