Green Chile Cheeseburger Posole ¶

This recipe bears an exceptional resemblance to the Green Chile Cheeseburger Soup† recipe found in the Soups section of this work. That is because they are almost identical, but that slight difference warrants its appearance here. The principal differences between this recipe and the cited reference is that posole-style corn (Mexican-style hominy) replaces the corn kernels of the soup, tomatoes and green chile replace the cans of RO*TEL®, my homemade consommé† replaces the canned variety, and a number of condiments are available for guests to add according to their tastes. Further, the recipe below is sized to serve about 30 guests. In fact, this, along with its lacto-vegan version† were the featured entreés at the 2015 TWHC†. Although it is not at all a traditional form of posole, many guests claimed that it was the best among all my posoles they had tasted!

The Posole
  • olive oil spray
  • 4 lb lean ground lean beef
  • 4 cups chopped onion
  • 1 cups grated carrots
  • 6 stalks celery, diced fine
  • 5 cups homemade consommé† (or 4 cans of beef consommé)
  • 5 cups diced canned tomatoes
  • 5 cups diced canned green chile
  • 4 tsp dry mustard
  • 4 cups fresh posole or canned hominy
  • 3 lb Velveeta® cheese, Mexican, in 1” cubes
  • 3 lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1½ (12-oz)bottles of lite beer
  • ¼ cup gravy flour, for thickening

Spray the bottom and sides of a large stock pot with the olive oil, apply heat, add the ground beef, and cook the meat while breaking it up with a long metal spatula into small granular bits until it has been thoroughly browned.

Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and cook until the onions begin to brown, stirring constantly to prevent them from sticking to the pan. Turn off the heat and set aside momentarily.

Add the tomatoes and green chile to the pot, along with the mustard, posole, consommé, and cheeses. Make a slurry of the flour and beer and add this to the pot. Stir with the metal spatula until all ingredients are uniformly distributed throughout the pot. The preparation may be paused at this point until the rest of the meal has been prepared.

About an hour before guests arrive, turn up the heat under the pot to a medium and stir constantly to prevent sticking, until all the cheese has melted and the flour has thickened to the point that no floury taste is present. Turn off the heat and go greet and mingle with your guests. The posole will stay hot enough to serve for up to an hour and a half.

Ladle the soup into individual colorful bowls and allow guests to top with garnishes. Serve with a nice green salad.

Garnishes
  • 1 cup bacon bits
  • 2 cups chopped cilantro
  • 2 cups chopped scallions
  • 1 cup chopped dill pickles (what’s a burger without pickles?!)
  • 1 cup diced jalapeño chiles
  • Bottle of Taubasco† sauce (and others of this ilk)
Sides
  • 1 family-sized bag of corn scoops
  • 20 corn tortillas
  • 20 lower G. I. flour tortillas

Serves about 30.