Forget your kitchen. This pozole rojo gets cooked the old way—over an open fire with nothing but cast iron, smoke, and time (But, you can absolutely make this on a regular stovetop too! lol). It’s rich, it’s smoky, and it’s the kind of meal that reminds you why fire cooking will always be superior. Here’s how to do it.
Pozole Rojo
Rich, porky soup with hominy and red chiles.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Boston Butt Pork Roast, cut into 1.5" cubes
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 sprig Fresh Oregano
- 3 Yellow Onions, medium dice
- 4 Ancho Chiles
- 4 Guajillo Chiles
- 1 head Fresh Garlic
- 2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Cumin
- Salt, to taste
- Black Pepper, to taste
- Radishes, Cabbage, Cilantro, Tortilla Chips, Red Onion, Sour Cream or Mexican Crema, and limes to use as toppings for finished soup.
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once pan is warm, add the dried chiles and garlic. The garlic should be broken down into individual cloves and excess paper removed, but leave garlic inside of their individual skins. These can be peeled off later. Allow the chiles to toast and puff up a bit in the pan. Be careful not to burn them. Don't walk away. Once you start to smell them, they are probably about done. The garlic should get some dark brown spots on them as well. Remove from dutch oven as soon as they are done. Allow to cool before handling.
- Bring one quart of water to a boil in a sauce pan over high heat. Turn off heat once boil is achieved.
- Cut pork into 1.5 inch cubes, season generously with salt and pepper.
- Once the chiles are cool enough to handle, remove the stems and as many seeds as possible. Remove the outer skin of the garlic cloves.
- Add the chiles and garlic to the hot water that we boiled in the previous step. Cover and let steep for 30 minutes.
- Bring the dutch oven back to temperature over medium-high heat.
- After chiles have finished steeping, add them, along with the soaking water, to a blender. Add one diced onion, the oregano, cumin, and a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add extra water if necessary to thin.
- Add pork cubes to hot dutch oven and allow to brown and form a really nice crust on at least one side.
- Once a nice crust has been formed on the pork, add 5-6 quarts of water to cover the meat.
- Add bay leaves, 2 diced onions, a sprig of oregano, as well as the chile puree that we made earlier. Bring to a simmer over medium to medium-high heat. Allow the meat to cook in this mixture until tender, about 1.5 hours.
- Once the meat is getting nice and tender, remove about 2-3 cups of the cooking liquid into a blender and then add 1-1.5 cups of hominy. Blend and create a loose paste. Add this mixture back to the pot with the pork.
- Add remaining hominy to the pot and stir to combine with pork. Allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes more. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning to taste. If necessary, add more salt and pepper or cumin and dry oregano to your liking.
- Once everything has had a chance to cook together for about 10-15 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- To serve, add soup to a bowl and top with sliced radishes, shredded cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, and tortilla chips. You could also add some raw onion, sour cream or Mexican crema. Get creative.
