Pozole {A New Mexican Recipe}

When I was in my early 20s, living on the Eastern side of New Mexico, my mom came up to visit me.

At the time, she was living in Hatch, NM, where it had recently flooded. Luckily her place was fine, but there were hundreds of residents left homeless.

Since my mom had a large 4 bedroom house, she offered to let a family of two mothers and three children live with her, until they were able to return home. The mothers didn’t speak much English, but were very kind and grateful for the temporary housing.

While the family lived with her, they made many traditional New Mexican recipes, and they even taught my mom a few. One of those recipes was how to make a New Mexican Red Chile sauce from dried chile pods.

She loved the recipe so much, when she came to visit, she taught me how to make a classic red chile sauce and turn it into a wonderful dish called pozole.

What is Pozole

The word “pozole” is a Spanish word that means “hominy”. Pozole is a soup that is traditionally from Mexico and made with pork, hominy, and frequently, a red chile sauce.

Traditional pozole is garnished with toppings like shredded cabbage, but in New Mexico, we typically serve it up with a warm tortilla.

I personally love the toppings to pozole, so below the recipe, I’ve added a list of toppings that pair well with homemade pozole.

How to Make New Mexican Pozole

For this recipe, I’ve included a slightly modified version of the red chile sauce that my mom learned more than a decade ago. The red chile sauce takes some time to prepare, but imparts a well developed, uniquely spicy flavor into the pozole. If you prefer to make a quicker version of pozole, you can always buy pre-made red chile sauce from most New Mexican grocery stores, or on Amazon (but it’s a very pricey when buying online).

The Red Chile Sauce

You’ll start with 24 red chile pods – which can also be found in stores throughout New Mexico, or on Amazon. Remove the stems and add to a large pot of boiling water.

Boil the red chile pods until tender, about 15 minutes.

Use tongs to transfer red chile pods to a blender, adding in about a cup of the water you boiled the chiles in. Blend, adding more water in batches, until the sauce is smooth and about the consistency of tomato sauce.

Strain sauce through a fine sieve to remove the peels and any seeds from the sauce. Add strained sauce to a medium pot along with salt, a little olive oil, chopped garlic, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

This recipe makes about two cups of red chile sauce. I usually use one cup in the pozole, and freeze the other cup for my next batch of pozole, or for carne adovada.

Once you have your red chile sauce made or purchased, you’re ready to make pozole!

Start by adding olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 lbs cubed pork loin, seasoned with salt, pepper, and cumin, and brown on both sides. Remove pork, and set aside.

Add in a little more olive oil and cook 1 diced onion until tender. ADd in 3 cloves minced garlic and cook until fragrant.

Return pork to the pot, along with 1 cup red chile sauce, 6 cups of chicken broth, and 3 cups hominy.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and simmer for 30 minutes, until pork is cooked through and tender.

This recipe serves about 4 people, with some leftovers. After an extra day or two in the fridge, the pozole flavors become even better!

How to Make Pozole – A Printable Recipe

Garnishments for Pozole

Topping your pozole with garnishments will add texture, crunch, and different flavors to bring your pozole to the next level! Here are some common garnishments to add to your pozole:

• Shredded cabbage
• Sliced radishes
• Avocados
• Chile peppers
• Diced onion
• Chopped garlic
• Limes
• Cilantro

Pin it – Pozole

Save this recipe to your favorite Red Chile Pinterest board by clicking on the image below!