• Place the 4 pieces of pork shoulder into a 6 or 8-quart soup pot.
• Grate the garlic over the meat.

  (We used a microplane grater.)
• Season with salt and add the small quartered onion.
• Heat the pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat on all sides.

  Using some kitchen tongs, keep turning the meat and pushing it down to speed up the process. This should take about 3 - 4 minutes.

  Note: I say brown the meat, but the pork isn't going to brown like beef does so maybe I should say "sear" the meat. Just saying.
• Add 3 quarts of water to the pot, cover and bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, remove the cover, lower heat and bring to a low boil.

  This is more than a simmer but not a full boil.
• Let this low boil for 3 hours. After just 10 minutes, notice the wonderful aromas filling up your kitchen.

Prepping the Peppers and Garnish

• While the meat is cooking, it's time to prep the peppers and garnish ingredients. Under running water, tear the dried peppers in half and rinse out the seeds. You may need a knife to help open them up.
• Put the peppers into a small saucepan, add some water and let them simmer for 20 minutes.

  After simmering, drain the peppers, puree in a blender or food processor and reserve.
• While the peppers are simmering, start prepping the garnishes by washing, trimming and slicing the radishes into thin slices. When finished, place the cut radishes into a container.
• Slice the lettuce into strips, wash if necessary and add to the container with radishes. Top with water, cover and store in the refrigerator.

  The radishes and lettuce will stay fresh for days this way.
• Peel and finely dice the medium onion and place in another container.
• Slice the lemon into six wedges, add to the onions, cover and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Finishing the Posole

• When the pork is done cooking, remove and place onto a cutting board. You're going to find some large pieces of fat because pork shoulder has a lot of it. Find these pieces and remove what you can find.
• Shred the remaining pork using your finger or a fork if too hot to handle. Add back to the pot.
• Drain the cans of hominy and add the hominy to the pot.
• Add the reserved pureed peppers into the pot and stir.
• Add the ¼ teaspoon of dried oregano, stir and simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors meld together.
• Skim off any fat that may be floating along the top but if you are not serving until the following day, you'll be able to easily skim off a layer of solidified fat with a spoon after being refrigerated over night.

  I also think the posole tastes better a day after you make it. I even wrote a post about this called Why Do Some Meals Taste Better The Next Day.

Serving

• To serve, ladle some of this delicious posole into a soup bowl and garnish with lettuce, radishes, onion and a squeeze of lemon depending on your personal tastes.

  My kids didn't want any garnishes but I convinced them the lemon really added to the flavor.
• We served the posole over basmati rice to make more of a meal out of it but you can serve it over any of your favorite rice, pasta or by itself.