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Best Pork Pozole Recipe

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A bowl of pozole soup.

Many layers of flavors and heat combine into this wonderful, spicy, traditional Mexican soup called Pozole, or Posole.  An authentic Mexican dish that is celebrated on Cinco de Mayo, birthdays, Christmas, New Years and Independence day.  A classic pork and hominy soup that is robust and spicy.

Walking into the oldest market in Austin, B Avenue Grocery, the aroma of the daily soup greeted me at the door.  The owner was very eager to share his newest soup recipe with me, Chicken Posole, a spicy soup to warm you from the inside-out.

I have never had Posole before but from that day on I was hooked.  It was really, really spicy and after making this a few times I can see how easy it is to over spice this soup.  The soup is built on many layers of flavor, many of which has a little spicy bite to it, until you end up with a beautiful soup, begging to be slurped up with some crusty bread.

After many tries at this soup, I finally omitted the chili powder, it just isn’t needed with all of the other spices and poblano that provides the heat.

The smokiness of the paprika gives such a wonderful depth of flavor, that I actually prefer this to chili powder.  This soup is very forgiving, you can omit ingredients and change ratios to your liking, but one thing that is common in all Posole is the hominy.

After all, pozole means hominy in Spanish.  It is a traditional dish that is served at special functions like birthdays and weddings.  So yeah, don’t fool with the hominy.

What are the different types of Pozole?

  • Red pozole, pozole rojo,  which is colored and flavored with dried red chiles, fresh red chiles and tomatoes.
  • Green pozole, pozole verde, a colorful soup packed with tomatillos, green chiles, cilantro, epizote, jalapeños and pepitas.
  • White posole, pozole blanco, a soup prepared without the usual elements that color the rojo or verde versions.

Garnishes for Pozole

  • radishes, sliced or diced
  • lime wedges
  • tortilla chips
  • cilantro
  • red onion
  • avocado
  • shredded lettuce
Fresh tomatoes in a box.
Fresh herbs on a plate.
Dicing onions.

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A bowl of pozole.

CONFUSED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT CHILI POWDERS? I’ve got the details in my article What is Chili Powder?

Best Posole Recipe

Best Pork Pozole Recipe

Yield: 8 bowls
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Many layers of flavors and heat combine into this wonderful, spicy, traditional Mexican soup called Pozole, or Posole.  An authentic Mexican dish that is celebrated on Cinco de Mayo, birthdays, Christmas, New Years and Independence day.  A classic pork and hominy soup that is robust and spicy.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbs vegetable oil
  • 5 lb pork shoulder roast, bone in
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 1 poblano pepper, diced
  • 1 Tbs fresh thyme (may substitute dried thyme but use only half)
  • 1 Tbs fresh oregano (may substitute dried oregano but only use half)
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 Tbs smoked paprika
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 6 cups of vegetable broth
  • 4 Tbs tomato paste
  • 30 oz can of hominy, drained and rinsed

Garnishes

  • avocado
  • Cotija cheese
  • cilantro
  • lime juice

Instructions

  1. Heat oil over medium high heat in your favorite soup pot. Add pork roast and brown all sides. Set aside.
  2. Turn heat down to medium. Add onion and poblano and cook until soft.
  3. Add next 7 ingredients, stirring constantly. cooking for one minute.
  4. Add garlic and bay leaf and cook for one more minute to release the fragrance of the garlic but don't brown the garlic.
  5. Add broth, tomato paste, pork and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook for 2-4 hours on low, until the pork will shred easily.
  6. Turn the heat off, take the pork out, cool then shred. Throw away bone. Skim off any fat off the top of the broth. Return shredded pork back to pot.
  7. Add hominy, and bring pot back to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add water if needed. Serve hot with optional garnish.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 675Total Fat: 46gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 173mgSodium: 847mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 47g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

© Tina
Cuisine: Mexican / Category: Soup Recipes

Hannah

Saturday 2nd of March 2019

You have turned me into a Better Than Boullion person!! I use it all the time now. Ha! I love, love, love this soup!!! The flavors are just spot on. I ate my plain with no garnishes but I think next time I’m going to try it with avacado and cotija.

Tina

Saturday 2nd of March 2019

Oh I'm so glad, isn't that soup base the best?!! I used to just use chicken but I am favoring the vegetarian one because of the celery and onion flavors. I need to make that posole again, the weather is just right for it. It's snowing on this side of the Rockies, how about the other side?

Natalie

Saturday 28th of April 2018

WOW this dish is simply stunning! Sounds so delicious and hearty! Can't wait to try your recipe ♥

Ginny

Saturday 28th of April 2018

I had no idea that pazole meant hominy. The spices in this dish are fantastic too. I love that there are three different kinds of pazole too. Thanks for all the information.

Valentina

Saturday 28th of April 2018

I love the spices in this recipe and the fresh avocado on top finishes it perfectly. And what a gorgeous photo tomatoes! Makes me hungry for summer. :-)

Cynthia | What A Girl Eats

Saturday 28th of April 2018

Such a gorgeous looking bowl of deliciousness! Perfect for a cool night!

Tina

Saturday 28th of April 2018

Thanks Cynthia!

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