Description
This traditional Pozole Rojo recipe is a hearty Mexican stew featuring tender pork shoulder simmered in a rich, flavorful red chile broth with hominy, served with fresh, crisp toppings for a perfectly balanced and satisfying meal.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Main 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, stems and seeds removed)
- 5 guajillo chiles (dried, stems and seeds removed)
- 2 chiles de árbol (dried, stems and seeds removed)
- 1 medium onion (quartered)
- 6 cloves garlic (peeled and sliced)
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 4 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 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 and add vegetable oil. Sear the pork shoulder pieces in batches until browned on all sides. Return all pork and accumulated juices to the pot, add water and bay leaves, then bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low, simmer for 1 hour, skimming any impurities from the surface periodically for clear broth.
- Prep the dried chiles: While pork cooks, remove stems and seeds from all dried chiles. Soak them in boiling water for 30 minutes until softened.
- Make the chile sauce: Transfer soaked chiles to a blender along with quartered onion, sliced garlic, oregano, cumin, and 1 to 2 cups of the chicken broth. Puree until completely smooth.
- Stir in chile sauce and cook: After pork has simmered 1 hour, add remaining chicken broth and the chile sauce to the pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Add more water if too much evaporates.
- Add hominy and cook: Stir hominy into the stew, then cook for another 30 to 45 minutes. Optionally, remove pork, shred it, and return it to the pot before finishing.
- Serve with toppings: Ladle the pozole into bowls and garnish with shredded cabbage, chopped onion, sliced radishes, and lime wedges to taste.
Notes
- Removing impurities from the broth is essential for a clear and clean-tasting soup.
- Soaking dried chiles softens them for blending into a rich sauce perfectly infusing the stew.
- Shredding the pork before returning it to the stew helps distribute the meat evenly for easy serving.
- Customize the garnishes according to your preferences for texture and acidity balance.
- This dish benefits from slow simmering to develop deep, complex flavors.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (about 1.5 cups)
- Calories: 370 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 620 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
