Muchacho Chicken Pozole Verde
By Meda Kessler
Photos by Meda Kessler
Chef Omar Flores, a native of El Paso, grew up helping his father in the family’s restaurant. He moved to Dallas not long after graduating from culinary school in New York and has been a fixture on the local restaurant scene since.
He earned critical acclaim for his inventive seafood at Driftwood and James Beard Award nominations for his Spanish cuisine at Casa Rubia. He went on to launch the Southern-with-a-twist Whistle Britches and Muchacho Comida Tex Mex, opening Southlake locations of each in 2021. We visit both spots for comfort food, including the pozole verde at Muchacho, where the hearty soup is like a warm hug on a chilly day. For casual entertaining, make a big batch, warm up a stack of tortillas and set out bowls of toppings. Dinner is served.
Muchacho Chicken Pozole Verde
This soup features a rich mixture of veggies, chicken and hominy and differs vastly from the rojo (red) version, which uses pork and different chiles
Serves 10
Stock
- 1 gallon water
- 1⅓ cups onion, chopped
- 2¼ tablespoons garlic, chopped
- 1⅓ cups celery, chopped
- 2½ cups poblano, chopped
- 2½ cups tomatillos, husked and chopped
- ¾ cup carrot, diced
- 1¾ tablespoons bouillon powder
- 1 whole medium-size chicken, skin on
Pozole
- 4 ears of corn, steamed and kernels removed from the cobs (use 3½ cups of frozen if fresh isn’t available)
- 1¼ cups poblano, small dice
- 1¼ cups onion, minced
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, dry
- 5¼ cups white hominy, rinsed
- Garnishes of fresh cilantro, shredded cabbage, lime wedges, radish slices
In a large stockpot, add water, onion, garlic, celery, poblano, tomatillos, carrot, bouillon and chicken.
Cover pot and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken falls off the bone. Do not boil.
Remove pot from heat. Remove chicken and use a fork to pull meat from skin and bones. Allow soup to cool; puree and strain through a chinois. Return pureed stock to the pot along with corn, poblano, onion, oregano and hominy.
Cook over medium heat until poblano and onion are tender. Add pulled chicken and allow pozole to return to a simmer to heat through.
Serve with bowls of fresh cilantro, shredded cabbage, lime wedges and sliced radishes for diners to add as desired.
