Start by chopping 3 pounds of pork shoulder into small chunks. You can trim some of the fat off if there’s a large fat cap on it. Heat a large pot or Dutch-oven over medium-high heat with a bit of oil in it. Place the pork inside and sear it on all sides in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot. Once seared, set aside.

If the pot is getting dry, add a bit more oil. Dice half the large white onion and sauté it until softened and slightly translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Mince 2-3 garlic cloves and add them in when the onions are about done, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.

Add the seared pork back into the pot and mix with the onions and garlic. Pour some of the chicken stock into the pot and deglaze the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the 8-10 cups of chicken stock and two bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered for 1 ½ - 2 hours, until the pork is fork-tender.

Once the pork is tender and cooked through, you can either leave it as-is if you cut it into small chunks, or you can remove the pork and roughly shred it. This is down to personal preference.

While the pork is simmering, you can start on the green sauce.

Preheat your oven to broil and move your top rack to the highest position or second highest if the top is too close to the broiler. Drizzle 5-6 green Hatch chiles with a bit of oil and place them on a foil lined sheet tray. Broil the chiles on all sides until blackened and place them into a plastic storage bag to steam for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can place them into a large mixing bowl without stacking them and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Remove the outer leaves from 5-6 tomatillos and rinse them until they are no longer sticky and cut them in half. Cut 2-3 jalapenos (or serrano) in half and remove the stem and seeds. Place both onto a foil lined sheet tray along with the remaining half of white onion and 5-6 peeled garlic cloves. Broil 3-5 minutes, until the skin starts to blister and blacken a bit. Remove and set aside.

After the Hatch chiles have steamed for 10 minutes, remove from container and set aside until cool enough to handle. Pull the charred skin off the flesh of the chiles and remove the seeds from the inside of the chile.

Place all the charred vegetables into a blender along with 8-10 stems of cilantro, ½ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon of Mexican oregano. Using a measuring cup, scoop out about 1 cup of the simmering broth. Add about ½ a cup to the blender and puree the vegetables. If it feels a little dry or thick, add the rest of the broth. Blend on high until completely smooth. If your blender can’t quite make the sauce smooth enough, you can filter it through a fine mesh strainer afterwards.

Once the broth and pork have cooked long enough for the pork to be tender, you are ready for the final step. As mentioned before, at this point you can remove the pork and shred it if you wish and add it back into the pot.

Strain the hominy from the two 25oz cans and give it a light rinse. Remove the bay leaves from the pot and add in the salsa verde and hominy. Stir everything until combined and continue simmering until the hominy is heated through, about 10 minutes. The hominy should still have a bit of a chewy texture, so don’t overcook it or it will become mushy. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Serve hot with various toppings available for people to choose from.