Monday, December 06, 2010

The "L" Word: Leftover Turkey in Posole


The first words out of Dave's mouth when I mention ordering the holiday turkey are, "Oboy! Turkey enchiladas!" That's because after we've reprised the meal the next day to use up the leftover gravy and mashed potatoes, as well as a couple of turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce, there always seems to be enough for a batch of enchiladas.

I normally use my basic chile sauce, but I got to thinking that maybe a posole rojo would be a nice change, since I've always liked the way that chiles tend to mitigate the sometimes overbearing flavor that turkey can have. Plus the smokiness from the turkey meat (thanks to Dave's mad skills with the Weber) and the stock from the carcass would lend a woodsy, hearty flavor to the corn and chiles.

In the past I've made posole as a thick stew, but thanks to the incredible soup my friend Linda Colwell made with her verde version, I decided to try something like it with red chiles. It could also be made with chicken and chicken stock, but the turkey made it so much richer, and was so good we may just have to alternate it with the enchiladas from now on. Is that OK, honey?

Turkey Posole Rojo

12 oz. dried posole or hominy
6-8 dried ancho chiles
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. oregano
Salt to taste
4 c. leftover turkey, shredded
8 c. turkey or chicken stock
Juice of 1 lime

Put dried posole into non-reactive bowl or Dutch oven and cover with water. Soak overnight. Drain posole and put back in Dutch oven in enough salted water to cover. Bring to boil and simmer for at least 2 hours until softened.

Remove seeds, ribs and stems from chiles and tear into large pieces. Place in heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water. After half an hour, when chiles are soft and somewhat cooled, drain them, reserving the liquid. Put chiles, onion, oregano and garlic in bowl of food processor and process, adding reserved chile-soaking liquid to make it a thick sauce. Season to taste with salt.

Add meat, chile sauce and stock to cooked hominy in Dutch oven and stir to combine. Bring to a boil on the stove, lower heat and simmer, covered, for one hour. Add water if needed to thin to desired consistency. Stir in lime juice.

Photo of uncooked posole (hominy) from the James Beard Foundation.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you mean to put left-over turkey into this posole?

I see pork in the recipe.

Glassylady in PDX

Kathleen Bauer said...

This is why I hate editing my own copy. I probably read those directions four or five times and missed the pork reference completely! It has now been corrected and I owe you a glass of fine wine!

Anonymous said...

Probably didn't catch it because pork is sooooo good. So many of us have that defect.

Glassylady in PDX

Kathleen Bauer said...

And posole with pork is soooooooo good!

Randall David Tipton said...

Kathleen, where do you buy your posole? I haven`t been able to find anything like I could get in New Mexico. The recipe looks great.

Kathleen Bauer said...

I usually find it at New Seasons on the rack with the dried chiles. Anyone else have a favorite source?

I'm also planning on making my own with dried corn from Ayers Creek. I'll report on results!