Traditional Mexican pozole (posole) is a rich broth soup made with pork, hominy, and red chilies. Stack your bowl with toppings like shredded cabbage, radish, cilantro, lime, and avocado!
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Years ago, when I spent a summer in Cuernavaca, Mexico learning Spanish, my Mexican teacher told me that it was much easier to pronounce the language correctly if you smiled while speaking.
It’s something of a celebration, Pozole. I guess you could make smaller portions, but since you have to cook it for several hours, it just makes sense to make a large batch and then have lots of friends to enjoy it with.
Pozole (or posole) is a traditional soup in Mexico, often served on Christmas Eve and on Thursdays and Saturdays throughout the year in many parts of the country.
My good friend Chef Arturo Vargas from Acapulco, Mexico taught me how to make this soup, thanks Chef!
Prepare and serve pozole
This pozole rojo, or “red” pozole, is made with pork shoulder or shank, red chillies, and lots of corn with corn.
Usually only the plain soup with pork and hominy is served and the side dishes or accompaniments are placed on the table for everyone to choose and add to their soup as they please.
How to serve pozole
The soup itself should be fairly thin or mushy, as you’ll quickly load it with shredded cabbage, thinly sliced radishes, chopped avocados, cilantro, onions, and lime wedges.
More hot sauce or chili can be added for more spiciness. Pozole is all about the side dishes. So good!
How to save or freeze pozole
This recipe makes a large batch with lots of leftovers! Leftovers will keep refrigerated for about a week or can be frozen for up to three months.
To freeze the pozole, transfer to freezer containers or bags with as little air as possible to avoid freezer burn. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm on the stovetop over low heat.
Want more ways to enjoy Pozole?
- chicken pozole
- Pressure Cooker Greek Pork Pozole
- Chicken Pozole Salad
- Chipotle Turkey Pozole
Video: How to make Mexican Red Pork Pozole
2:30
Mexican red pork pozole
Pozole Rojo (Mexican Pork and Hominy Stew)
We didn’t do this in a slow cooker, but I suspect step 6 could easily be done in a slow cooker.
Tostadas are crispy fried corn tortillas. They are sold packaged and can often be found in the same section of your grocery store as fresh tortillas or at Mexican markets. You can make your own by frying stale corn tortillas (or tortillas that have dried out a bit in a warm oven) in hot vegetable oil until stiff.
ingredients
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4 ounces dried Guajillo or Ancho chilies or a combination of both
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Salt
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1 large (108 ounce6 lb 12 oz, 3 kg) can white mealydrained and rinsed
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3 lb pork shoulder (preferably on the bone), cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes (pork shanks can also be used), making sure to use a piece that is well marbled with fat
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8th cloves garlic4 cloves roughly chopped and 4 whole cloves
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3 bay leaves
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1 teaspoon ground cumin
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2 tablespoon Dry oregano (Mexican oregano if available)
Garnishes (can be prepared while pozole is cooking):
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1/2 small cabbagethinly sliced
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1 bunch coriander, chopped
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1/2 White Onionchopped
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2 avocados, chopped
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4 Lemons, quartered
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1 bunch red radishthinly sliced
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12 to 24 tostada Shellfish (see recipe note)
method
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Boil 5 liters of water:
Fill a large 10-12 liter stock pot with 5 liters of water. Adjust the heat to bring it to a boil while you continue with the next steps.
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Heat chilies, cover with 3 cups of hot water:
Remove and discard the stalks, seeds, and large veins from the chili peppers. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high and cook the chiles for a few minutes until softened. Don’t let them burn.
While the chilies are heating, bring a medium saucepan with 3 cups of water to a simmer and remove from the heat. Once the chilies have softened, add the chilies to the hot water in the saucepan and cover.
Let the chilies soak in the hot water for 15 to 20 minutes.
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Fry the pork, add garlic:
Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pan) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the pork pieces dry with paper towels. Sprinkle them generously with salt.
Working in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan or over-stir the meat, sear the meat on all sides.
Immediately after searing the meat, add 4 roughly chopped garlic cloves to the meat in the pan, fry with the meat for about 1 minute.
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In a large pot of boiling water, add pork and spices:
Once the meat is browned, add it to the large stockpot of boiling water. Scrape off any browned bits at the bottom of the pan and the garlic and add those to the pot as well. Add the rinsed corn.
Add bay leaves, cumin and oregano. As you add the oregano, scrunch it up with your hands so the oregano breaks down more as it goes in. Add a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes.
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Prepare the red sauce:
by blending the chiles, about 2 1/2 cups of their soaking liquid, a teaspoon of salt, and 4 cloves of garlic in a blender. (To prevent the blender from creating too much pressure, it’s probably best to start with the chilies and garlic and add just 1 cup of the liquid to the blender, then add the rest of the liquid.)
Pass the red sauce through a sieve and discard the hard parts of the sauce.
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Add red chilli sauce to pot with pork and hominy:
Add a few more teaspoons of salt. Return to a simmer, reduce heat to just high enough to maintain a simmer, partially covered.
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Cook for 2 to 3 hours until pork is very tender:
Skim off excess fat. For seasoning, taste and add more salt (you’ll probably need more than you expect, maybe a tablespoon or more).
The resulting soup should be rather broth, as you will be adding a lot of side dishes. Add more water if needed.
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Assemble sets:
When you are ready to serve the pozole, you can prepare the side dishes (slice the cabbage, chop the cilantro, etc.)
To serve, arrange the sides in bowls on the table and serve the pozole soup in bowls. Let your guests choose which side dishes they want on their pozole.
Serve with tostada shells (or tortilla chips if you can’t find tostada shells).
Links:
Chicken Pozole here at Simply Recipes
Red Posole for New Year’s Day by Lisa Fain, the homesick Texan
Vegetarian Posole by Heidi from 101 Cookbooks
Use Real Butter Roasted Green Chili Posole
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 771 | calories |
| 40g | Fat |
| 71g | carbohydrates |
| 35g | protein |
