- 2 pounds of any kind of grilled/smoked pork or chicken
- 1 (30 ounce) can of hominy, drained
- 1 forkful of minced garlic
- 1/3 cup New Mexico mild chile powder
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 12 cups of chicken broth
- 3 limes
Ingredients: Toppings
- 1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 purple cabbage, chopped
- 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
- several limes, cut in half then quarter each half
- tortilla chips
- cayenne pepper
Directions: Soup
Load your smoker up with hardwood charcoal and light a small area near the center of the charcoal. Open up the vents on your smoker so the new fire can get some air. Do not use lighter fluid. It makes your food taste gross and is bad for you. I use a MAPP gas torch or a Looftlighter.
While the smoker is coming up to temperature, rub the tenderloin down with plain yellow mustard and coat all sides with Old Bay seasoning.
To get better smoke penetration, I put the smoke wood (I used peach) on the charcoal as soon as I know the charcoal fire is going to make it. As you can see here the temperature is only about 125°. Why do I do this? Smoke only penetrates the meat until the surface temperature hits 140°. So the more time it spends below that threshold the more smoke flavor it absorbs. Putting meat on very cold and starting at a lower smoking temperature really helps maximize this effect.
I put the tenderloin on when the smoker was only at 125°.
I set the smoker to 225° and let it go. While the tenderloin is smoking, combine all the other soup ingredients in a large stock pot and simmer over low heat.
About 2 hours later, I pulled the tenderloin off when the internal temperature hit 160° and let it rest in the microwave for about 15 minutes. Then I cut it up into 3/4" cubes and added it to the soup. Bring the soup up to a simmer and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Then squeeze the juice of three limes into the soup, stir and serve.
Top with onion, radish, cilantro and red cabbage. Serve with lime wedges, tortilla chips and cayenne pepper. A family in Cozumel taught me how to properly eat it. You rub the lime juice on a chip and then lightly dust it with ground cayenne pepper. Eating the chips while you eat your soup. We keep some cayenne pepper in a small salt shaker just for this meal.