Pozole Rojo

Alt text: Finished bowl of pozole rojo with red chile broth, pork, hominy, shredded lettuce, white onion, and sliced radishes.

Cultural Context

Pozole is one of Mexico's best-loved celebratory soups, built around nixtamalized corn, meat, and a table full of bright garnishes. The red version, pozole rojo, gets its deep color and earthy flavor from dried chiles such as guajillo and ancho. It is common at family gatherings, Independence Day celebrations, Christmas, New Year's, birthdays, and weekend meals where the toppings are set out for everyone to customize their bowl.

Ingredients

For the Soup

• 3.8 L (4 qt / 16 cups) water
• 900 g (2 lb) pork shoulder, cut into 5 cm (2 in) chunks
• 450 g (1 lb) pork spare ribs or baby back ribs
• 1 medium white onion, quartered
• 8 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 18 g (1 tbsp) kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 3 cans (425 g / 15 oz each) white hominy, drained and rinsed

For the Red Chile Sauce

• 5 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and opened flat
• 5 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and opened flat
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 g (1/2 tsp) dried Mexican oregano
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) vegetable or canola oil
• Salt, to taste

For Serving

• 1 small head iceberg or romaine lettuce, finely shredded
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• 8-10 radishes, thinly sliced
• 3-4 limes, cut into wedges
• Dried Mexican oregano, for sprinkling
• Ground chile piquin or crushed dried chile, to taste
• Corn tostadas, for serving
• 1 avocado, diced (optional)

Substitutions:

• Pork shoulder and ribs -> pork butt plus pork neck bones, or a mix of pork shoulder and chicken thighs for a lighter variation.
• Canned hominy -> 680 g (1 1/2 lb) dried cacahuazintle or pozole corn, cooked separately until bloomed and tender.
• Lettuce -> finely shredded green cabbage, a common regional garnish.
• Guajillo/ancho chiles -> mostly guajillo for a brighter red broth, with 1-2 chiles de arbol added for extra heat.

Equipment

• Large heavy pot or Dutch oven, at least 7.5 L (8 qt)
• Blender
• Fine-mesh strainer
• Large skillet
• Tongs
• Ladle

Instructions

Preparation (Active time: 25 min)

1. Start the pork broth: Add the water, pork shoulder, ribs, quartered onion, garlic cloves, and salt to a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming off foam as it rises. Reduce to a gentle simmer, partially cover, and cook until the pork is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

2. Soak the chiles: While the pork simmers, place the guajillo and ancho chiles in a heatproof bowl and cover with very hot water. Let stand until pliable and fully softened, 25-30 minutes.

3. Blend the sauce: Drain the chiles. Add them to a blender with the 6 garlic cloves, chopped onion, Mexican oregano, and about 240 ml (1 cup) of hot pork broth or water. Blend until very smooth, adding a splash more liquid only if needed.

Cooking (Active time: 20 min)

4. Cook the chile sauce: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chile puree carefully; it will splatter. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, until the sauce darkens slightly, thickens, and smells toasted rather than raw, about 20-25 minutes. Season lightly with salt.

5. Finish the meat: When the pork is tender, transfer the meat and ribs to a tray. Discard the cooked onion and garlic from the broth. Remove bones and excess fat, then shred or chop the pork into bite-size pieces.

6. Strain and combine: Strain the broth back into the pot. Return the pork to the pot. Press the cooked chile sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into the broth, scraping the underside of the strainer so the smooth sauce goes in and the skins stay behind.

7. Add hominy and simmer: Bring the soup back to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Stir in the drained hominy and cook for 10-15 minutes so the corn absorbs the red chile broth. Taste and adjust salt.

Assembly & Finishing

8. Prepare the garnishes: Arrange lettuce or cabbage, chopped onion, radishes, lime wedges, Mexican oregano, chile piquin, tostadas, and avocado if using in separate bowls.

9. Serve: Ladle pozole into deep bowls with plenty of pork, hominy, and broth. Let each person top their bowl with lettuce, onion, radishes, oregano, chile, and lime. Serve hot with tostadas alongside.

Food Safety & Storage

• Minimum safe internal temperature: Cook pork until it reaches at least 145°F (63°C) and is tender enough to shred; collagen-rich shoulder and ribs are best after a long simmer.
• Storage: Cool promptly and refrigerate pozole without fresh garnishes in airtight containers for up to 4 days.
• Freezing: Freeze the soup without garnishes for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
• Reheating: Reheat gently on the stovetop until steaming hot, adding a splash of water or broth if it has thickened.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with tostadas, lime wedges, sliced radishes, shredded lettuce or cabbage, chopped white onion, Mexican oregano, and chile piquin.
• Pairs well with agua fresca, Mexican lager, or a simple cucumber-lime drink.
• Traditional serving style: bring the pot to the table with a garnish spread so each bowl can be finished to taste.

Scaling Notes

Half recipe (1/2x): Use a 4-5 L pot and halve all ingredients. Simmer time stays about the same because the pork still needs to become tender.

Double recipe (2x): Use a stockpot of at least 12 L. Brown or simmering times do not need to double, but the broth will take longer to return to a boil.

Chef's Notes

• Sourcing: Look for pliable dried guajillo and ancho chiles with glossy skins and a fruity aroma. Avoid brittle, dusty chiles.
• Make-ahead: Pozole often tastes better the next day. Make the soup a day ahead, refrigerate, skim any solidified fat, and reheat before serving with fresh garnishes.
• Variations: Some cooks use pork head, neck bones, or trotters for a richer broth. Chicken pozole rojo is also common, but pork is the classic version for this style.
• Common pitfalls: Do not skip straining the chile sauce; unstrained skins can make the broth gritty. Avoid adding fresh garnishes before storage because they wilt and sour the broth.

Nutrition Information (Optional)

Per serving: approximately 430 kcal

• Protein: 33g | Fat: 22g | Carbohydrates: 27g | Fiber: 7g

Sources

• Mexico in My Kitchen: https://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/red-pozole-rojo/
• Cooks Without Borders, Mely Martinez's Pozole Rojo: https://cookswithoutborders.com/mely-martnezs-pozole-roso
• Serious Eats: https://www.seriouseats.com/pozole-mexican-red-chile-pork-soup-recipe-8732258
• Mexican Food Journal: https://mexicanfoodjournal.com/red-pork-pozole/
• Hero image source: Wikimedia Commons, "Pozole Rojo.jpg" by Diegosalcido, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pozole_Rojo.jpg

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Version History:

• v1 (2026-07-10): Initial recipe by @Codex

Credits:

• Recipe development: @Codex, synthesized from the sources listed above
• Testing: @Codex
• Verification: @Coordinator
• Photography: Diego Salcido / Diegosalcido, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Recipe Location: /Recipes/mexican/mexican_pozole-rojo_v1.md
Images Location: /Images/pozole-rojo/