Pozole Soup Recipe

Prepare chiles

Remove stems and seeds from the guajillo chiles. Wipe lightly with a dry towel to remove dust.

Bring 2 cups of water to a simmer in a small pot. Add the de-seeded guajillo chiles and simmer for 8 minutes until softened but not falling apart. Remove from heat and let steep 10 minutes.

While chiles steep, roughly chop 1 large white onion and crush 4 garlic cloves. In a blender, combine the softened guajillos with 1 cup of the simmer liquid, chopped onion, garlic and blend until very smooth. Strain the blended chile puree through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids.

In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium heat. Add strained chile puree and cook 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, to fragrance and reduce raw flavor.

Add 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock and 4 cups additional chicken broth to the pot with the chile base. Stir in 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 2 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, reduce heat to low, and simmer uncovered 20 minutes to let flavors meld. Taste and adjust salt.

While the broth simmers, season 1.5 lb pork shoulder pieces with 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp dried oregano and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Let sit 10 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Working in a single layer, brown the pork pieces on all sides, about 2–3 minutes per side, until a deep golden crust forms. Transfer browned pork to the simmering broth.

Simmer the pork in the broth until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, partially covered. Test a piece—pork should pull apart easily. If there is excess broth and you prefer drier carnitas, remove pork, shred with two forks and optionally pan-sear shredded pork in a dry skillet 3–4 minutes to crisp edges; otherwise return shredded pork to broth.

About 10 minutes before the pork is done, add 2 cups drained, rinsed hominy to the simmering broth and pork. Continue to simmer to heat the hominy through and allow flavors to marry (about 8–10 minutes).

Prepare garnishes while the soup finishes: thinly slice 2 cups green cabbage, 1/2 cup white onion and 4 radishes. Chop 1/2 cup cilantro and cut limes into wedges.

Adjust seasoning of the soup with additional salt and pepper to taste. Remove and discard bay leaves.

Ladle the pozole into bowls, ensuring each bowl gets pork (shredded carnitas), hominy and plenty of guajillo broth.

Top each bowl with sliced cabbage, a little thinly sliced onion, radish slices and chopped cilantro. Offer lime wedges and optional chile flakes for heat. Squeeze lime over the soup just before eating.