Red Pork Pozole

Pozole Rojo de Puerco

Red Pork Pozole soup is my favorite Mexican dish hands down. It’s simple, earthy, rich and satisfying. Pozole is pork or chicken – this recipe calls for pork – and hominy in a mildly spicy guajillo and ancho chile broth garnished with shredded cabbage or lettuce, diced onion, sliced radish, Mexican oregano and some arból chile for a little extra heat with a squirt of lime juice to bring it all together. The perfect dish.

Let Us Teach You How to Make Great Pozole

The Cooking Process

If you have never made pozole before it will help to visualize the process. Here’s a list of the main steps. The photos will walk you through the process.

Start with these steps:

These are done in separate pots at the same time.

• Prepare the chile base
• Cook the pork
• Cook the hominy

Then complete these steps:

• Combine the ingredients in 1 pot and simmer
• Prepare the garnishes

Then the best part:

• Serving and eating

Gather Your Ingredients

The main ingredients to make pozole are pork, hominy (maíz pozolero), ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, onion, garlic, and Mexican oregano and optional chiles de arból.

Cooking the Pork & Broth

Place the pork, a head of garlic a few bay leaves and half an onion in a large pot and just cover with water (about 6 cups). Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes. The pork is done when you can easily pull it apart with your fingers. If the pork doesn’t pull apart easily after 45 minutes, cook for another 15 minutes.

When the pork is cooked remove it from the cooking liquid and set aside. Strain the broth into a bowl and set aside.

When the pork is cool to the touch, shred it with your fingers into 1″ long pieces.

Preparing the Chile Base

Remove the stems, seeds, and veins from the chiles and discard.

Place the chiles, 3 cloves of garlic, and ½ white onion in a pot and just cover with water (about 3 cups).

Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat. Allow the chiles to rest for 15 minutes to reconstitute them. Notice how the chiles have expanded and become pliable from absorbing the water.

Add the chiles, onion, garlic oregano, and soaking liquid to your blender. Blend for 1 minute until smooth. Do this in 2 batches.

Strain the blended chile base.

Press the pulp firmly with the back of the spoon to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the chile pulp that remains.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat and pour in the chile base. This is called “seasoning.” It is an important step that adds a lot of flavor to your pozole.

Simmer for 30 minutes until the base has thickened and darkened in color. Looking good, isn’t it?

Cooking the Hominy

Drain the canned hominy and rinse. Put the rinsed hominy in a large pot and cover with 2″ of water. Simmer while you are preparing the pork and chile base.

Assembling the Pozole

Now it is time to bring all of the ingredients together. Add the chile base to the hominy.

Then add the pork broth and shredded pork. Add 3 teaspoons of sea salt. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Salt is Important

The recipe calls for 3 tsps. of salt to start. This is the minimum. We start with this quantity of salt so that you can adjust it to your preferences. Most likely you will want to add more. Add ½ tsp. at a time then stir well. Taste. Continue until the flavors pops and the level of saltiness is just right for you.

When the pozole is ready to serve it will have taken on a beautiful deep red color. 

Preparing the Garnishes

While your pozole is simmering you will need to get all of the garnishes ready. The traditional garnishes are: shredded cabbage or lettuce, diced onion, slices of radish, oregano, limes and finely chopped dried chiles or chile powder. It is common to enjoy pozole with tostadas or corn tortillas too.

This Is How I Prepare My Perfect Bowl

Everyone has a unique way of personalizing their pozole. This is how I prepare mine. You need to start with the garnishes: shredded cabbage or lettuce, chopped onion, sliced radish, oregano, chopped spicy arból chile, and lime wedges. Then you add your preferred garnishes in your preferred quantity.

Let’s begin. I start with a naked bowl of pozole.

Add cabbage.

Add radish.

Add onion.

Add oregano.

And lastly, add chile de arból for some heat with a squirt of lime to tie all the flavors together.

Here It Is, My Perfect Bowl

What do you think!

Hungry yet? Provecho!

Note: “Posole” or “pazole” are alternative spellings used to describe this dish.

More Mexican Soups & Stews

• Chicken Clemole
• Authentic Tortilla Soup
• Black Bean Soup With Avocado
• Sopa de Fideo
• Mexican Potato Soup