Authentic Pozole Rojo

Today I'm sharing with you my very own Authentic Pozole Recipe. Pozole is a Mexican Soup made with hominy, chiles, and traditionally pork, but for my recipe I replaced the pork with beef; in this case a juicy and tender Chuck Roast. I developed this recipe by experimenting with different chiles and meats, and finally came up with what I think is the perfect combination to one the most historical dishes in Mexican culture! CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH RECIPE ⬅️

FULL RECIPE VIDEO BELOW⬇️⬇️

A few things before we get started on the recipe. What is hominy? Hominy is corn that has been processed to give it a puffy bean like texture. For this recipe you can use dry hominy which comes in packs, but you have to soak and cook them in water for a couple of hours; or you can use canned hominy that's ready to use, which is what I did.

Pozole is made with either Red Chile or Green Chile, usually the Green Chile Pozole is made with Chicken. Personally I prefer the Red Chile Pozole any day over the Green Chile Pozole. For My Recipe, I use 2 types of Chiles to give it that Authentic Pozole flavor. The chiles I use give the dish just the right amount of spice and a depth of flavor like no other!

Traditionally Red Chile Pozole is made with Pork, but I have cut pork out of my diet and decided on a cut of meat that gave me the same flavor and texture as the Pork butt or Pork Shoulder traditionally used, which is a Chuck Roast. The Chuck Roast is seasoned the exact same way as I would season the Pork, it then gets baked for a few hours to really break down the meat and make it tender. It comes out so tender, juicy, and flavorful you won't even know the difference!

Ingredients:

*Meat

-3 lbs Boneless Chuck Roast

-Salt for seasoning (about 1 teaspoon per lb.)

-Fresh ground Pepper for seasoning (as desired)

-6 Fresh Thyme sprigs

-2 Fresh Oregano sprigs

-2 large Garlic cloves

*Chile Sauce

-2 Guajillo chiles

-1 Ancho chiles

-1 small Onion

-2 Garlic cloves

-1 Fresh Oregano sprig

-1-1/2 cups Beef Broth (or the roast drippings)

*Soup

-3 (29 oz.) cans Hominy

-1 small Onion diced

-1/2 cup chopped Cilantro

-2 Limes

-1-1/2 cups Water

-Salt and Pepper for taste

-1 Bay leaf for flavor

Directions:

Letting the Chuck Roast cook is going to be the most time consuming part of this recipe, so start by seasoning your Chuck Roast. A 3 lb. piece of Chuck Roast is the perfect amount of meat to hominy ratio for this recipe. Seasonings make all the difference in any dish, and not the amount, but rather the type and quality of the seasonings. I season mine with Coarse Kosher Salt, I have been using Coarse Kosher Salt for years and it definitely makes a difference when seasoning food. I also don't just use any pepper, I use a Peppercorn medley which contains black, pink, green, and white whole peppercorns and grind them fresh with the built in grinder; believe me it makes a huge difference. I prefer using Fresh herbs, Fresh garlic, and Onion instead of the dry powder stuff. You can definitely use dry herbs, but please use fresh garlic and especially fresh onion for this recipe.

I added the Chuck Roast into a large Oven safe lasagna pan and seasoned it on both sides with salt and pepper, then added the fresh thyme, oregano and garlic sprinkled on top. I added water to cover the pan halfway and popped that in the oven at 375 degrees Farenheit for about 2 hours. Letting the meat cook at 375 degrees for that long really helps break down the meat and make it tender and juicy.

After the meat has cooked for 2 hours, you'll notice it's tender, but should not be fall apart tender. It should still hold it's shape and not easily break with a fork. That means the meat is the perfect texture, because it will continue cooking later on in the pot with the hominy and get even more tender. For now, it's time to drain all that beef liquid from the pan and add it into a pitcher. Pour enough to have at least 1-1/2 cups of the beef juice, if you don't have enough add water or canned beef broth for more flavor. Then set the meat aside, and the drippings, because we're going to make a yummy Chile sauce using those drippings later.

For this recipe I am using 3 (29 oz.) cans of Hominy, which I rinsed out, poured into a large pot with water filled halfway, and boiled for 10 minutes.

To make the Chile sauce, add 2 de-seeded and de-stemmed Guajillo chiles, 1 Ancho Chile, 1 small onion, 2 garlic cloves, oregano and the beef drippings into a small saucepan over Medium heat and cook them together for 10 minutes.

After they cooked together for 10 minutes the chiles should be softer, remove the pan from the heat and pour everything in a blender. Blend until a sauce forms.

Strain the sauce using a strainer and a spoon; this will catch any large chunks and Chile skin pieces, which are an unpleasant texture especially in soup.

After the Chile has been strained, pour the Red Chile sauce into the pot with the cooked hominy. Add more salt and pepper for flavor if needed (I added an extra teaspoon of salt) Put that on Medium heat and cook while you cut the meat into chunks.

Traditionally the meat is cut into big chunks (Not shredded) and added into the soup. As I stated earlier, you want the meat to still hold its shape and not be fall apart tender, as it will continue cooking in the soup. I cut my meat into pretty large 1-1 and a half inch chunks.

Then I pour those chunks into the hominy soup, and let that cook together for at least 15 minutes over Medium heat.

Meanwhile, Im going to slice 2 limes and squeeze the juice out of them. Then I'll add enough water to the lime juice to equal 2 cups and add that into the soup (you can add more lime juice if desired) Taste the soup and add more salt if needed (I added another teaspoon of salt)

Give that a good mix and simmer.

While that's simmering, dice one small Yellow Onion and a 1/2 cup of Cilantro, and add that into the soup. *In my step by step Recipe video I forgot to mention to add at least 1 bay leaf for this recipe. Bay leafs bring a unique depth of flavor to the soup that completes it. I usually add them in now when the soup needs 15-20 minutes to simmer before serving. Let that cook on Medium High heat for 15-20 minutes to let all the flavors come together.

The longer you let the pozole simmer, the more flavorful it's going to get, and the more tender the meat is going be. If you feel the pozole needs more liquid, add more water or beef broth, and always taste it for flavor after adding more liquid.

Now that all the flavors have married beautifully in the pot, it's time to serve! I like mine topped with Fresh Cilantro and more Fresh Lime juice squeezed on top. You can top it with Radishes or Avocado slices as well, that would be so yummy! Pozole is perfect served with Crispy Tostadas or a Bolillo Roll, both can be dipped in the yummy soup.

Not only is Pozole a delicious and hearty soup, but it is a great soup when you are feeling under the weather. I call this My healing soup, because one hot bowl of this Pozole on a day I wasn't feeling well, and I literally sweat whatever it was right out and felt way better afterwards. I don't know if it's the Chiles or what, but it works wonders! This soup is also so versatile, if you want a spicier Pozole you can adjust the amount of chiles, you can add hot sauce, or if you want to try with a different meat or use the traditional pork, you can do that too! This is My Recipe that I feel I perfected, but you can adjust it to your liking. I hope everyone that tries this recipe enjoys this Amazing soup, and appreciates all the wonderful flavors combined into this one delicious dish that has such a rich history in Mexican culture.

FULL RECIPE VIDEO: