This recipe for traditional red pozole soup is so delicious. I learned how to make this soup while in Mexico this year. The soup is so good you’ll want to make it over and over again. Pozole, or posole, is one of Mexico’s traditional dishes. It is made with hominy, chili, oregano, and pork and enjoyed any time of the year but especially during the holidays. You can also use other meats like beef or even chicken.
When I think about my trip, many of my fond memories include T., the woman below. T. and I met at the going back home celebration of a mutual friend of ours. I was a little bummed at the party because the guest of honor was the only friend that I had in town at the time and she was leaving the next day to go back home to California. I ended up sitting next to T. and before I could finish my margarita, I knew we would be great friends. She was so warm and friendly and we had several common interests including taste for good food/drinks, kids, and backgrounds. It turned out I already knew her husband, the executive chef and owner of Dila’s Restaurant Gallery, one of my favorite places in town.
Two days after the party, T. and I packed up the kids and took a road trip to Guanajuato, the capital city to the state of Guanajuato where San Miguel de Allende is located. (Clearly my kind of girl – willing to travel at a moment’s notice!) We had such a great time and she was a fabulous hostess. The kids did well together and we ate and walked our way through the town.
After our trip, we spent nearly every day with T. and her kids. After our kids finished with summer camp, we would meet up, let the kids play, and T. and I would talk about everything. We talked about Mexico, her travels abroad, motherhood, work/life balance. T. managed her home, the marketing and finances of her husband’s restaurant, plus held a separate job outside of the home. (Simply amazing!) Her husband is from Sri Lanka, but speaks English and Spanish so her children are bilingual. (Awesome!)
Even though we had many great times together, I have two favorite memories of T – the time I brought the Wii over and we spent almost 1.5 hours dancing to JustDance2 and the time we cooked together.
We spent an afternoon cooking one of my favorite Mexican soups, Pozole. Pozole is a traditional soup made with corn (hominy), pork (sometimes chicken), chilies, and plenty of love and flavor. Depending on the type of chili you use, the pozole can be red or green in color. The soup is a meal in itself but certainly you can serve it as an appetizer. Although it will take several hours to prepare, it is worth the time and is not hard to make. The recipe is below.
Receta de Pozole {Pozole Recipe}
On pozole’ day, we met before the kids finished school and headed to the outdoor market for our fresh ingredients and my lesson in different spices, grains, and cuts of meat.
What You’ll Need to Make Pozole:
- Approx. 1 lb of pork loin (you can choose the cut according to preference)
- Approx. 1/2 lb of shoulder in the bone;
- The neck of the pig (adds flavor)
- About 2-3 cloves of garlic
- Cumin – 2 teaspoons
- A whole onion
- Hominy about 1.5 pounds if soaked or two 29 oz cans of Juanita’s Mexican Style Hominy
- Mexican oregano 1 Tbsp
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 10-15 chilies huajillo/guajillo (take out stems and seeds to reduce spice and save for garnish)
- 7 cups of water
- Salt/pepper to taste
For garnish: oregano, lettuce, limes, tostadas, Mexican sour creme
Cooking Instructions:
1) Season meat to taste, add meat to 7 cups of water, add cumin, oregano, salt/pepper, bay leaves, hominy, and boil to make the broth (some people use stock here and some folks like to brown the meat first). Boil for about 1.5 hours until meat and corn is soft.
2) Remove stems for chilies, boil until soft (about 20-25 minutes) remove from water; Save about 1 cup of the water, add chilies and water to a blender. Let it cool some.
3) Dice up the onion, mince the garlic, and saute slightly for a few minutes; add onions and garlic to cooled chilies and water in the blender; blend until smooth (smell the goodness).
4) Strain the chili and put blended chillies, onion, garlic, into the pot of meat/hominy. Wait until meat has boiled for 1.5 hours before you put the blended chilies into the pot. Allow meat and chillies to boil for about 30-45 additional minutes.
5) Check that everything is soft, that the broth is tasty, and enjoy!
How to Eat Pozole:
Pozole is good any time of the day, morning, or night. It’s said to cure hangovers, it’s tasty for brunch, and delicious at dinner. It’s nice to enjoy a hot bowl with good friends and family and it’s also nice to let your friends garnish their soup to their own tasting. You should set out the garnishes on a table and add a little bit of everything. Pair the soup with tostadas and crema and you are good to go.
Buen Provecho!
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