Mexican · Soup · Easy
Pozole Rojo
Mexico's celebratory hominy stew. Pork that shreds with a spoon, hominy bloomed open, in a deep red chile broth. The toppings are mandatory.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Pozole Rojo, in 5 ideas
- Skim patiently at the start. The foam that rises in the first 20 minutes would cloud the broth. A few minutes of skimming gives you a clear, beautiful soup.
- Hominy should bloom. Whether canned or dried, it is done when the kernels split open like popcorn. If yours stays tight, it needs more time.
- Guajillo is the backbone. It gives the red color and gentle heat. Ancho adds depth and a hint of sweetness. Together they are the classic pozole rojo base.
- Leftovers are even better. Like all stews, pozole improves overnight. The broth thickens and the flavors settle. It reheats beautifully.
- Make it verde or blanco. Swap the red chiles for tomatillos and green chiles for pozole verde, or skip the chile sauce entirely for pozole blanco with just the pork broth.
What you need
Ingredients
- 3 lbs pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
- 2 (25 oz) cans hominy, drained and rinsed (or 1 lb dried hominy, soaked overnight)
- 6 dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 2 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
- For serving: shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, diced white onion, lime wedges, dried oregano, tostadas
- Salt
How to make it
Directions
- Put the pork, onion quarters, 4 garlic cloves, bay leaves, and a tablespoon of salt in a large pot. Cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then lower to a gentle simmer.
- Cook 2 hours until the pork is very tender. Meanwhile, toast the dried chiles in a dry skillet until fragrant, about a minute per side. Soak in hot water 20 minutes.
- Blend the soaked chiles with the remaining 2 garlic cloves and a cup of the pork cooking liquid until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh into a bowl.
- When the pork is tender, stir the chile sauce and the hominy into the pot. Simmer 45 minutes more so the flavors marry and the hominy blooms open like little flowers.
- Shred the pork right in the pot with two forks, or pull out the chunks, shred, and return them. Stir in the Mexican oregano and adjust salt. The broth should be deeply savory and brick red.
- Serve in deep bowls with all the toppings on the table: cabbage, radishes, onion, lime, oregano, and tostadas for scooping. Everyone builds their own.
The toppings are not garnish, they are the dish. Crunchy cabbage, peppery radish, sharp onion, and lime cut the richness. A bowl of pozole without toppings is only half the experience.