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Delicious Mexican Pork Dish

Featured in Cozy soups to warm your heart.

Rich Mexican pozole with pork, hominy, and guajillo. Pile toppings like lime, cabbage, and radishes. A terrific choice for gatherings.
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Maria from tastyhush
Updated on Fri, 02 May 2025 17:38:18 GMT
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Pozole Rojo Bowl | tastyhush.com

Hearty, soul-satisfying Pozole Rojo bursting with soft pork chunks and hominy swimming in a deep crimson chile soup brings Mexico's festive flavors straight to your table. This beloved dish, topped with crispy fresh veggies and tangy lime, delivers both comfort and excitement in every mouthwatering bite.

I tried making pozole for the first time during my daughter's graduation celebration. The familiar smell drew my Mexican neighbor over, and she spent our afternoon telling me stories about her grandma's recipe while tweaking my broth. It's now become our special occasion tradition that we share together.

Key Ingredients

  • Dried Chiles: Go for soft, bendy guajillos or anchos without rips or dusty spots
  • Pork Shoulder: Choose cuts with good fat running through for juicy results
  • White Hominy: Grab ones with sturdy, full kernels and wash them well
  • Mexican Oregano: Offers special citrusy notes that aren't in Italian oregano
  • Fresh Garnishes: Should be super crunchy and fixed right before eating
  • Limes: Pick the ones that feel weighty for maximum juice
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Pozole Rojo | tastyhush.com

Step-by-Step Cooking Guide

Step 1:
Start working with your chiles early in the day. Lightly toast them until you can smell their aroma but watch they don't burn - just about 30 seconds on each side works.
Step 2:
Make sure your pork is totally dry and cut it into similar-sized chunks so it cooks evenly. Don't be shy with salt before you brown it.
Step 3:
Brown your meat in little batches, giving each piece room to get a nice golden crust. This step really builds your flavor base.
Step 4:
Keep an eye on your garlic when you throw it in with the browned meat - you want it golden but never dark or burnt.
Step 5:
Mix your chile sauce until it's totally smooth, then run it through a strainer twice to make it super silky.
Step 6:
Keep it at a gentle simmer - boiling too hard will make your meat tough.
Step 7:
Take off the stuff that floats to the top now and then for a prettier broth.
Step 8:
Taste and add salt as you go along.
Step 9:
Fix your toppings right before you're ready to eat for maximum crispness.
Step 10:
Let your soup sit for 15 minutes before you dish it up.

When I was little, my grandma always told me pozole needed patience and love. She'd let hers cook all day long, saying the soup needed time to "sing." Now I totally get what she was talking about.

Crafting Your Perfect Serving

Making a great bowl means adding your toppings in the right way:

  • Begin with the piping hot soup
  • Drop in crunchy cabbage and radishes
  • Add some smooth avocado chunks
  • Finish with some fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime

We love to gather as a family around the table, everybody fixing their bowl just how they want it. My kids always start by loading up on avocado, while my husband piles on tons of cabbage and radishes.

Heat and Serving Tips

  • Keep your soup at a gentle bubble
  • Make sure garnishes are super cold
  • Heat your bowls before filling them
  • Don't chop garnishes too far ahead
Pozole Rojo Pin it
Pozole Rojo | tastyhush.com

Storage Suggestions

  • Let it cool all the way before packing up
  • Store the broth and meat in different containers when freezing
  • Don't store cut garnishes for long
  • Warm it back up slowly to keep the texture nice

Prep Ahead Ideas

  • Get the broth ready up to 3 days before
  • Cut your garnishes the morning you'll serve
  • Store tostadas in a sealed container
  • Heat everything up gently before eating

This pozole isn't just food in our house - it's how we bring folks together, share our stories, and make memories. The real magic isn't only in the rich broth or juicy meat, but how it draws everyone to sit down together, build their own perfect bowl, and enjoy the comforting warmth of traditional Mexican family food.

Frequently Asked Questions

→ How much time is needed to cook this dish?
It takes roughly 3-4 hours, with 2-3 hours just to simmer the pork until it’s tender.
→ Can you prepare this in advance?
Definitely. Keep it in the fridge for a week or freeze for up to 3 months.
→ What toppings can you add?
Common toppings are lime wedges, radish slices, cabbage, chopped onions, cilantro, and avocado cubes.
→ Is there a way to make a vegetarian version?
Of course! Replace pork with seitan or grilled veggies, and swap in vegetable stock.
→ What chilies should I use for flavor?
Guajillo chilies are typical, but you can mix in some ancho for more depth.

Mexican Pozole Rojo

A bold Mexican stew made with pork, hominy, and red chilies, served with a mix of crunchy toppings to customize each bowl.

Prep Time
45 Minutes
Cook Time
180 Minutes
Total Time
225 Minutes
By: Maria

Category: Soups & Stews

Difficulty: Intermediate

Cuisine: Mexican

Yield: 8 Servings

Dietary: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Ingredients

→ Soup Base Essentials

01 108-ounce can of white hominy, rinsed and drained
02 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and left whole, and 4 chopped roughly
03 3 pounds of fatty pork shoulder or shanks, cubed into 1 to 1½-inch pieces
04 2 tablespoons of dried Mexican oregano
05 1 teaspoon of ground cumin spice
06 4 ounces of dried guajillo or ancho chiles, remove stems and seeds first
07 Three bay leaves, fresh
08 Five quarts of clean water
09 Salt, adjusted as needed

→ Toppings to Add

10 12-24 tostada shells for extra crunch
11 Thinly sliced half a small cabbage
12 One bunch of fresh radishes, sliced paper-thin
13 A handful of chopped fresh cilantro
14 Two avocados, chopped into bite-sized pieces
15 A bunch of ripe limes, cut into wedges
16 Half a white onion, finely diced

Instructions

Step 01

Slice the stems, seeds, and veins from all dried chiles. Toast them gently in a dry pan until they give off a fragrant aroma and soften. Put them in a bowl and add 3 cups of hot water to soak for about 15-20 minutes until tender.

Step 02

Dry off the pork pieces with a paper towel, then season all over with salt. In a heated skillet with olive oil, brown the meat in small batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Toss in the chopped garlic right at the end for a burst of flavor before turning off the heat.

Step 03

Pour 5 quarts of water into a big soup pot and bring it to a boil. Add in the browned pork, garlic, and whatever sauce or bits are left in the skillet. Stir in your cumin spice, bay leaves, oregano (rub it in your palms first), and hominy. Toss in a tablespoon of salt and simmer it gently for 15 minutes.

Step 04

Blend the soaked chiles with 2½ cups of their soaking liquid, the whole garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to ensure it’s silky and free of any solids.

Step 05

Mix your strained chile sauce into the pot with the simmering pork and hominy mixture. Sprinkle in a couple of teaspoons of salt. Let it simmer on low heat, with the lid slightly ajar, for 2-3 hours. Skim off any extra fat and adjust the taste as needed.

Step 06

As the soup cooks, prepare the garnishes. Finely slice the cabbage, chop the onion and cilantro, dice up the avocados, quarter the limes, and thinly slice the radishes. Place them in separate bowls so everyone can pick their toppings.

Step 07

Scoop the hearty soup into individual bowls. Lay out the garnishes and tostadas on the table so everyone can add whatever they like. Grab a spoon and enjoy!

Notes

  1. This dish can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months.
  2. You can skip the meat by swapping pork for veggies like seitan or roasted squash and use vegetable broth instead.
  3. To tweak the heat level, add more chiles or stir in tomato paste for a richer base.

Tools You'll Need

  • Big soup pot or sturdy Dutch oven
  • Heavy pan for browning
  • Blender for the sauce
  • Fine strainer for smoothness
  • Sharp kitchen knife and cutting board

Allergy Information

Please check ingredients for potential allergens and consult a health professional if in doubt.
  • Contains corn (hominy)

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving)

It is important to consider this information as approximate and not to use it as definitive health advice.
  • Calories: 385
  • Total Fat: 22 g
  • Total Carbohydrate: 28 g
  • Protein: 35 g