Soups & creams
Mexican Red Pozole
Pozole corn and pork simmered in broth with a guajillo, ancho and pasilla chile sauce, served with lettuce, radish, avocado and lime. Serves 6 and takes about 3 hours.
- Total time
- 180 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Cuisine
- Mexican
Ingredients
For the broth
For the sauce
To serve
Method
Cook the pork and corn
Put 500 g pork in 5 cm pieces, 340 g soaked and drained pozole corn, 1 quartered onion, 4 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves and 10 g salt in a large pot. Cover with 2.5 l water and bring to a boil over high heat.
Simmer slowly
Lower the heat to medium-low, skim the foam and simmer about 2 hours with the lid partly on, adding hot water if the level drops. It is ready when the corn kernels open like flowers and the pork shreds easily.
Toast the chiles
Meanwhile, split 4 guajillo, 2 ancho and 2 pasilla chiles, remove the stems and seeds and toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat for 20 to 30 seconds per side, without burning them.
Rehydrate the chiles
Cover them with hot water and soak 15 to 20 minutes, until soft. Reserve 200 ml of the soaking water.
Blend the sauce
Blend the drained chiles with 2 tomatoes, ½ onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon marjoram, 1 g pepper, 3 g salt and 150 ml soaking water until smooth. For a finer texture, strain it.
Fry the sauce
Heat 30 ml oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and pour in the sauce carefully, as it splatters. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring, until thick and darker. Taste and adjust the salt.
Combine sauce and pozole
Take the pork out of the pot, shred it and return it. Stir in the fried sauce and simmer 20 to 30 minutes over low heat, until the broth is red and slightly thick.
Serve
Ladle into deep bowls and top with lettuce, 60 g sliced radishes, avocado, cilantro, chopped onion, serrano chile and lime to taste. Serve with tostadas.
The step photos are illustrative.
Notes
Nutrition facts
1 deep bowl with garnishes and 1 tostada (1/6 of the recipe)
- Protein
- 21.8 g
- Carbohydrates
- 68 g
- Fat
- 28.2 g
- Sodium
- 923 mg
Estimate per serving; the pork is counted with its fat even though some is lost when skimming, and the sodium includes the 13 g of salt listed. USDA reference values (whole-grain corn flour and cayenne pepper) stand in for the dry corn and dried chiles, so they are approximate.
Reference source: USDA FoodData Central — SR Legacy (2018)
For general information only; it does not replace advice from a qualified health or nutrition professional.
About this recipe
Mexican red pozole is a stew of pozole corn (cacahuazintle) and pork simmered slowly in broth, finished with a sauce of toasted, blended and fried guajillo, ancho and pasilla chiles.
It is served in deep bowls with lettuce, radishes, avocado, cilantro, onion, serrano chile and lime, with tostadas on the side. It serves 6; the corn soaks overnight and the cooking takes about 3 hours.
Frequently asked questions
How long does pozole corn take to cook?
About 2 hours over medium-low heat, after soaking overnight. It is ready when the kernels open like flowers.
Which chiles go in red pozole?
Guajillo, ancho and pasilla. They are toasted briefly, soaked, blended with tomato and spices and fried before going into the broth.
What do you serve with red pozole?
Lettuce, radishes, avocado, cilantro, chopped onion, serrano chile and lime, with corn tostadas on the side.
