Soups & stews / Stews & gumbos
Red Pork Posole
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Toast the dried chiles and the whole kitchen smells smoky and sweet. Blend them into a broth, simmer the pork until it's tender, and set out cabbage, radishes, lime and cilantro so everyone builds their own bowl.
The short version
Toast dried chiles, soak and blend them into a smooth sauce. Brown pork shoulder, simmer it in stock with the strained chile sauce for about 1½ hours, add hominy for the last 30 minutes. Serve with cabbage, radish, lime and cilantro. Strain the sauce so the broth is silky.
What makes ours better
the tricks Nonna pretends she never taught me
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Toast the chiles, then soak and strain the sauce. Toasting wakes up the fruity, smoky flavor in the dried chiles. Straining the blended sauce removes the tough skins, so the broth is smooth and red instead of gritty.
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Brown the pork before it simmers. A browned crust gives the broth a savory, roasted base that raw pork in water can't. It adds 15 minutes and is worth it.
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Add the hominy late. Hominy goes soft and mushy if it simmers for hours. Thirty minutes in the finished broth keeps it plump and chewy.
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Set out a topping bar. Crunchy cabbage, radish, onion and lime juice cut through the rich broth. The soup is not finished without them.
What you need
the cast, in order of appearance
- Dried guajillo chiles6 large
- Chicken stock2 cups
- Boneless pork shoulder3 pounds
- White onion1 large
- Garlic4 cloves
- Shredded green cabbage3 cups
- Limes3 large
- Tostadas or tortilla chips
Chile sauce
Soup
To serve
tap each one as it goes in. no double-salting.
Steps
nobody opens the oven door. looking at you, Dad.
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Toast and soak the chiles
Toast the chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for 20 to 30 seconds per side, until they smell fruity and soften. Don't let them blacken. Put them in a bowl, cover with hot water, weigh them down with a plate and soak 20 minutes.
Burnt chiles turn the whole pot bitter. When in doubt, pull them early.
About 20 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Brown the pork
Season the pork with 1½ teaspoons salt. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Brown the pork in 2 or 3 batches, about 4 minutes per side, until it has a deep brown crust. Move it to a plate.
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Cook the onion and garlic
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Cook the onion over medium heat, scraping up the browned bits, until soft, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
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Blend and strain the chile sauce
Drain the chiles and blend with 2 cups stock until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into the pot, pressing on the solids with a spoon.
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Simmer the pork
Return the pork to the pot with 8 cups stock, the oregano, cumin and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer with the lid slightly ajar. Cook 1 to 1½ hours, until the pork is tender enough to cut with a spoon.
About 75 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Add the hominy
Stir in the hominy and 1 teaspoon salt. Simmer 30 minutes, uncovered, until the hominy is plump and some kernels have burst open like flowers. Fish out the bay leaf. Taste and add salt.
Rinse canned hominy well. The canning liquid can make the broth taste tinny.
About 30 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Serve with toppings
Ladle into wide bowls with plenty of pork and hominy. Let everyone pile on cabbage, radish, onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Serve with tostadas or chips.
Good to know
things I learned the hard way, so you can skip that part
- Pork shoulder (also sold as pork butt or Boston butt) is the best cut. It stays juicy and gets silky over a long simmer. Trim away big chunks of hard fat but leave the marbling.
- For a spicier pot, add 2 to 3 dried chiles de árbol to the soak. For a milder one, use only guajillo.
- Dried hominy works too. Soak 1 pound overnight, simmer until tender, about 2 hours, then use in place of the cans.
- Storage. Refrigerator up to 5 days, hominy and all. Freezer up to 3 months. Keep toppings separate and add fresh.
Questions, answered
the questions my cousins text me
What is the difference between pozole and posole?
They are two spellings of the same dish. Pozole is the Spanish spelling and posole is common in New Mexico and the US Southwest.
What is hominy?
Dried corn kernels soaked in an alkaline solution that removes the hulls and makes them puff and turn chewy. It's sold canned in the Mexican or canned vegetable aisle.
Can I make posole with chicken?
Yes. Use 3 pounds of bone-in chicken thighs and simmer 40 minutes, then shred and return to the pot with the hominy. Cook to 165°F in the thigh.
Can I make posole in a slow cooker?
Sear the pork and make the sauce on the stove, then cook on low 7 to 8 hours. Add the hominy for the last hour.
Why is my posole broth bitter?
Burnt chiles, or seeds and stems left in. Toast only until fragrant, take out the stems and seeds, and strain the sauce.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes, and you should. It tastes even better the next day. Reheat gently and add fresh toppings.
From the table
Made it? Tell me everything. Especially if somebody said it was better than their mother’s. I’ll keep your secret.
Made it?
be honest. I can take it. probably.
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Published October 29, 2026.