pozole rojo

There’s a similar recipe here, but this one comes from 1,000 Mexican Recipes, a Christmas gift from my brother 5 years ago.

From the book:

Pozole is a hearty rich main dish soup, that originated in the state of Jalisco. The main ingredient is hominy — dried white or yellow corn kernels that have been boiled and soaked in slaked lime to remove the hull, and then drained, rinsed, and cooked for about 2 hours.

I was introduced to pozole by my friend Angie. I had never heard of hominy until she told me about it — and I was so excited when I got some and saw that it’s the closest thing we have here in the US to our Filipino binatog. (More info on binatog here, here, and here. I’ve made binatog using hominy — it’s not perfect, but to someone who can’t have the real thing, it’s good enough.) At any rate, the recipe for this soup:

Pozole Rojo de Puerco

6 boneless country-style pork ribs, trimmed of excess fat, and cut into 1-inch pieces or 2-inch pieces for bone-in meat
7 cups homemade chicken broth (the recipe specifies canned, but I try to avoid those like the plague)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large white onion, chopped
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2-3 tablespoons ground pasilla or ancho chile
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 15-ounce cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
2 14 1/2-ounce cans peeled and diced tomatoes
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tablespoons masa harina (flour for corn tortillas)
Finely shredded cabbage
Diced avocado (which I ran out of before I could make this recipe — it would have been a lovely addition!)
Fresh lime wedges

Put pork pieces in a heavy pan. Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook meat until tender, about 40 minutes (mine was more like 30). Remove from heat and set aside. Remove meat from bone if desired, discarding bones.

In a large heavy pot, heat oil and fry onion 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until onions and garlic are softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add carrots, ground chile, chili powder, oregano, cumin, thyme, and salt. Cook, stirring, 30 seconds.

Add remaining chicken broth, hominy, tomatoes, cilantro, masa harina, and reserved meat and its broth (de-fatted if you like — and I do). Bring to a boil and cook over medium-low heat, covered, 25 minutes to blend flavors. Adjust seasoning. Serve in soup bowls garnished with cabbage and avocado. Pass the lime wedges at the table.