Pozole Rojo made with Pork

Pozole is a Mexican stew that predates colonial times. It was eaten by Aztecs and other Mesoamerican tribes long before the Spanish arrived but what the Spanish added to the dish was pork. Pozole varies region to region in Mexico and is categorized by color. Traditional Mexican pozole (posole) is a rich, brothy soup made with pork, hominy, and red chiles. Pile your bowl with toppings like shredded cabbage, radishes, cilantro, lime, and avocado!

Ingredients

• Pork shoulder or pork butt
• White Onions
• 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 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

Directions

Cook the pork. Combine sliced onion, 6 cloves garlic, salt, bay leaves, and oregano in a large pot. Add pork and fill the pot with 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. You can also use a crock pot if you would rather slow cook your meat .

Lower the heat to medium 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 easily shreds, place a strainer over a bowl or pot large enough to hold the broth and strain the pork. Let pork cool and save the broth for the soup.

Shred pork. Once the pork is cool enough to handle, shred 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.

Blanch your hominy. A lot of people probably do not do this but 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.

Prep the chiles. While the pork is cooking you will make the red sauce that flavors the pozole. For the sauce you want to use, 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.

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.

Make soup.Combine the pork with the chile sauce, the reserved broth, and hominy and cook, partially covered until all the flavors have cooked together into a delicious soup.

Garnish and serve! Top each bowl with diced onion, cabbage , lime , radishes, and any other garnishes you like. Enjoy!

Try this recipe and tell me how it turns out ! You can also make a verde (green) variation or use chicken or beef .