Authentic Pozole Rojo
A bowl of pozole rojo is like a hug in a bowl—rich, smoky, and full of tender pork and hominy, it brings the flavors of Mexican tradition straight to your table.
Ingredients
Cook Meat
- 4 lbs pork short ribs, medium pieces
- 2 lbs pork shank, medium pieces
- 2 pigs feet, cut in half
- Liberally kosher salt
- Liberally ground black pepper
- 1 gallon water
- 1 white onion, halved
- 1 head garlic, slice end off
- 3 bay leaves
Guajillo Sauce
- 12 guajillo chiles, seeded, deveined, and stemmed
- 8 puya chiles, seeded, deveined, and stemmed
- 1 white onion, roughly diced
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
- 2 cups water
Additional
- 64 oz hominy (110 oz can), drained and rinsed
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Avocado oil, for cooking
Classic Toppings
- Cabbage, shredded
- Radishes, sliced
- White onion, diced
- Jalapeño or serrano, diced
- Dried Mexican oregano
- Lime juice
- Avocado, diced
- Tostadas
Instructions
Prep, Brown and Cook Meat
- Season both sides of the ribs and shank with salt and pepper. In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Brown the ribs and shank in batches to prevent overcrowding, which can cause the meat to sweat instead of sear. Do not brown the pigs’ feet at this stage.
- Once all the meat is browned, pour in the gallon of water. Return the browned meat to the pot and add the pigs’ feet, onion, garlic, and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface, cover, and cook for one hour.
Guajillo Sauce
- Wipe the guajillo and puya chiles clean with a damp paper towel, then cut into smaller pieces and set aside to air dry.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic until slightly softened. Stir in the oregano and cook for about a minute. Add the dried chiles and toast them, stirring constantly for 1–2 minutes, until they become fragrant.
- Turn off the heat. Carefully remove 4 cups of hot, fully cooked broth from the large pot (cooked for 1 hour) and pour it over the toasted peppers. Let the peppers soften and hydrate for 10–15 minutes.
- Blend the hydrated chile mixture with its broth until smooth, making sure the chili skins are fully broken down. Strain if necessary.
Make the Pozole
- Remove the garlic and onion from the large pot. Pour in the blended guajillo sauce. Add 2 cups of water to the blender, swirl to get the last bit of sauce, and pour it into the pot.
- Stir in the hominy, bring the pozole to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for an additional 1½ hours, or until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.
Serve
- Once the pozole is done, spoon out some of the fat that rises to the top, if desired. Stir in salt to taste.
- Serve the pozole in bowls with your desired toppings: shredded cabbage, radishes, white onion, pepper, oregano, lime juice, avocado, and tostadas on the side.