Pozole

A traditional Mexican stew made with pork and red chilies.

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Pozole

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 452kcal

Author Emma Chapman

Ingredients

2½ pounds pork shoulder
2 cloves garlic
½ yellow onion
1 cube chicken bouillon
6 cups water divided
2 dried guajillo chilies
2 dried ancho chilies
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon cumin
15 ounces white hominy one can
½ cabbage
4 radishes
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 lime

Instructions

Begin by cutting away large pieces of fat from the pork shoulder. You’re not looking to remove all the fat, just any large pieces that you know would not be fun to chew through later. If you have a bone-in cut, at this time you should also cut around the bone as much as you can, but keep it as we will use it in this recipe. It’s also totally fine to use pork shoulder that does not contain a bone.
Cut the meat into small cubes.
In a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, lightly brown the meat. You are not aiming to fully cook it, just get a good sear on the pieces.
Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the whole garlic cloves, chopped onion (cut into large pieces, to remove later), bouillon cube and five cups of water.
Cover and allow to simmer for 1 hour. If you notice a lot of foam or fat rising to the top, skim this off.
Cut off the tops of the dried chiles and remove the seeds. In a small pot, boil one cup of water and add the chiles. Boil for 5 minutes, then cover the pot and turn the heat off and allow it to continue to cook and cool for 5 minutes. Then blend/puree in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Once the broth has cooked for the initial hour, uncover the pot and remove the garlic, onion pieces and the pork bone.
Strain the chili mixture through a fine mesh sieve into the pot.
Then add the tomato sauce, oregano, cumin, and the drained hominy kernels. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Taste and add any salt and pepper you feel it needs.
Serve hot and garnish with shredded green cabbage, thinly sliced radish, fresh cilantro and lime juice. I also like to serve with a few warmed flour tortillas for dipping and sopping up the liquid from the soup.

Notes

Pork shoulder is also called pork butt or Boston butt as well as picnic roast or picnic shoulder. And while I use pork in this recipe, pozole is also sometimes made with chicken so a good substitute is chicken thighs.

You don’t have to use bone-in pork shoulder, but I find cooking the bone along with the stew adds flavor. Plus my dog loves getting it after I’m done cooking. 🙂

You could skip the bouillon cube and use chicken stock instead of water for the broth. Another fun addition here is bay leaves.

If you can’t find dried Gaujillo chiles or dried Ancho chiles, you could use chipotle chilies in adobo sauce instead. Add a couple of chiles with a tablespoon or more to a blender or processor with the water, then strain this into the stew.

If you don’t want to use white or yellow hominy, a decent substitute is chickpeas, corn, or rice. But hominy is pretty traditional for pozole.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple days. You can rewarm on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Nutrition