Red Pork Pozole (Pozole Rojo de Cerdo)

Pork Broth and Hominy

• 2½ pounds boneless pork shoulder (trimmed of only the thick exterior fat and cut into approximately 2-inch pieces)
• 1 pound meaty pork neck bones, pork backbone, or pork spare ribs
• 14 cups cold water (plus additional hot water as needed)
• ½ large white onion (cut into 3 or 4 large pieces)
• 6 garlic cloves (peeled and lightly crushed)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 small fresh thyme sprigs
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt (divided, plus more to taste)
• 3 cans white hominy (15 ounces each, thoroughly drained and rinsed)

Red Chile Sauce

• 5 dried guajillo chiles
• 2 dried ancho chiles
• ¼ medium white onion
• 3 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
• ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• 1½ cups hot pork broth (taken from the simmering pot)
• 1 tablespoon rendered pork lard or avocado oil

For Serving

• ½ small head iceberg lettuce (very thinly shredded)
• 8 radishes (very thinly sliced)
• 1 cup white onion (very finely diced)
• 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
• 4 limes (cut into wedges)
• chile piquín or salsa de chile de árbol
• 8–12 crisp corn tostadas
• Mexican crema (optional, for spreading on the tostadas)

Instructions

1. Prepare the Pork: Pat the pork shoulder and meaty pork bones dry. Cut the shoulder into approximately 2-inch pieces, trimming away only thick, hard exterior fat. Leave the interior marbling intact.2½ pounds pork shoulder, 1 pound pork neck bones or ribs
2. Start the Broth: Arrange the pork shoulder and bones in a large 10-quart stockpot or Dutch oven. Add the cold water. The water should cover the meat by approximately 1½–2 inches.prepared pork, 14 cups cold water
3. Bring the Broth Up Slowly: Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring it gradually to a bare simmer. Do not begin with a violent rolling boil.water and pork
4. Skim the Broth: As gray foam and coagulated proteins rise to the surface, remove them with a skimmer or shallow ladle. Continue skimming for approximately 10–15 minutes, until the surface remains relatively clean.partially simmered pork broth
5. Add the Aromatics: Add the white onion, crushed garlic, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, and 2 teaspoons of the fine sea salt.½ large white onion, 6 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 2 thyme sprigs, ½ tsp marjoram, 2 tsp fine sea salt
6. Simmer the Pork: Reduce the heat to low and maintain a gentle, steady simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, until the shoulder is tender when pierced but has not completely disintegrated. pork and aromatic brothpork and aromatic broth
7. Prepare the Dried Chiles: While the pork cooks, wipe the guajillo and ancho chiles with a slightly damp paper towel. Remove their stems, open them lengthwise, and shake out the seeds. Remove the thick interior veins and tear the chiles into large, relatively flat pieces.5 guajillo chiles, 2 ancho chiles
8. Toast the Chiles: Heat a dry comal, cast-iron skillet, or heavy griddle over medium heat. Working in small batches, toast the chile pieces for approximately 5–8 seconds per side, pressing them briefly against the surface with a spatula. prepared guajillo and ancho chilesprepared guajillo and ancho chiles
9. Soak the Chiles: Transfer the toasted chiles to a heatproof bowl and cover them with very hot water. Place a small plate over the chiles to keep them submerged and let them soak for 20–25 minutes, until completely pliable.toasted chiles, hot water
10. Roast the Onion and Garlic: Place the quarter onion and unpeeled garlic cloves on the same dry comal or skillet. Roast the garlic for approximately 5–6 minutes and the onion for 8–10 minutes, turning as needed, until softened and deeply browned in places.¼ white onion, 3 unpeeled garlic cloves
11. Cool the Aromatics: Transfer the roasted onion and garlic to a plate. Let them cool briefly, then peel the garlic. Remove only any loose pieces of completely carbonized onion.roasted onion and garlic
12. Drain the Chiles: Remove the softened chiles from their soaking water and allow the excess liquid to drain. Discard the soaking water.softened chiles
13. Blend the Red Sauce: Working with the blender jar no more than half full, combine the softened chiles, roasted onion, peeled roasted garlic, Mexican oregano, and hot pork broth. softened chiles, roasted onion and garlic, ½ tsp Mexican oregano, 1½ cups hot pork brothsoftened chiles, roasted onion and garlic, ½ tsp Mexican oregano, 1½ cups hot pork broth
14. Strain the Sauce: Press the chile purée through a medium- or fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, using a flexible spatula or the back of a ladle. Discard the tough chile skins and coarse particles left in the sieve.blended chile sauce
15. Fry the Sauce: Heat the lard or avocado oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Carefully add the strained chile sauce; it may spit as it reaches the hot fat. 1 tbsp lard or avocado oil, strained chile sauce, ½ tsp fine sea salt1 tbsp lard or avocado oil, strained chile sauce, ½ tsp fine sea salt
16. Rinse the Hominy: Pour the canned hominy into a colander and rinse it thoroughly under cool running water. Drain well and set aside.3 cans white hominy
17. Remove the Pork: When the shoulder is tender, use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer all of the pork and bones to a rimmed baking sheet or large bowl.cooked pork and bones
18. Strain the Broth: Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean heatproof container. Discard the onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, and any small bone fragments. strained pork brothstrained pork broth
19. Prepare the Meat: When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones, cartilage, and large pieces of unrendered fat. Break the shoulder and bone meat into generous bite-size pieces rather than shredding it into fine threads.cooked pork
20. Add the Red Sauce: Whisk the fried chile sauce into the strained pork broth. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.fried red chile sauce, strained pork broth
21. Add the Pork and Hominy: Return the prepared pork to the pot and add the rinsed hominy. Stir gently so the hominy is evenly distributed without breaking the kernels.prepared pork, rinsed hominy
22. Finish the Pozole: Simmer gently, partially covered, for 25–30 minutes, until the hominy is hot and plump and the pork has absorbed some of the chile broth.assembled pozole
23. Adjust the Consistency: The finished pozole should contain plenty of broth around the meat and hominy. Add hot water ½ cup at a time whenever the soup has reduced too far.hot water as needed
24. Adjust the Seasoning: Taste the broth with a piece of pork and a hominy kernel. Add the remaining fine sea salt only as needed. Remember that the onion, oregano, chile piquín, lime, and tostadas will sharpen the finished bowl.remaining fine sea salt as needed
25. Rest the Pozole: Remove the pot from the heat and let the pozole stand for 15 minutes. Skim away only any excessive pool of clear fat, leaving a light sheen on the broth.finished Red Pork Pozole
26. Prepare the Garnishes: Arrange the shredded lettuce, sliced radishes, diced white onion, oregano, lime wedges, chile piquín or salsa, and tostadas in separate serving dishes. lettuce, radishes, onion, oregano, limes, chile, tostadaslettuce, radishes, onion, oregano, limes, chile, tostadas
27. Serve: Ladle pork, hominy, and plenty of red broth into large, deep bowls. Let each person finish the pozole with lettuce, radishes, white onion, oregano, lime, and chile to taste. Serve the tostadas alongside.finished pozole and prepared garnishes