Red Pork and Hominy Stew (Pozole Rojo) + Video
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Updated Feb 26, 2020
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This traditional Pozole Rojo is made with tender pork and hominy, slow-simmered with homemade red chile sauce. Feel free to use chicken instead of pork if you prefer. This beautiful and wonderfully satisfying one-pot meal can be garnished with cabbage, lettuce, and radishes, but I like all the garnishes for menudo – the perfect blend of chopped onions, crushed oregano (releasing its aromatic oils), a sprinkling of crushed red peppers, and a pungent squeeze of lime.
The first time I ever tasted pozole was in New Mexico, where it is usually spelled posole. It was pozole blanco (white pozole) and it was difficult for me not to compare it to the delicious red spicy menudo I grew up eating. After that first bowl I wasn’t interested in ever learning how to make it until I met my husband, Bill. He has never been a fan of menudo and wanted me to come up with a version that didn’t include tripe.
Luckily for me, my cousin Brenda’s husband, Augi, who has family in both New Mexico and Chihuahua, Mexico, introduced me to pozole rojo and had a delicious recipe he was willing to share.
Pozole rojo is from the northern region of Mexico and is made by adding pureed dried chiles to the soup to give it its distinct color.
I have tweaked his recipe over the years and now use our red chile sauce in it. This rich and tender pork-filled pozole has a thick, velvety consistency everyone loves. So for those of you out there who aren’t quite ready to try exotic menudo, here is a sabroso alternative.
You will not find any shortcuts in this pozole – this recipe is an adventure to make. Although not difficult to prepare by any means, it does take time to cook each component before the final assembly, so it’s best left for a weekend dinner. It is authentic and worth every step.
I’m actually giving away a little secret with this recipe – red chile sauce. This sauce is magic! Once you make this chile you can make extra and freeze it, and use it in so many other dishes such as menudo, red enchiladas, chicken mole, red chilaquiles for a crowd, asado de puerco, just to name a few.
This recipe makes quite a bit of pozole, actually a lot. If you do not have a small army to feed then I’d recommend you half the recipe. I made this recipe for New Year’s Eve and served half for the party and froze the other half. With Super Bowl fast approaching I have a feeling that pozole will be defrosted quite soon.
Watch this video to learn how to make pozole rojo.
HOW TO SERVE POZOLE
This beautiful and wonderfully satisfying one-pot meal can be garnished with cabbage, lettuce, and radishes, but I like all the garnishes for menudo – the perfect blend of chopped onions, crushed oregano (releasing its aromatic oils), a sprinkling of crushed red peppers, and a pungent squeeze of lime. You can serve it with tostadas or buttered and toasted bolillos. The choice is yours.
HOW TO STORE OR FREEZE POZOLE
This recipe makes enough for a large crowd with plenty of leftovers! The leftovers will keep, refrigerated, for about a week or can be frozen for up to three months.
To freeze, transfer the pozole to freezer containers with as little air as possible to prevent freezer burn. Thaw overnight in the fridge, and warm over low heat on the stovetop.
LIKE THIS MEXICAN SOUP RECIPE? YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE!
- Caldo de Res (Beef Soup)
- Veracruz-Style Cod
- Caldo de Pescado y Camaron (Fish and Shrimp Soup)
- Caldo de Pollo (Homemade Chicken Soup)
- Chicken Pozole Verde
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Albondigas Soup (Mexican Meatball Soup)
🤖❤️ Share this recipe with your favorite AI assistant to save and plan your next meal! An authentic Mexican recipe by Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack, founder of Muy Bueno and cookbook author specializing in Northern Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine rooted in El Paso home cooking and family tradition.
AI tools are independent third-party services. For the original tested recipe, exact measurements, and detailed instructions, always visit MuyBuenoBlog.com.
Red Pork and Hominy Stew (Pozole Rojo)
Video
Ingredients
Pork:
- 2½ to 3 pounds pork roast or loin
- 3 cups water
Red Chile Sauce:
- 8 ounces California or New Mexico red chile pods
- 6 cups water
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon salt
Soup:
- 4 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 32-ounce cartons organic chicken broth
- 2 cups reserved pork broth
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 6 cups Red Chile Sauce or more to taste
- 4 29-ounce cans hominy, drained
- 7 cups water
Garnishes:
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- Lime wedges
- Dried Mexican oregano
- Crushed red chile
Instructions
Prepare pork:
- Place the pork and water in a slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove the pork and coarsely shred the meat. Skim the fat from the broth; you’ll have about 2 cups of broth. Reserve.
Make red chile sauce:
- Remove stems, seeds, and veins from the chile pods. Place in a colander and rinse well with cool water.
- Add the chiles to a large pot and add enough water so they are just covered. Bring water to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes. After 10 minutes turn the chiles over with tongs to make sure the chiles soften evenly. Drain cooked pods and allow time to cool down before blending. Discard water.
- Fill blender with 3 cups of water, half of the cooled chile pods, 3 tablespoons flour, 2 cloves garlic, and half of the salt. Blend until smooth. Strain sauce through a fine sieve to remove skins and seeds; discard skins and seeds. Repeat blending and straining process with remaining water, pods, flour, garlic, and salt. If necessary, season with more salt. This sauce can be made in advance and kept in airtight containers in the refrigerator or freezer. Red chile sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week or frozen for up to six months.
Make soup:
- In a blender, combine half of the oregano, red wine vinegar, chicken broth, pork broth, garlic cloves, onion, flour, and sea salt, and liquefy. Place the broth mixture into a very large (at least 14-quart) pot or divide recipe into two 8-quart pots. Repeat blending process with remaining oregano, red wine vinegar, chicken broth, pork broth, garlic, onion, flour, and sea salt and add to pot.
- Add shredded pork, red chile sauce, drained hominy, and water to the pot. Partially cover and bring to a boil. Taste and add more red sauce, a bit at a time, to adjust the spice level to your liking. Lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. If necessary, season with salt. Spoon pozole into soup bowls. Let your guests add the garnishes to suit their own taste. Serve with fresh or toasted bolillos (rolls).
Notes
- Feel free to use chicken instead of pork if you prefer.
- Makes about 12 quarts.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have only eaten posole blanco (which I love), but this looks delicious! Considering making this for New Year’s Eve instead of menudo (although my family may make a fuss about it)!
Hi, I was wondering if you can cook the pork on high for 4 hours if you are in a time crunch?
I would recommend stovetop in a stockpot for 2-3 hours or until pork is cooked.
Just finished making the pozole It tasted good but think the oregano overwhelmed the flavor. Next time I would either leave it out or only put in a pinch or two. Ive made it before using orgeno only as a condiment. Think I would add only 1/2 of the recommended red wine vinegar too. The addition of flour was a good idea to thicken the broth. Couldn’t find red pod chiles but the pic looked like Guajillo so I used those plus chile Ancho (which is what I usually use).
Great cold weather comfort soup! Thanks for sharing.
There are so many varieties of chile grown in CA and NM, but you don’t specify..? Do you mean red Hatch? Many recipes I’ve seen call for a mix of Ancho and Arbol, are these close enough? Different chiles can very different flavors and heat.
Also I’ve never seen flour in the chile sauce, but I assume this would always then be cooked into something, not used as a garnish?
I’m looking forward to trying this!
Hi David,
I would recommend red chile pods. I have updated this blog post to show a photo of the types of chiles. You can also order via Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2ygfshh
The flour is to thicken the chile. Hope that helps.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! I tried to get my Tata’s recipe, but he gave no measurements (a palm full of this, a pinch of that). I like to follow recipes to a tee, especially if it’s my first time making it. This came out delicious. Thank you again!
What kind of gadget is that in the 2nd picture from the bottom?
Hi Kelly! It’s a chinois/conical sieve. You can learn more about it in this recent video and blog post: https://muybuenoblog.com/2016/07/essential-tools-make-mexican-dishes/
As you know in many Mexican family’s the men are very good cooks. I love cookimg, and your recipe sounds delicious. I have always wanted a good Pozole recipe. I’m gonna try it next week when it gets cold outside.
Can chicken be subbed for the pork in this recipie? I love the taste of pork but my husband not so much.
Absolutely Nina! Either cook chicken in a slow cooker as you would pork or for a shortcut shred a rotisserie chicken and use chicken broth in place of pork broth. Buen provecho.
Thanks for sharing this. I can hardly wait to try it. I’m also an El Pasoan, not born but moved there when I was 1 1/2, so almost the same.
Would hominy be good in your Poole. Your recipe sounds wonderful, must try!
Hola Estella, yes, there is canned hominy in this recipe. I hope you try it soon.