Authentic Pozole Rojo Recipes

POZOLE ROJO

Steps:

• Diced avocado, crema, crumbled queso fresco, thinly sliced green cabbage, chopped white onion, sliced radishes, fried tortilla strips, dried chile de arbol and lime wedges, for serving
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Arrange the ancho, guajillo, pasilla and morita chiles on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and toast until beginning to brown (being careful not to char) and very fragrant and smells like toasted nuts, about 5 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• Increase the oven to 450 degrees F. Spread the hominy in an even layer on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and roast, tossing once, until lightly toasted, very fragrant and just beginning to brown on the edges of the baking sheet, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on the two largest sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a large plate.
• Add the garlic, onions and 6 1/2 teaspoons salt to the same pot. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the toasted chiles, oregano, peppercorns, clove and 10 cups water to the pot and bring to a boil. Nestle the pork into the pot; the liquid should come halfway up the sides of the pork. Arrange the cilantro, mint and bay leaves around the pork. Cover, reduce to low and cook until the pork is very tender and shreds easily, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Remove and discard the cilantro, mint and bay leaves. Transfer the pork to a large plate. When cool enough to handle, shred the pork into large pieces. Loosely cover with plastic wrap.
• Working in batches, puree the cooking broth and aromatics in a blender until completely smooth and no large pieces of chile remain. Season to taste.
• Wipe the pot clean. Add the chile puree and toasted hominy and simmer over medium heat, uncovered, until the flavors meld, the broth is rich and the hominy has plumped up and is tender, about 20 minutes.
• Stir the reserved pork into the pozole and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
• Divide the posole among bowls. Top with desired toppings and a squeeze of lime.
• The posole can be made up to 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

POSOLE ROJO

Steps:

• Break the stems off the chiles de arbol and ancho chiles and shake out as many seeds as possible. Put the chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water; weigh down the chiles with a plate to keep them submerged and soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Transfer the chiles and 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid to a blender. Add the smashed garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pushing the sauce through with a rubber spatula; discard the solids.
• Rub the pork all over with the cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt; set aside. Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook 2 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high. Push the onion and garlic to one side of the pot; add the pork to the other side and sear, turning, until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in 2 cups water, the chicken broth, oregano, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the chile sauce (depending on your taste). Bring to a low boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Partially cover and cook, turning the pork a few times, until tender, about 3 hours.
• Stir in the hominy and continue to simmer, uncovered, until the pork starts falling apart, about 1 more hour. Remove the bay leaf. Transfer the pork to a cutting board; roughly chop and return to the pot. Add some water or broth if the posole is too thick. Season with salt. Serve with assorted toppings and the remaining chile sauce.

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RED POZOLE, POSOLE ROJO MEXICANO AUTENTICO

Steps:

• 1. Bring the corn to a boil then shut off and soak in this water all night. Next day Drain and Rinse. Measure about 10 quarts water into a very large pot such as a canning pot. If using Ranchgordo hominy you need not add any lime. If you have regular dried hominy add 5 tablespoons lime to the water and add the corn. Bring to a boil, partially cover pot and simmer gently over medium-low heat. Boil dried hominy for 4 hours. Add water as necessary to keep the water level more or less constant. Slower, longer cooking is the secret for making a delicious pozole. This is not a hurry up dish. Next shut off and let cool. When you are able to handle corn drain all the water and rinse your pozole several times with cool or cold water. Rub the grains aganist each other with your hands. You will see the hulls come off the grains easly. Wash and rinse several times until all the hulls have come off the grains. You will have to wash and rinse you hominy several times until all the hulls are off. You will be left with little puffs of white corn. This process takes at least a good 20 or 30 minutes. I have rinsed my hominy at least six to eight times; making sure the hulls are discarded and hominy is rinsed clean of the lime. Once rinsed drain all of the water out of the pot. Set cooked hominy aside. Note: You hominy still needs another hour of cooking time at this point.
• 2. Meanwhile while the corn is gently cooking, cook your meat. Cut your pork shoulder in 3 or 4 large pieces. Season meat with the salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Cut your pork loin in smaller pieces and season as well. Add pork bones and the pig feet optional. Next in a large pot heat the the canola oil add your pork meat a little at a time searing and browning on all sides. You are not cooking the meat only searing it. When the meat is all seared drain off as much oil as possible add the sliced onion and smashed garlic to the meat pot. Add 8 quarts cold water to the meat pot. Bring up to a boil; skim off any foam that may rise to surface. turn heat down, add an additional tablespoon of salt, cover and gently simmer the meats for about 2 1/2 hours. "Do not use any type of smoked ham bone or smoked pork product". Shut off the heat after 2 1/2 hours of cooking. The pork meat will not be done and should still need about one more hour of cooking time. Do not finish cooking the meat. Let pot cool down.
• 3. After meat has cooled down completely. Refrigerate overnight the next day with a large spoon remove and discard any congeled fat of the top of the meat and broth pot. Put the pot back on the stove over medium heat add the semi cooked hominy and begin to slow cook again over medium -low heat. Meat and hominy will need about one or two more hours of cooking time. Add more water if needed to the pot.
• 4. While meat and hominy are slow cooking make your Red Chile Sauce. Clean and remove the seeds, vein and stems from the dried chiles. Wipe each chile the outside with a damp paper towel. Toast the chile ancho and guajillo chiles in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat. Do not add any oil. Be carful to not scorch the chiles. If you should scorch them they will become very bitter and you will have to start over again. Turn them constantly several times cooking until they become pliable and fragarant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer chiles to a deep pot and add two or three cups water and two peeled garlic cloves. Bring to a hard boil. Once boiling turn off the heat and let stand covered for 20 to 25 minutes. Next in a blender combine the chiles, some of the soaking liquid, chopped onion, and some of the fresh garlic cloves that have been peeled. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a 1/4 of a piece of the Mexican chocolate tablet. Puree until all is smooth. Do all of the chiles like this using the rest of the garlic, onion, the chocolate and a little more soaking liquid.
• 5. Next in a deep frying pan heat a quarter cup of canola oil. Add 1/2 cup white all purpose flour to the oil. Make a roux with the flour and oil until the flour is a dark blonde. Careful not to scorch. If you do you will have to start over again. Add one cup of the chile paste into the roux and with a wisk begin to stir chile paste with the roux. Do not worry the paste will start to get real thick and look as if it's glumping up. Quickly lower heat and add two cups of the simmering pork broth to the chile paste and roux. Continue to wisk very fast until all the chile sauce gets smooth; at this point you may have to add another one or two cupfuls of pork broth. Continue wisking until all is very well incorporated and the sauce is smooth. Now add all remaining spices, oregano, cumin powder and continue to stir very well. Now add you chile sauce to the pot of broth, meat and hominy. Stir well until all of the broth turns a deep red. Taste the broth to see if you have enough salt. Continue to simmer the Pozole until the corn is soft, tender and the meat is fork tender about one hour to a hour and a half. Serve in deep bowls, add a teaspoonful of diced sweet onion, fine shredded lettuce, or shredded cabbage, diced radishes, lime wedges, avacado slices, My hot red salsa, see my recipe posted and dried whole leaf oregano. Before serving garnishes over the pozole it is customary to rub a little dried oregano between your palms, dusting over the pozole then garnish with the accompaniments. Have these garnishes in large bowls set on the table. Pass the fresh hot tortillas. Yes its a lot of work but you have never had pozole like this. Once you make like this you will not want any other way. I cut corners by making my chile paste ahead of time and freeze in little quart freezer bags. I just defrost and make my chile sauce. See my recipe posted for Mexican Red Chile Sauce. Enjoy

POZOLE ROJO (MEXICAN PORK AND HOMINY STEW)

Steps:

• Place hominy in a large pot; cover with water. Add 1 head garlic and salt to taste. Cook over medium heat for 2 hours.
• Place pork shoulder, pork loin, and pork neck bones in the hominy mixture and cook until meat is tender and cooked through, about 1 hour.
• Place tomato and guajillo chiles in a pot and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cook until chiles have softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
• Place tomato and chiles with salt, 1 clove garlic, oregano, and cumin in a blender; add 2 cups water. Blend until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and set chile sauce aside.
• Transfer pork to a work surface and shred with 2 forks. Discard the pork bones.
• Pour chile sauce into hominy mixture; bring to a boil. Return shredded pork to pot. Simmer pozole until flavors have blended, about 3 minutes.
• Ladle pozole into serving bowls and top with lettuce and onion and serve lime wedge on the side.