She was right! Good thing Mexican food is so delicioso, because just thinking about dishes like this pozole makes me smile. It’s somewhat of a feast, pozole. I guess you could make smaller batches, but since you have to cook it for several hours, it just makes sense to make a large amount, and then have lots of friends over with whom to enjoy it. Pozole (or posole) is a traditional soup in Mexico, often served Christmas eve, and in many parts of the country on Thursdays and Saturdays all year round. My good friend Chef Arturo Vargas, from Acapulco, Mexico, taught me how to make this soup, thanks Chef!
Preparing & Serving Pozole
This pozole rojo, or “red” pozole, is made with pork shoulder or shanks, red chiles, and lots of hominy corn. I made this for my parents, and they loved it. Mom told me she hadn’t had pozole since she was a kid in Tucson. Lots of smiley faces around the table tonight. Typically just the simple soup with pork and hominy is served, and the add-ins, or garnishes are set at the table for all to pick and put in their soup as they wish.
How to Serve Pozole
The soup itself should be rather thin, or brothy, because you are going to load it up quickly with shredded cabbage, thinly sliced radishes, chopped avocados, cilantro, onions, and wedges of lime. More hot sauce or chiles can be added for more heat. Pozole is all about the garnishes. So good!
How to Store or Freeze Pozole
This recipe makes enough for a large crowd with plenty of leftovers! The leftovers will keep, refrigerated, for about a week or can be frozen for up to three months. To freeze, transfer the pozole to freezer containers or bags with as little air as possible to prevent freezer burn. Thaw overnight in the fridge, and warm over low heat on the stovetop.
Want More Ways to Enjoy Pozole?
Chicken Pozole Pressure Cooker Greek Pork Pozole Chicken Pozole Salad Chipotle Turkey Pozole
Video: How to Make Mexican Red Pork Pozole
Tostadas are crispy fried corn tortillas. They are sold packaged and can often be found in the same section of your grocery store as fresh tortillas, or can be found at Mexican markets. You can make your own by frying stale corn tortillas (or tortillas that have dried out a bit in a warm oven), in hot vegetable oil until stiff.
1/2 small cabbage, thinly sliced 1 bunch cilantro, chopped 1/2 white onion, chopped 2 avocados, chopped 4 limes, quartered 1 bunch red radishes, sliced thin 12 to 24 tostada shells (see Recipe Note)
While the chilies are heating, bring a medium pot with 3 cups of water to a simmer and remove from heat. Once the chiles have softened, add the chiles to the pot hot water and cover. Let the chiles soak in the hot water for 15 to 20 minutes. Working in batches, taking care not to crowd the pan or stir the meat much, brown the meat on all sides. Right at the end of browning the meat, add 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic to the pan with the meat, let cook with the meat for about a minute. Add bay leaves, cumin, and oregano. When you put the oregano in, smoosh together with your hands so that the oregano breaks up more as it goes in. Add a tablespoons of salt. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes. Strain the red sauce through a sieve, discarding the tough bits of the sauce. The resulting soup should be rather brothy, as you will be adding a lot garnishes. Add more water if necessary. To serve, arrange the garnishes in bowls on the table and serve the pozole soup into bowls. Let your guests pick and choose which garnishes they would like on their pozole. Serve with tostada shells (or tortilla chips if you can’t find tostada shells). Chicken Pozole here on Simply Recipes Red posole for New Year’s Day from Lisa Fain, the Homesick Texan Vegetarian posole from Heidi of 101 Cookbooks Posole with roasted green chiles from Use Real Butter
