Pressure Cooker Chicken Posole

I've posted my posole recipe before, but I recently went back to the post [after I made the current batch] and discovered the pictures were no bueno so I'm posting it again.  Plus, posole is a beautiful thing and I want everyone to try it.  It can be hangover food or comfort food [it is Mexican chicken soup, after all] or chilly-day food and it doesn't require anything you can't find at any grocery store. [Hominy is sometimes with the canned veggies and sometimes with the Mexican food, but it's always there somewhere.]

I made this batch in the pressure cooker in just under 45 minutes last Sunday as chilly-day food and it was just what I needed.  The only problem was that after cooking the bone-in legs and thighs for 30 minutes, the meat fell apart so thoroughly that I had trouble finding the cartilage caps that had slid off the bone and secreted themselves in the meat chunks.  [Have I mentioned that I love pressure cookers? Modern ones aren't scary at all.]

As for the garnishes -- which I considered weird the first time I had this at a friends house -- none of them are required, but each adds complexity in both texture in taste.  I forgot to add cilantro to this bowl and didn't miss it 'til I saw it sitting on the counter.  I threw in raw tomatoes and they added a great brightness that could be used in place of the lime juice.  Sometimes I eat it plain.  Sometimes I add a lot of hot sauce.  Sometimes I add the juice of a whole lime.  Sometimes I throw in pickled jalepenos... Do you catch my drift?

Recipe:  Pressure Cooker Chicken Posole
 Last time I chilled the soup after cooking the chicken so I could skim the fat from stewing the [skinless, bone-in] legs and thighs, but so little separated out that it was kind of a waste of time.


For the Soup:
2 tsp olive oil
~1 lb skinless chicken (about half a chicken), cut up, or two legs and thighs, or cubed boneless breasts or thighs
8 cups water, divided use
2 large white or yellow onions, diced
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (~30 oz total) white or yellow hominy, drained and rinsed
1 Tbs dried oregano (preferably Mexican, Greek is fine)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
salt to taste (~1 Tbs)

Garnish Options:
lime wedges
shredded green cabbage
sliced radishes
chopped fresh cilantro
sliced avocado
roasted green chiles
pickled jalepenos
fresh tomatoesa dash of Cholula or Tabasco

Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add onions and chicken, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and chicken is somewhat browned, ~10 minutes. Add garlic, stirring frequently until fragrant, ~1 minute, then add 4 cups water, scraping bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits (fond). Add salt and dried herbs. Lock lid, and monitor until it reaches pressure [the little thingy pops up] then reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.  If the chicken is bone-in, remove to another bowl using a slotted spoon, allow to cool enough to handle, shred, and return to pot. Add remaining water and drained posole, return to a simmer and check for seasoning before ladling into individual bowls. While soup is reheating, prepare set out chosen topping options in separate bowls so everyone can garnish as they so choose.

Variations:
Use your post-holiday turkey carcass for pozole con pavoUse 1 lb pork butt, cubed, in place of chicken and add 1 tbs of mild chili powder with the herbs for pozole con puerco Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup white wine before adding water/stock.