Red Pork Pozole Recipe

4.07 from 119 votes

Authentic Red Pork Pozole - a simple, earthy, rich and satisfying dish. Pork and hominy in a mildly spicy chile broth garnished with shredded cabbage, diced onion, sliced radish, and Mexican oregano finished with a squirt of lime juice.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 50

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: ancho chile, hominy, pasilla chile, pork, soup, stew

Servings: servings

Calories: 280kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Equipment

Large stock pot
Soup pot
3 mixing bowls
Cutting board
Kitchen knife
Blender
Large strainer
Kitchen Spoons
6 garnish bowls

Ingredients

Pozole

3 pounds boneless pork leg or pork shoulder
2 25 oz. cans of hominy drained and rinsed
5 ancho chiles
5 guajillo chiles
½ white onion
3 arból chiles optional, use if you want a spicier broth
3 cloves of garlic + 1 head of garlic
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
3 bay leaves
3 teaspoon sea salt + to taste 3 tsp. is the minimum. Add ½ tsp. at a time then stir well. Taste and repeat until the desired flavor is reached.

Garnishes

½ head of cabbage shredded
1 large white onion diced
6 radishes sliced into half moons
6 limes quartered
4 tablespoon Mexican oregano
6 arból chiles finely chopped
Salt as needed

Instructions

FIRST STEPS

The first steps are done in separate pots at the same time.

Pork and Pork Broth

Place the pork, 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.
Shred the pork with your fingers into 1" long pieces.

Chile Base

Remove the stems, seeds and veins from the chiles and discard.
Place the chiles, clove 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.
Strain the blended chile base. Discard the chile pulp that remains.
In a pot, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat and pour in the chile base. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cook for 30 minutes until the base has thickened and darkened in color.

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.

NEXT STEPS

Assembling Your Pozole

Now it is time to bring all of the ingredients together.
Pour the prepared chile base into the hominy.
Then add the pork broth and shredded pork.
Add 2 teaspoons of sea salt.
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Adjust the salt as necessary.

Prepare the Garnishes

Shred the cabbage.
Dice the onion.
Slice the radish into half-moons.
Quarter the limes.
Finely chop the arból chile.
Place each garnish into individual serving bowls.

FINAL STEPS

Serving

Ladle the pozole into individual bowls to serve.
Each person garnishes their pozole as desired.
The final step is to enjoy!

Notes

Optional:

You can add a pinch of cumin to deepen the flavor of the broth.
You can substitute 2 cups of water for 2 cups of chicken stock to enrich the flavor.

"Posole" or "pazole" are alternative spellings.

Nutrition