Pozole

Looking to feed (and impress!) a crowd, or need a soup that’ll warm you up in the dead of winter? Make Mexican red pozole! Filled with pork shoulder, hominy, and a fair amount of heat, pozole is a cozy comforting stew that isn’t shy about its flavor. Don’t let the time commitment scare you, either: this is a set-and-forget-it recipe that truly rewards you for all of your patience. With time, the meat will turn tender, soft, and buttery, the aromas will deepen, and the color will become as rich as the soup tastes. Here’s everything you need to know to make it the best it can be:

How To Make Pozole

INGREDIENTS

• Pork: You can use pork shoulder or Boston butt (technically still part of the shoulder—the actual rear is called the “ham”. TMYK.) here, since they are both tougher cuts of meat that become fall-apart tender when slowly cooked. You can buy bone-in or boneless pork here. The bone does add a lot of flavor, but you’ll end up needing to remove them after step 1, so I recommend going with boneless and just cutting it into uniform pieces at the beginning.
• Onion & Garlic: The building blocks of any recipe!
• Chicken Broth: You can use pork broth if you’re the kind of person to have that around, but if not, stick with chicken broth. Beef broth can taste pretty overwhelming, likely because it doesn’t actually contain any meat, whereas chicken is usually milder and can enhance, rather than overpower, the rest of the dish.
• Cumin Seeds: These add both texture and flavor to this dish, and are worth seeking out. That said, you should be able to sub in ground cumin if that’s all you got—a good rule of thumb is about 1 tsp. ground per every Tbsp. of whole, so you can just get away with a pinch in this recipe.
• Bay Leaf: Look, you could leave this out (I know I have on occasion!), but a single bay leaf does add a nice depth of flavor here. If you’ve got them on hand already, definitely throw one in, but if not, don’t stress about buying some.
• Chiles: We call for 3 different types of dried chiles here to round out the soup's complexity with each variety's distinctive characteristics: some are smokier, some have more fire in them, and every type adds a layer of savory fragrance. This pozole is meant to be a little spicy, but adjust the heat to your liking by adding more or less of the chiles. To really make sure you are extracting more flavor and less spice, take the extra time to pull out the membrane and seeds inside each chile before soaking.
• Hominy: Arguably the most important ingredient in pozole, hominy is corn...but not the kind off a cob that you might be familiar with. Instead, hominy is dried corn kernels that have been nixtamalized, a process in which they get soaked in a (food-safe!) lye or lime solution, then rinsed, which removes the hull and leaves the kernels plump and soft. If you’ve ever made or eaten corn tortillas, tamales, or grits out of masa, you’ll recognize hominy’s earthy aroma and flavor. You can find it canned in most grocery stores (check the international aisles), and Mexican or Latin American supermarkets will definitely carry it.
• Toppings: The toppings are essential to pozole: They counteract with the heat, and provide a crunch of freshness in each bite. Sweet cabbage and juicy radish will help cool things off a bit, and if you'd like a pop of green, a fresh herb like cilantro or oregano is always a good idea.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

You’ll start by seasoning your pork, then combining it with your garlic, onion, spices (not the chiles yet!), and broth in a large pot or dutch oven. Once everything is in, give it a stir to help everything settle, then add enough water to make sure the pork is covered by about 2”. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover it, and let it simmer. Cook for about an hour and thirty minutes, going in occasionally to skim off any foam that has formed. Doing so will guarantee a better mouthfeel and look to your final soup, so it’s worth checking back in on it every so often.

Sometime during that hour and a half, boil some water and pour it over your chiles in a bowl. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes, then add them and some of the soaking liquid (about half a cup should be good, but a little more or less is okay too) into a blender. Blend until smooth, adding more soaking liquid or water if you need. Be mindful to not make a mess here; this concentrated chile puree is hot, and you don’t want to inadvertently get it anywhere it’s not supposed to be.

After the first hour and a half of cooking time is up, add the chile puree and the cans of drained hominy to your pot, then cover and let it go for another hour and a half, going in to stir occasionally.

Once the three hours are up, your pork should be very tender, and you can go in and taste for seasonings. Add more salt and pepper if you like, then ladle out some pozole and top with radishes, cabbage, and cilantro. Enjoy!

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Storage

If you have any leftover pozole, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for around a week. Alternatively, you can freeze your pozole (sans toppings, of course!) for 2 to 3 months.