Pozole Rojo( Authentic Red Pozole Recipe )

Growing up, this time of year, our home was filled with a delicious smell of roasted red chiles, pork, and hominy. Pozole Rojo is a traditional Mexican soup that is usually prepared for New Year’s Eve. It is also served during other celebrations such as birthdays, Christmas, Mexico’s Independence day, or just for a casual winter get-together.

Ingredients For Pozole Rojo

Pork roast: A bone-in pork roast or neck bones work best for this recipe. Boneless pork roast is fine as well.

Water: I start the recipe with 12 cups, which is enough to create a broth while cooking the meat, then add more if you like.

Mexican-style hominy: Hominy is maize( field corn) that has been treated with an alkali solution, or cal( aka pickling lime). Canned hominy is available in most grocery stores. The 110 oz can is too much for this “small batch”, I use the 29 oz cans.

Onion: 1 yellow onion packs a lot of flavor!

Garlic cloves: Use large garlic cloves

Roma tomatoes: Make sure they are bright red and ripe.

Chile Guajillo: Substitute 1 tsp of powdered guajillo per 1 dry chile.

Chile Ancho: Substitute 1 tsp of powdered guajillo per 1 dry chile

Bay leaves: Adds a nice earthy sweet balance to the chiles.

Clove: Just one whole clove is all you need or ¼ tsp of ground clove.

Black peppercorns: 2 whole black peppercorns or ½ tsp ground black pepper.

cumin seeds: ¼ tsp of whole cumin seeds or ½ tsp ground cumin.

Olive oil: For sauteeing the onion, tomato, and spices. Substitute any neutral oil, such as canola.

Kosher salt: This salt is less “salty” than table salt. If you will be using any other salt in place of kosher salt, use half of what the recipe calls for and then add more to taste.

How To Make Pozole Rojo (Red Pozole)

Cook The Pork

Start by trimming the fat off the pork roast, then place it into a large stock pot along with half the onion 2 garlic cloves, bay leaves, 1 Tbsp of kosher salt, and 12 cups of water. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.

Skim the foam”impurities” that float to the top of the broth. Then cover with the lid and reduce the heat—Cook for 1½-2 hrs.

Making The Red Chile Sauce

Roast the chile pods over a low open flame. If you are not comfortable doing this, use a skillet and stir the chiles constantly. Be careful not to burn them, or it will produce a bitter taste. Remove the stems and seeds. Then place the clean pods into the pork broth. Cover and continue cooking

Then place a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the chopped onion, tomato, 2 garlic cloves, 2 peppercorns, 1 whole clove, and ¼ tsp whole cumin seeds. Saute for 1 minute, then add a spoonful of pork broth. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for an additional minute, then turn off the heat.

Remove chile pods from the broth using tongs and place them into a blender cup. Add the cooked onion-tomato mixture and an additional ½ cup of pork broth to the blender. Puree until smooth.

*Please be extra careful when handling hot liquids.*

Putting It All Together

Remove the pork meat from the broth, place it into a bowl, and set it aside. Use a spider strainer to remove the onion, garlic, and bay leaves from the broth.

Open the cans of hominy. Drain and rinse, then add it to the broth. Place a metal fine-mesh strainer over the pot. Pour the chile sauce into the strainer. Add a cup of water to the blender cup and swish it around so it picks up the remaining chile sauce. Then pour it into the strainer. Use the back of a spoon to push the liquid through the strainer.

Break pork meat apart into pieces and place it back into the pot. Stir, cover, and continue to cook for 30 minutes.

After 15 minutes, skim the fat that rises to the top of the broth (optional)

Taste for salt and add it in a little at a time. I used a total of 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp of kosher salt.

Turn off the heat and serve with toppings of choice (optional)

Enjoy!

How To Serve Pozole

Serve hot with any of the following toppings

• Shredded cabbage
• Chopped cilantro
• Chopped onion
• Lime wedges
• Sliced radish
• Avacado slices
• Jalapeño slices
• Dry oregano
• Red pepper flakes

Serve with tortillas, tortilla chips and salsa or bolillo bread.

FAQ And Tips

~Store any leftover pozole in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. You can freeze it in freezer safe containers or freezer plastic bags for up to 5 months.

My last tip is to read the recipe a couple times before starting and be patient. This is a big project, but so worth it! I hope you love this recipe😃

Until the next one,

Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave your thoughts in the comment section below. Snap a picture of the recipe you made and tag me @mariasblisscorner with the hashtag #mariasblisscorner. Thank you!

Pozole Rojo

Maria Felipa

Pozole Rojo is a traditional Mexican soup, consisting of hominy and tender pork meat in a red chile broth. Then it is topped with cabbage, onion, cilantro, or other toppings of choice.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 2 hrs 30 mins

Total Time 3 hrs

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

• 2-3 Lb pork roast bone-in perferibly
• 12-14 cups water
• 2 25 oz cans of hominy Mexican style
• 1 onion
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 2 large Roma tomatoes
• 3 chile Guajillo
• 2 chile Ancho
• 2 small bay leaves
• 1 clove
• 2 black peppercorns
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt + more to taste

Toppings (optional)

• shredded cabbage
• finely chopped onion
• chopped cilantro
• lime wedges
• dry oregano
• red pepper flakes

Instructions

 

Cook The Pork

• Trim fat off pork roast, then place into a large stock pot along with half the onion 2 garlic cloves, bay leaves, 1 Tbsp of kosher salt*, and 12 cups of water. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
• Skim the foam"impurities" that float to the top of the broth. Then cover with the lid and reduce the heat. Cook for 1½-2 hrs.

Make The Chile Sauce

• Roast the chile pods over a low open flame. If you are not comfortable doing this, use a skillet and stir the chiles constantly. Be careful not to burn them, or it will produce a bitter taste. Remove the stems and seeds. Then place the clean pods into the pork broth. Cover and continue cooking
• Then place a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the chopped onion, tomato, 2 garlic cloves, 2 peppercorns, 1 whole clove, and ¼ tsp whole cumin seeds. Saute for 1 minute, then add a spoonful of pork broth. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for an additional minute, then turn off the heat.
• Remove chile pods from the broth using tongs and place them into a blender cup. Add the cooked onion-tomato mixture and an additional ½ cup of pork broth to the blender. Puree until smooth. Please be extra careful when handling hot liquids.

Putting It All Together

• Remove the pork meat from the broth and place it into a bowl and set aside. Use a spider strainer to remove the onion, garlic, and bay leaves from the broth.
• Open the cans of hominy. Drain and rinse, then add it to the broth. Place a metal fine mesh strainer over the pot. Pour the chile sauce into the strainer. Add a cup of water to the blender cup and swish it around so it picks up the remaining chile sauce. Then pour it into the strainer. Use a spoon to push the liquid through the strainer.
• Break pork meat apart into pieces and place it back into the pot. Stir, cover, and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, skim the fat that rises to the top of the broth (optional)
• Taste for salt and add it in a little at a time. I used a total of 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp of kosher salt.
• Turn off the heat and serve with toppings of choice (optional)
• Enjoy!

Notes

*Salt: Please be aware that salt crystals vary in flavor intensity. In other words, if you like to use table salt or other kinds of salts in cooking, use less than indicated. Then build the flavor by adding more, a little at a time.

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 5 months.

Keyword authentic pozole, Mexican soup, Pozole, pozole rojo, Traditional Mexican dishes