Warming Red Pozole
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Author Notes: I didn'’t grow up eating pozole, but I sure fell in love with it once I tried it at Nopalito restaurant in San Francisco. Pozole is a fantastic stew of chiles, pork, and hominy that is often served around the holidays. I love that each person can customize their own bowl with their favorite combo of toppings. Nopalito uses watermelon radishes, which makes the dish especially stunning. This version is easy to put together and you can make a big batch to keep on hand for visitors, potlucks, …or just dinner for the family. It really feels warm and comforting, whether you grew up eating pozole or not. - monkeymom
Food52 Review: With chiles, cumin, lime, garlic, and onion, I had a feeling this was going to be good, but I was not expecting the depth of flavors and range of senses to which this recipe plays. While shopping for ingredients, I could not find pork shoulder or ribs at my market. My butcher suggested a sirloin end roast, which proved to be very tender; it was also easy to cut. The directions for this recipe are very clear. I love the way the pureed onions, garlic, and chiles thicken the pozole. I chose some savoy cabbage along with queso fresco for some of the toppings. Warming Red Pozole is a recipe full of soul. It will warm you inside and out! Thank you, monkeymom, for this very spirited recipe, well worth befriending! - Sagegreen
Serves 10 12
- 4 dried New Mexico chilies, stems and seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 3 pounds pork shoulder or country style ribs, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- Salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cakes cans hominy, drained and rinsed
- Water
- Cabbage, shredded finely
- Radishes, sliced thinly
- Limes, quartered for squeezing
- Avocado, cut into small chunks
- Tortilla chips or corn tortillas
- Cilantro, coarsely chopped
- Crumbled queso fresco or your cheese of choice
- Toast chiles in a dry pan over high heat for a few minutes until slightly browned. They should puff up and soften as you heat them, and become fragrant. Remove from pan, let cool, and cut or tear roughly. Pour 1 cup boiling water over them to soften them for 15 minutes.
- Add oil to a large, heavy pot and turn the flame to medium high. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions have soften and colored. Remove from heat.
- Add onions and garlic to a blender with chiles and their liquid. Puree until smooth.
- Put pot back on high heat and brown the pork in two batches. Add 1 teaspoon cumin, salt, and pepper to each batch as they brown. Add all pork back to pot along with chili liquid, chicken stock, oregano, and hominy. The liquid should completely cover the pork. Add water or more stock if necessary. Bring to boil then lower to simmer. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, or cumin to suit your taste. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 hours.
- While the pozole cooks, get toppings ready.
- To serve: ladle pozole into bowl. Top with cabbage, radishes, and any other toppings. Squeeze a healthy dose of lime juice into your bowl and dig in!
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Cheap Feast
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Chili Pepper Recipe
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Open House Dish
Tags: comfort food, Holidays, serves a crowd
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4 months ago carbonarasuz
Susan is a recipe tester for Food52.
Delicious, will make again!
over 2 years ago floralewis
Cold night, home after work and yoga..... A big bowl of puzzle and " that was so satisfying" accolade from the spousal unit. Thanks for a delicious recipe
over 2 years ago innoabrd
Hey, that was great. Made for dinner the other night using some of the blue corn I had grown in Swaziland. I'd brought back some new mexico peppers which were just waiting for a use. Think next time I might double the pepper/onion base and make the whole thing more soupy. Found myself wanting more broth to slurp!
over 2 years ago Sagegreen
Monkeymom, I uploaded a photo of one of our bowls using your great recipe. Feel free to remove it if you prefer. Your photo is much better!
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Your picture is wonderful! Thanks for uploading it!
over 2 years ago Midge
monkeymom, re New Mexico chilies, are these are a specific type, like Hatch?
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Hi Midge! The New Mexico chilies I use are dried chili peppers sold under that name, the easiest ones for me to find at my local market. I think a substitute for them would be other types of dried red chili peppers - dried California chilies (probably milder) or Anchos (probably spicier). However, if you can find dried red Hatch peppers, that would probably work too. I've never personally tried any other pepper for it but have wanted to try some anchos to make it a bit spicier. Hope that helps!
over 2 years ago Midge
Thanks so much. Now if I could only find hominy; WF and other local markets are sold out. I'm determined to make this soon though!
over 2 years ago Midge
I subbed two dried guajillo chilies and 4 tablespoons of ground ancho chilies for the N.M. chilies and it was perfect. A truly great recipe, monkeymom, thanks!
over 2 years ago 1NatsFan
My wife and I made this recipe for Christmas Eve. We both decided that it will be our new tradition.
This is truly a fantastic recipe.
We will not be waiting until next Christmas Eve to make it again.
over 2 years ago monkeymom
So happy you liked it! Happy New Year to you both!
over 2 years ago Midge
Oh I would love a bowl of this right now. Can't wait to try it.
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Thanks Midge! Hope you like it, winter is a great time to try it.
over 2 years ago gingerroot
I love posole, and your recipe looks and sounds amazing!
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Thanks gingerroot! I'd love to know what you like with yours when you have it.
over 2 years ago Loves Food Loves to Eat
This looks fantastic! I tried a red pozole last NYE, but this looks waaayy better!
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Thanks so much! It is a great winter food, isn't it, NYE sound like a great time to have it.
over 2 years ago MrsWheelbarrow
Cathy is a trusted source on Pickling/Preserving.
I love this recipe. Thank you!
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Thank you MrsW for your encouragement!
over 2 years ago Sagegreen
You have me dreaming of lunch already and it is still breakfast time. Delicious.
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Mmm, it does make a nice lunch :) Your latkes have been drooling!
over 2 years ago Sagegreen
With a finish of fresh avocado, queso fresco melting in the broth, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime this dish just comes alive with flavor. Love it!
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Great description Sagegreen! Amazing how that lime really brightens this warm and cozy dish and brings it somewhere else. Thanks for your feedback!