Happy soup season! If you celebrate, you need to make this pozole recipe soon. What I mean is, I tend to think of the weeks after the holidays as “soup season” since the weather is cold, dark and with the holidays over there’s not much to look forward to. Lol. So, we need bowls of soup! And if you don’t know, pozole, or Pozole Rojo like this, is a hearty and traditional Mexican stew usually made with tender pork and hominy. Pozole rojo gets its color and flavor from dried chilies and tomatoes.
And while this pozole recipe is filling, it also manages to feel fresh at the same time with addition of a few raw vegetables like shredded cabbage and radishes. It’s super flavorful, easy to make, inexpensive and makes great leftovers—what’s not to love?
Related: Next up, try our Birria Tacos or everyday Enchiladas.
Ingredients
- Pork shoulder – pork butt
- Garlic
- Yellow onion
- Chicken bouillon cube
- Water
- Gaujillo chiles
- Ancho chiles
- Tomato sauce
- Oregano
- Cumin
- White hominy
To serve, you will also want some shredded cabbage, thinly sliced radish, fresh cilantro, lime wedges and a few warm flour or corn tortillas.
How to make Pozole Rojo
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.
Tips & Substitutions
- Pork shoulder 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 chilies 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.
More Mexican and Tex-Mex Recipes
Get our FREE recipe guide with our most popular recipes of all time!
Free Popular Recipe Guide
Our top 25 recipes of all time!
Get the Recipe
A traditional Mexican stew made with pork and red chilies.
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
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
Nutrition Facts
Pozole
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
