Pozole Rojo Recipe
A traditional Mexican Pozole Rojo made with tender pork shoulder and hominy, slowly simmered in the most incredible 3 chile broth, with lots of great Mexican spices and herbs. Serve it with your favorite toppings for the ultimate south of the border dinner.
Servings: 10
Calories: 261kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 to 4 pounds pork shoulder trimmed of fat and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 4 quarts water
- 5 ancho chiles dried
- 5 guajillo chiles dried
- 2 chiles de arbol dried
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 2 teaspoon cumin ground
- 3 cans hominy (15 ounce cans) drained and rinsed
For Serving
- shredded cabbage
- radishes sliced
- onion chopped
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Cook the pork. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then add and heat the vegetable oil. Add the pork pieces and sear on all sides until browned. Do this in batches if you have to, for me it took 2 batches. Add all the pork back to the Dutch oven, including any juices, the 4 quarts of water and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 1 hour. Check the broth occasionally to see if there are any impurities at the top, if there are make sure to remove them using a slotted spoon. This is important to ensure we get a nice clear broth.
- Prep the dried chiles. In the mean time, remove the stems and seeds from all the dried chiles. Add the chiles to a pot with boiling water and let them soak for 30 minutes.
- Make the chile sauce. After 30 minutes, transfer the chiles to a blender, along with onion, garlic, oregano, cumin and 1 to 2 cups of the chicken broth. Pulse a few times until completely pureed.
- Stir in chile sauce and cook. After the pork has been cooking for 1 hour, add the rest of the chicken broth and the chile sauce. Bring to a boil again, cover with a lid and cook for another 30 minutes. If too much of the water evaporates, add a bit more.
- Add hominy and cook. Add the hominy to the pot, give it a good stir and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes. Alternatively you can first transfer the meat from the pot and shred it, especially if you cut the pork in bigger pieces, then add it back to the pot.
- Serve with favorite toppings. Serve with shredded cabbage, chopped onion, radish slices and a wedge of lime.
Video
Notes
- Nutritional information does not include toppings.
- Trim the pork shoulder of most of the fat then cut it up in bite size pieces so that it cooks faster. You want the pork to be melt-in-your-mouth tender and easily shreddable.
- You can also cut the pork in bigger pieces, and just before adding the hominy, take it out of the soup and shred it up with a couple forks, then add it back to the pot.
- Pozole is a soup or stew, so you can customize the thickness of it to your preference. If you follow my recipe, this pozole will come out quite thick, almost with a stew like consistency, so if you're looking for a soupier version, simply add more liquid such as water or chicken broth.
- Prepare your chile sauce while the pork is cooking, to save on time. Also, while the soup is simmering, you can prep all your toppings.
- Store leftover pozole rojo in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 373mg | Potassium: 994mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 5141IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 3mg