Pozole Rojo
1000kcal85.4g protein51g fat49.7g carbs~$4.19/ serving*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
sometimes contains gluten — check the label
Restrictions
Sometimes contains — check the labelgluten (chili (powder), chips tortilla)Some brands have it, some do not. The recipe cannot tell, so this is the one you check yourself.
Diets
No alcohol
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 1 lb |  pork shoulder (cut in 2-inch chunks) |
| 2 l | water |
| 1 unit |  onion (halved) |
| 4 clove |  garlic (peeled, whole) |
| 1 unit |  bay leaf |
| 4 unit |  guajillo chiles (stemmed, seeded) |
| 2 unit |  ancho chiles (stemmed, seeded) |
| ½ tsp |  cumin (ground) |
| 1 tsp |  oregano (Mexican, dried) |
| 1 tbsp |  lard |
| 2 cup |  hominy (canned, drained and rinsed) |
| 2 tsp | salt |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 1 cup |  cabbage (shredded fine) |
| 4 unit |  radish (sliced thin) |
| ¼ cup | onion (diced raw) |
| 1 unit |  lime (wedges) |
| 1 tsp | oregano (dried, for the table) |
| 1 cup |  tortilla chips |
| 2 unit |  cloves (whole, in the broth) |
| 1 tsp |  chili powder (for the table) |
Steps
- Simmer90 minbare simmer, lid ajar, skimmingpork + water + onion + garlic + bay leaf + 1 tsp salt — keep it below a boil so the collagen has time to melt into gelatin instead of the muscle fibers seizing; the scum skimmed off in the first ten minutes is what would otherwise cloud the finished bowl
- Toast3 mindry comal or skillet, mediumguajillo + ancho chiles, pressing flat and flipping the moment they puff and smell sweet — a chile held past that point turns bitter and no amount of simmering takes it back out
- Infuse20 minjust-boiled water, weighted downtoasted chiles submerged until fully pliable, then lift them out and keep a cup of the soaking water
- Mix4 minhigh speed, then sievesoaked chiles + soaking water + cumin + oregano + 2 of the simmered garlic cloves, blended smooth and pushed through a sieve with a ladle — the skins never break down and are the whole reason unstrained pozole feels sandy
- Fry5 minmedium-high, spatteringlard + strained chile purée, stirred until it darkens a shade and pulls away from the pan — frying the purée cooks off the raw, tinny edge of rehydrated chile and sets the color
- Simmer40 mingentle, uncoveredpork broth (onion and bay removed) + fried chile base + hominy — the kernels are already cooked but need this long to open up and take on the chile; season with the remaining salt only now, after the hominy has stopped drinking
- Cook5 minoff heatpull the pork apart in coarse shreds with two forks and return it to the pot = pozole rojo; ladle out and let each bowl be finished at the table with cabbage, radish, raw onion, lime and a pinch of oregano crushed between the fingers — the raw garnish is structural, not decorative, and its crunch and acid are what keep a rich bowl from going flat halfway down