A typical red Pozole cooked in Mexico using pork shoulder that has been braised till tender, hominy, and an amazing broth created from three different kinds of chiles, along with a variety of delicious Mexican spices and herbs. If you want the ultimate supper inspired by south of the border, serve it with your favorite toppings.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Pork –
When I make this dish, my go-to cuts of meat are boneless pork shoulder or pig butt because they yield the juiciest, most tender fall-apart pieces of flesh.
The pork loin is another another piece of pig that can be utilized. In order to hasten the cooking process, I used pork shoulder from which I removed the majority of the fat and then chopped the meat into pieces that were suitable for snacking.
Hominy –
The standout component in this particular pozole dish. Corn maize is the primary ingredient in hominy, which is also referred to as corn field. It can either be white or yellow in color, and the corn that is used to make cornmeal and corn flakes can be either color.
Chiles –
Because dried chiles were used to prepare it, this soup is incredibly flavorful, vibrantly colored, and mildly spicy. In this dish, I utilized three distinct kinds of dried chilies. The heat level of ancho chiles ranges from mild to medium, and their flavor is delicious with a hint of smoke.
Chiles de arbol, also known as tree chilies, have a flavor that is smoky, nutty, and substantially hotter than that of a jalapeo pepper.
I just used two chiles de arbol, but if you’re looking for a lot of heat, feel free to add as many as you’d like. The flavor of gajillo chiles is described as sweet, fruity, acidic, and smoky, and they have a mild heat level.
Leaves of the Bay –
The addition of three bay leaves to the soup is required in order to accentuate the robustness of the other tastes.
Onion And Garlic Both In It –
To make the chile paste, you will need an onion and a significant amount of garlic.
Spices and herbs –
Cumin ground, Mexican oregano, and salt are all you’ll need to make this dish taste good; the majority of the flavor comes from our chiles. In order to achieve a more genuine flavor, I suggest substituting the oregano called for in this recipe with Mexican oregano.
The aromas of lemon and citrus are prominent in Mexican oregano, and licorice undertones are also present. Oregano in its regular form has a hint of sweetness, along with bitter and spicy undertones.
Broth made from Chicken –
The use of a broth with a lower salt content is always my first choice. In the event that you do not have any chicken broth, you can substitute water for the broth and flavor it with a chicken bouillon cube.
How To Make Pozole Rojo
Cook the pork well.
First bring a big Dutch oven up to a medium-high heat, then add the vegetable oil and continue heating it. After adding the pig chunks, fry them until they are browned on all sides.
You may want to do this in batches if necessary; it took me two batches to finish it. Place all of the pork, along with any juices, the four quarts of water, and the bay leaves, back into the Dutch oven.
Bring to a boil, then immediately cover with the lid, turn the heat down to medium-low, and simmer for an additional hour.
Check the broth at regular intervals to see if there are any contaminants floating near the surface; if there are, remove them from the pot using a slotted spoon if you find any. This is essential to ensuring that we end up with a broth that is pleasant and transparent.
Obtain and prepare the dried chilies.
In the meantime, you should clean all of the dried chiles by removing the stems and the seeds. Put the chilies in a bowl, cover them with boiling water, and set them aside to soak for half an hour.
Prepare the red pepper sauce.
After 30 minutes, remove the chiles from the oven and place them in a blender together with the onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and one to two cups of the chicken stock. Blend until smooth. Repeat this step a few times until the mixture is thoroughly pureed.
Cooking after stirring in some chili sauce.
After the pork has been simmering for an hour, add the remaining chicken broth as well as the peppers that have been pureed.
Bring to a boil once more, then cover with the lid and continue cooking for another half an hour. If too much of the water is lost through evaporation, you should add some more.
Cook hominy after adding it.
After adding the hominy to the pot, give everything a good stir and continue cooking it for another half an hour to an hour.
You also have the option of removing the meat from the pot, shredding it, and then placing it back in the pot. This works particularly well if you cut the pork into larger pieces.
To serve, top with your preferred ingredients.
When serving, garnish with shredded cabbage, chopped onion, sliced radish, and a wedge of lime.
Pozole: How It Should Be Served
In my opinion, what makes this soup exciting and extra delightful is the addition of various toppings and garnishes to the bowl before serving.
The wonderful thing about dinner with pozole is that each person at the table can, in fact, top their own bowl with whichever toppings they like most. My go-to toppings for mine are shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, chopped onion, and a generous amount of lime juice that has been freshly poured over the top.
Sometimes, if my pozole turns out to be too spicy, I will even add a spoonful of sour cream to cut down on the spiciness a little bit. This is something that I do just if it turns out to be too spicy.
This dish can also be served with corn tortillas, avocados, cilantro, jalapenos, and other similar ingredients. Make sure you don’t forget to stack them up in your bowl.
Storage
Pozole rojo that has been left over can be refrigerated for up to five days in an airtight container, or it can be frozen for up to three months.