Navigating the aftermath of your parents’ divorce is never an easy task. Yet it was that experience that planted a seed that has blossomed into a successful career for John Mayes, the chief operations officer and pastor at El Toro Mexican Restaurant in Baytown, Texas.
“It is during those times where I found I loved to cook,” Mayes recalls. “Watching magic happen in the kitchen was so much fun, and an education in itself. You use what you have, what you can afford, and your education as to what worked before.”
When his parents remarried — his mom to “a Cajun cooking man” and his dad to “a Spanish cooking woman” — he was introduced to two dishes that became his favorite recipes: Spanish Chicken and Dumplings, and Pozole.
“I always preferred the pozole because it brought everyone together. You could ladle it up thick or juicy, depending on your style,” Mayes explains, noting how important chopped onion, jalapeños, cilantro, shredded cabbage, a slice of lime and corn tortilla chips are to the final dish. “Pozole always seemed family to me. Tight budget — no problem. Pork, hominy, and dried chiles and you have yourself a dish.”
Pozole has become a favorite at El Toro, too.
“The Pozole Rojo has been big hit at all times of the year. Customers comment that it tastes like their grandmother’s recipe,” Mayes reports. “I prefer the red [version] with pork but a nice vibrant green pozole with chicken in also a fan favorite.”
The secret to Mayes’ recipe?
“Great ingredients…you can’t start with a Volkswagon in the back and pull out a BMW in the front,” he says. His list includes freshly dried chiles, name brand pork butt and hominy, and just the right amount of chiles. “A little too much of one or the other could throw off the whole base,” Mayes cautions.
“For me it is about the right ratio of broth to pork and hominy. You leave space on top for your cilantro, jalapeño, onion, radish, squirt of lime and freshly grated cabbage. There is something about gathering around the table as family and everyone sharing stories or jokes as they prepare their personal pozole,” he says. “So always remember, have fun and bring individuals together. Accomplish this and you will have a masterpiece.”
El Toro’s Pozole Rojo
Makes 32 20-oz. servings
3 oz. chile guajillo
5½ oz. chile ancho
2 oz. chile de arbol
8 qts. water
2 T. + 2 t. lard cube deodorized
2 c. white onion
2 T. jalapeño pepper (fresh)
2 T. + 2 t. garlic, peeled
½ package (4-lb.) pork butt, boneless
⅓ c. spice cumin, ground
2½ gal. water
2 T. black pepper, ground
2 T. + 2 t. spice oregano, ground
2 ea. spice bay leaves
1½ c. chicken base
2 #10 cans white hominy
Chopped onion, jalapeños, cilantro, shredded cabbage, slice of lime, tortilla chips, for garnish.
Devein and remove the seeds from the guajillo, ancho and arbol chiles. Add the chiles to the 8 quarts of water and boil for one minute; remove from the flame and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Blend and strain well. Discard the pulp leftover on the strainer (you should have about 20 cups of adobo); set aside.
Clean the pork butt and cut into 1-lb. strips; season with ⅓ cup of cumin and set aside. In a 15-gallon pot, add the lard and heat over a medium flame; sauté the onions and jalapeños, then add garlic. Sear the meat in batches; once all the meat is seared, return the pork to the pot, add the 2.5 gal. water and adobo, plus the black pepper, oregano, bay leaves and chicken base, and simmer for 3 hours.
Remove the meat, shred it, and return to the pot. Add the hominy and boil for 30 minutes more. Serve, or place in appropriate containers, label, and refrigerate for future service.
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