Pozole – A Beautiful Mess

Happy soup season! If you’re celebrating, you need to make this pozole recipe right away. What I mean is, I tend to think of the weeks after the holidays as “soup season.” Because the weather is cold and dark and there isn’t much to look forward to once the holidays are over. lol. So we need soup! For those who don’t know, pozole, or posole rojo as it’s called, is a hearty traditional Mexican stew usually made with tender pork and hominy. Posole rojo gets its color and flavor from dried chili peppers and tomatoes.

This posole recipe is hearty, but also feels fresh at the same time by adding some raw vegetables like shredded cabbage or radish. It’s super flavorful, easy to make, inexpensive, and great for leftovers.

Related: Then try the birria tacos or the daily enchiladas.

material

• Pork shoulder – pork butt
• garlic
• yellow onion
• chicken bouillon cube
• water
• Gaujillo chili
• ancho chili
• tomato sauce
• oregano
• cumin
• white hominy

For serving, you’ll also need shredded cabbage, sliced ​​radish, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and a few warm flour or corn tortillas.

How to make pozole rojo

First, cut a large piece of fat from the pork shoulder. It is not necessary to remove all fat. Only remove large pieces that you know won’t be fun to chew on later. If you are using a bone-in cut, cut as much around the bone as possible at this time, but leave it on as it will be used in this recipe. Boneless pork shoulder is also fine. Cut the meat into small cubes.

In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, lightly brown the meat. Don’t cook it completely, just brown it well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add a whole clove of garlic, a chopped onion (cut into large pieces as you will remove it later), a bouillon cube, and 5 cups of water. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. If you notice a lot of foam or fat rising to the top, skim it off.

Cut off the tops of the dried chili peppers and remove the seeds. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan and add chiles. Boil for 5 minutes, then cover the pot, turn off the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes to cool. Then blend or puree in a food processor or blender until smooth.

After the soup has cooked for the first hour, open the lid of the pot and remove the garlic, onion pieces and pork bones. Pour the chili mixture through a fine sieve into the pot. Then add the tomato sauce, oregano, cumin, and drained hominy kernels. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Serve warm and garnish with shredded green cabbage, sliced ​​radish, fresh coriander and lime juice. I also like to serve it with a few warmed flour tortillas to soak up and soak up the soup liquid.

Tips and Alternatives

• Pork shoulder is also called pork butt or Boston butt, as well as picnic roast or picnic shoulder. This recipe uses pork, but pozole is sometimes made with chicken, so chicken thighs are a good substitute.
• You don’t have to use bone-in pork shoulder, but I think cooking the bones together will enhance the flavor. Plus, my dog ​​loves receiving it after I finish cooking. 🙂
• You can also omit the bouillon cubes and use chicken stock in the soup instead of water. Another fun addition here is bay leaves.
• If you can’t find dried gaujillo chiles or dried ancho chiles, you can use chipotle chiles in adobo sauce instead. Add a few chili peppers, about 1 tablespoon or more, to a blender or processor with water, strain, and add to the stew.
• If you don’t want to use white or yellow hominy, chickpeas, corn, or rice are good substitutes. But for Posole, hominy is quite traditional.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days. You can also reheat it in the microwave or microwave.

See more Mexican and Tex-Mex recipes