About
Yee-haw! Well, if you need to rustle up a soup that will feed everybody... and we mean really fill them up... then you've come to the right place. Cowgirl Chicken Stew is a Tex-Mex masterclass in flavor, filled with beautifully tender and savory chicken, a homemade chicken broth with succulence and exceptional seasonings, extra-tender pinto beans, and nutty, earthy hominy. Accented with a fragrant and spicy seasoning sauce, Cowgirl Chicken Stew has everything to get you happy and excited for dinnertime! Let's hear it again: yee-haw!
Ingredients
- For the hominy and the frijoles de olla:
- 1 (15-ounce) can hominy, drained
- 1 pound dried pinto beans
- 10 cups water
- 1/2 white onion, outer skin removed
- 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
- For the chicken:
- 1 (4-5-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8-10 serving pieces, bone-in and skin-on
- water, to taste
- 1/2 white onion, outer skin removed
- 4 cloves garlic, whole and peeled
- 1 fresh Anaheim chile, stemmed and seeded, cut into quarters
- 10 sprigs fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
- For the Anaheim seasoning sauce:
- 1 fresh Anaheim chile, cut into pieces
- 1/4 white onion, halved
- 2 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled
- 10 sprigs fresh cilantro
- Optional, for garnish:
- 1 cup white onions, chopped
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- crushed chiletpin chiles, can substitute chiles de arbol, finely chopped, or red pepper flakes
- 2 limes, quartered
Directions
Step 1 -In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the drained hominy and heat it. Keep the hominy warm.
Step 2 -In a big, heavy pot over high heat, add the pinto beans, 10 cups of the water, and the 1/2 peeled white onion.
Step 3 -Bring the water to a boil.
Step 4 -Reduce the heat to medium and partially cover the pot.
Step 5 -Allow the beans to simmer until softened, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
Step 6 -Add 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt to the beans and stir to combine.
Step 7 -Simmer the beans until they are soft enough to come apart in your fingers, about 15 minutes. The water should have thickened into a thick broth.
Step 8 -Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion half. Set the frijoles de olla aside.
Step 9 -In a large soup pot over high heat, add the chicken and enough of the extra water to cover it by about 2-3 inches.
Step 10 -Bring the water to a boil.
Step 11 -Reduce the heat to medium-low and skim off any foam that has risen to the top of the water.
Step 12 -Add the remaining 1/2 peeled white onion, 4 of the peeled garlic cloves, the quartered Anaheim chile, 10 sprigs of the cilantro, and 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt to the chicken mixture and stir to combine.
Step 13 -Cover the pot partially and allow the chicken mixture to simmer until the meat is falling away from the bones, about 1 hour.
Step 14 -Transfer the pot with the chicken mixture from the heat.
Step 15 -Transfer the chicken pieces to a large bowl and allow it to cool until they can be safely handled.
Step 16 -Strain the chicken cooking broth, keeping the broth and discarding the solids.
Step 17 -Reserve 1 cup of the cooking broth and add the remaining broth to the soup pot.
Step 18 -Remove the skin and the bones from the chicken.
Step 19 -Cut or tear the chicken meat into small pieces.
Step 20 -Add the chicken meat to the broth in the soup pot.
Step 21 -Adjust an oven rack to the highest position possible and preheat the broiler.
Step 22 -Line a baking sheet with foil.
Step 23 -Add the whole Anaheim chile, the halved quarter of the remaining white onion, and the remaining garlic cloves to the prepared baking sheet.
Step 24 -Broil the chile and vegetables, flipping them halfway through, until completely charred on the outside, about 10-12 minutes. The garlic will be done much earlier, about 5-6 minutes, and should be transferred from the oven at that time.
Step 25 -Transfer the charred whole Anaheim chile to a plastic bag and seal the bag.
Step 26 -Allow the chile to sweat for 5-10 minutes.
Step 27 -Remove and discard the chile skin, stem, and seeds.
Step 28 -Peel the charred garlic cloves.
Step 29 -Cut the roasted and peeled chile into pieces.
Step 30 -In a blender, add the roasted chile, charred onions, the roasted and peeled garlic cloves, 10 sprigs of the remaining cilantro, and the reserved cup of the chicken broth and cover the blender.
Step 31 -Purée the chile mixture until completely smooth and it becomes a sauce.
Step 32 -Add the sauce to the chicken and the broth in the soup pot.
Step 33 -Add 1/2 of the frijoles de olla and 1 cup of the broth to the chicken soup in the soup pot.
Step 34 -Add the heated hominy to the chicken soup in the soup pot.
Step 35 -Place the soup pot over medium heat and bring it to a simmer.
Step 36 -Partially cover the chicken soup until the flavors come together and the sauce rises to the surface in dark green puddles.
Step 37 -Serve garnished with the remaining chopped onions, the remaining cilantro leaves, the crushed chiletpin chiles, and the lime wedges.
