A classic Red Pozole recipe with pork, hominy, and a broth rich with red chile sauce. This is Mexican comfort food at its best. Top the stew with sliced radishes, dried oregano, and chopped onion. Serve with warm corn tortillas. Video included!
{First published December 10, 2014. Last updated with clearer instructions on December 5, 2023}
I called Armando’s mom a few weeks back to get her pozole recipe. I thought it might be fun to share it with all of you, especially during the holiday season when so many people in Mexico and elsewhere eat this traditional pork and hominy stew.
Turns out the traditional Mexican soup she makes is green pozole not red pozole which I knew because I wrote about it on this very blog and have had this very same conversation with her before (she for sure, by now, thinks I’m nuts).
“So what’s the red stew you make?” I asked her, convinced I had tasted a red pozole at her house before.
“Menudo.” She said, then gave me the recipe for that one.
Not to be deterred I asked her for some tips on making red pozole to which she pretty much confirmed its existence but said that’s not what she makes.
Sent out into the world with nothing I pulled together inspiration from a few of my favorite Mexican food cooking sources: Diana Kennedy, Pati Jinich, and Margarita Carilla Arronte.
I think what results is a posole that will not disappoint and is in lock-step with a traditional pozole rojo recipe: spicy dried chiles, Mexican oregano-infused broth, tender strips of pork, and lots of chewy hominy. It tastes like heaven in a bowl.
Let’s Talk Pozole
Pozole is a traditional Mexican stew that predates colonial times. It was eaten by Aztecs and other Mesoamerican tribes long before the Spanish arrived but what the Spanish did add to the dish was pork.
Pozole varies region to region in Mexico and is categorized by color.
White Pozole has no sauce added to the broth and is purely the meat (usually pork) and hominy with aromatic vegetables.
Green Pozole (Pozole Verde) has a sauce made with tomatillos, cilantro, and jalapeños added.
Red Pozole (like the one we are making) has a sauce of dried red chiles. The sauce ingredients are actually the same as my chicken pozole.
Ingredients List
The ingredient list is long, but don’t let that deter you. I’m a big fan of tons of garnishes. I like to set them out on the table and let people top their own bowls as they please. If you only want to do one or two of the garnishes, I suggest the minced onion and dried oregano.
- Pork shoulder or pork butt
- White Onion
- Cloves of garlic
- Kosher salt
- Bay leaves
- Dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- Ancho chiles
- Guajillo chiles
- Ground cumin
- Whole cloves
- Canned white hominy. You can also use dried hominy here.
- Lime wedges, for squeezing fresh lime juice over each soup bowl.
- Sliced radishes
- Chopped cilantro
- Cubed avocado
- Shredded cabbage. I like to use green cabbage and slice it really thin to garnish the soup.
- Warm corn tortillas and/or tortilla chips
How To Make A Pozole Recipe with Pork
This is not an ultra-complicated recipe, but one that does take a bit of time. You will need a large pot or Dutch oven because if you are going to go to the trouble of cooking posole, you might as well make a big batch.
step one
Cook pork. Combine sliced onion, 6 cloves garlic, salt, bay leaves, and oregano in a large stockpot. Add pork and fill the pot with water (about 12 cups of water). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. This not only cooks the pork but also produces a rich broth you will use later to make the soup.
Lower the heat to low heat so the broth is just at a simmer. Cover and cook until the pork is fall-apart tender, this can take up to 4 hours if using an extra thick piece of pork shoulder or pork butt. Once pork is easily shreds, place a strainer over a bowl or pot large enough to hold the cooking liquid and strain the pork. Let pork cool and save the broth for the soup.
step two
Shred pork. Once the pork is cool enough to handle, shred the tender pork into bite-sized pieces and remove all fat, gristle, and bone if the pork shoulder is bone-in. Wash out pot and set aside. You will use it again in a minute to make the pozole.
*Time Saving Tip: You can skip this step and used already cooked pork and store-bought chicken stock if you’re looking for a quicker version.
step three
Blanch hominy. Ever since I took a pozole class with Chef Rodolfo Castellanos from Restaurante Origen in Oaxaca, I always blanch my hominy before adding it to the pozole. You can totally skip this step but I think it takes away the funky aftertaste of the canned hominy.
Drain the hominy and place in a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and drain. Set aside until you are ready to use in the soup.
step four
Prep the chiles. While the pork is cooking you will make the red sauce that flavors the pozole. The star of the sauce is ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, onions, and spices. You can find all these at your local Latin grocery store. Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and rinse.
step five
Toast the chiles. Toast the dried chiles in a hot dry comal or cast iron skillet first, then soak in hot water until they are soft, about 30 minutes.
step six
Puree the sauce. Once the chiles are soft, blend them with the onion, garlic, and spices to make a smooth sauce. Use about 1/2 cup of the liquid you used to soak the chiles in to get the mixture going in the blender.
step seven
Fry the sauce. Heat oil over medium heat in the pot you used to cook the pork. Add sauce and fry in the oil, stirring frequently, until the sauce is glistening and thickened slightly. About 15 minutes.
step eight
Make soup.Combine the pork with the chile sauce, the reserved broth, and hominy and cook, partially covered until all the flavors have melded together into one gloriously unified soup.
step nine
Garnish and serve! Top each bowl with diced onion, dried oregano, and any other garnishes you like. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.
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Pozole Recipe, Pork?
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Pozole Rojo {Pork and Hominy Stew}
Pozole will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and improves with flavor the longer it sits. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
For the Pork:
- 4 pounds pork shoulder (I like to use a bone-in pork shoulder, if available)
- 1 large white onion, sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
For the Soup:
- 2 (25-ounce) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
- 2 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 2 dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
To Garnish:
- dried Mexican oregano
- minced white onion
- lime wedges
- thinly sliced radishes
- chopped cilantro
- cubed avocado
- thinly sliced green cabbage
- tortilla chips
Instructions
- Cook the pork. Combine pork, sliced onion, 6 garlic cloves, salt, bay leaves and oregano in a large soup pot. Cover with water by 2-inches and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Simmer until tender. Skim off any foam, lower the heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook until pork is very tender, about 3-4 hours.
- Blanch the hominy. Fill a 6 quart pot halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain and rinse the hominy. Once the water is boiling add the hominy and let the water return to a boil. Drain and rinse once more with cold water. Set aside.
- Toast and soak chiles. Meanwhile, place chiles in a dry cast iron frying pan or comal and toast on all sides until darker in color and fragrant. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak until soft, about 30 minutes.
- Make sauce. Drain chiles (saving the water) and place in a blender. Add chopped onion, garlic, cumin, cloves, and salt, and about 1/2 cup of the chile soaking liquid. Blend on high until smooth (you may need to add more soaking liquid to get the blender moving). Set aside while you shred the pork.
- Shred the pork. Once pork is tender and easily pulls away with a fork, remove it from the broth to a large plate or baking sheet and set aside to cool. Once pork is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces, removing any gristle or fat or bone if you used a bone-in pork shoulder.
- Strain broth. Set a strainer over a large bowl or pot big enough to hold the broth. Strain broth into the bowl, discard the solids and wash out the pot you cooked the pork in.
- Fry the sauce. Heat the oil in the pot you used to cook the pork in over medium-high heat. Carefully pour the chile sauce into the hot oil (it will splatter) and stir until sauce is fragrant and fried, about 5-15 minutes.
- Finish soup. Return shredded pork to the pot with the sauce. Add broth and hominy and bring to a simmer. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Serve. Ladle into big bowls and serve with as many of the garnishes as you'd like.
Notes
- Serving suggestions: Aside from all the garnishes, serve pozole with warm corn tortillas for dipping and/or tamales during the holidays. As for drinks, a frosty margarita, paloma, or agua de jamaica are great with pozole.
- Pork: Try to find bone-in pork shoulder or pork butt. The bone adds tons of flavor. Discard it when you shred the pork.
- Dried chiles: If you want to make the pozole spicier add a few dried chile de árbol along with the guajillo and ancho chiles which are not spicy at all.
- Make-ahead: Pozole tastes even better the next day. Make up to 5 days in advance and keep covered in the refrigerator or freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 526Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 136mgSodium: 576mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 37g
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Jaime says
Read through the recipe and have to admit that it sounds like a decent Anglo version of posole. Have to admit that I am not a big fan of adding comino (cumin) to anything Mexican, but if you must, you may want to start with about half of what most recipes call for.
Kate Ramos says
Hi Jamie, thanks! What do you like to put in your posole? I’m kind of a cumin addict so I will admit to my overuse. 🙂 I’d love to hear your recipe—do share if you get a second.
Jaime says
Hi Kate- Just happened to come across this website and remembered posting here sometime back, and after re-reading my post I think I sound rather pretentious and also, Anglo is not pejorative, just what most people here in New Mexico call a non-Hispanic white person. As for your posole recipe, about the only major thing I would change is to use either frozen or dried posole (lot longer cooking time, obviously). That canned stuff lacks something (I think something like what Italians would call “al dente” for their pasta). Also, from your photo it looks like the kernels are still intact. I prefer to cook them until they start to ‘pop’.
For the chile pods I use New Mexican chile (from Hatch, which is widely available, or Chimayo chile, not as available). Here, posole is typically served with sopaipillas, and maybe diced onions as a topping, although avocado (CalMex?) is something I will try – love avocado!
And I have to agree with you about menudo -it can be rather good, or really bad. I am not a fan, though my brother make some pretty good stuff which I will eat every two or three years. And “green posole” is an aberration not often seen here.
Kate Ramos says
Thanks for the comment Jamie! I always love comparing other people’s recipes. I would love to get my hands on some dried posole (I’ll have to order that one online I’m afraid). Definitely going to try that next time. Happy Holidays!
nicole mcluen says
i read through the recipe like seven times when you posted posole rojo and thought, that might be perfect for a winter solstice soiree. so i doubled the recipe and started it yesterday, and just had a small bowl for breakfast. i mean it was like one minute after adding the blended/fried ingredients and hominy that i sampled the fruits of my labor. arms in the air, palms to the ceiling and pump and say “hollah”! i’ve never made a soup and not had to tweak it. i don’t have to do anything more to this, except wait and let it get better with age. rock and roll sis. wow. nicely done. muchas gracias.
Kate Ramos says
Aww, your the sweetest! I wish we could solstice with you. Have fun!!!
Ileana says
This looks so delicious! Bookmarking this one for dinner in the near future. 🙂
Kate Ramos says
Fantastic! Thanks so much Ileana. I would love to hear what you think.
David Decker says
Seriously amazing recipe. Enjoyed a double batch of this recipe for a NYE party. Enjoyed it with you toppings and a side of tostada covered in crema, queso fresco, jalapeño, and cilantro. Beautiful blog site and great recipes.
Kate Ramos says
Wow! Thank you so much David! You don’t know how much that means to me. Happy New Year!!
Jane says
Very nice recipe. I live in Mexico and love Pozole. First attempt at one of my favorites and the results were fabulous. Had to tweak it a bit regarding amounts. In all… a great recipe to start with.
Kate Ramos says
Thanks so much Jane! I’m seriously flattered that it passes muster with you knowing you’ve must’ve had some good puzzles living in Mexico.
María says
Me encanta aprender recetas nuevas de diferentes países. La que nos enseñas del pozole rojo prometo hacerla muy pronto!! Ya te contaré!
Kate Ramos says
¡Sí, por favor, hágame saber lo que piensa!
Erika says
Me dio hambre! Yo lo aprendí a hacer en Diciembre con mi suegra que es mexicana. Me encantó, preparamos blanco y rojo. Ella también le pone pollo. Me gusta tu receta.
Kate Ramos says
¡Muchas gracias! Todavía tengo que hacer pozole blanco. Necesito tu receta 🙂
Andy says
Yo he empezado a hacer este tipo de té estás t debo confesar que no me quedan tan mal.
http://www.unbabydaddy.com
Kate Ramos says
¿Pero esto es un estofado, no un té?
Estefania says
The more I read about pozole (of any colours) the more intrigue and interested in trying I am… I think I should start with this pozole rojo; does look too difficult for a beginner like me!
Kate Ramos says
Well I hope you give it a try Estefania, let me know how it goes, okay?
Laura Rodriguez says
Se ve delicioso! I trust your recipes because you go for the most authentic flavor. Thank you for sharing. My kids will love it!
Kate Ramos says
Thank you so much Laura! It’s one of my kids favorite recipes too!
Garrett says
I’m so excited to try this! Novice question here–I bought sliced pork shoulder with the skin intact. Do I trim this and any of the fat cap and remove the bone before cooking it?
Kate Ramos says
Hi Garrett, Sorry for my late reply. I would trim the fat cap but leave it on the bone until after it’s done cooking then shred the pork and discard the bone.