Pozole can be best described as a traditional Mexican dish of cooked hominy in broth with meat. It’s basically a cross between a soup and a stew and we have the best pozole in San Diego.
Typically pozole is cooked with pork (puerco) but you will see it cooked with chicken (pollo) as well. Usually garnished with shredded cabbage or lettuce, radishes, chili peppers, raw onion, lime, and avocado, there are three main types of pozole; red (rojo), white (blanco), and green (verde).
Here at Forks Corks and Brews in San Diego we make pozole rojo. Sometimes we make the quick and easy version and sometimes we make traditional pozole. It all depends on how much time we have.
Since roasted chicken is a common meal in our house we usually have chicken in the freezer or we make pozole the day after we make roasted chicken.
Begin with buying roasted chicken at your San Diego food store or buy raw chicken and cook it at home before adding it to your pozole rojo.
For our quick and easy version of pozole rojo we use chicken mainly, and we use most of the traditional ingredients, but not all of them. Here is one of our favorite spice blends we use in our pozole rojo.
With its blend of cumin, salt, mild chili powder, annatto, turmeric, aji amarillo chiles, makrut lime leaves, Mexican oregano, and cilantro this spice is our go-to for many savory dishes, and its what makes the best pozole in San Diego.
If we do not have cabbage on hand to garnish, we may substitute and use lettuce or another leafy vegetable.
If we only have one or two jalapeńos, we may add a little more spice. You can use cayenne, red pepper flakes, or serrano chiles for more spice. The best thing about pozole is that you can adapt the recipe to what’s available in your kitchen or your neighbor’s kitchen.
However, there are certain ingredients we always use in our chicken pozole rojo. One of the obvious ones is chicken or pork if we are making the traditional recipe. Another important ingredient is the hominy.
It’s the flavor and the heartiness that makes this pozole rojo recipe taste the best. Jalapeños are necessary and so is the right spice.
Scroll down for a more traditional or authentic pozole rojo if you have extra time and the right ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow or sweet onion, chopped
- 3 jalapeños, (2 seeded and minced and 1 thinly sliced with or without seeds)
- 3 small sweet red peppers, chopped (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of Peruvian Chile Lime Seasoning (If you do not have this seasoning use these spices.)
- 2 – 3 teaspoons of dried ancho chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon of Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- pinch of cayenne
- 4 – 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced, fire roasted tomatoes (fire roasted is optional)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (You can use whatever type of chicken meat you have.)
- 1 can Mexican Style hominy, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1-2 limes
- Cabbage
- Avocado (1/4 of an avocado per person)
- 3-5 radishes
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and sauté 5 minutes.
- Add jalapeños, peppers, garlic, and spices. Deglaze with white wine or stock, scraping up the bits at the bottom.
- Add tomatoes, hominy, and chicken and pour in chicken broth.
- Taste for seasoning.
- Bring mixture to a boil then reduce to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering chop the cabbage into long thin slices and slice the radish into round thin slices.
- Stir in cilantro and lime juice.
- Reserve jalapeño slices, cilantro, avocado, radish and cabbage for garnish. Add to pozole just before serving.
How to Serve The Best Pozole in San Diego
This is typically how you will see pozole served in restaurants in San Diego and this is how I prefer to eat it. Add cabbage, cilantro, radish slices, 1/4 of an avocado, a small lime wedge and raw onions right before serving.
We sometimes serve ours with shredded cheese and tortilla chips. Also you can add sour cream or plain greek yogurt.
I prefer to use plain greek yogurt rather than sour cream. The plain greek yogurt is healthier and has more protein. These are optional add-ons.
Pozole Rojo Traditional
- 3 quarts of water (12 cups of water)
- 1 and 1/2 pounds of pork shoulder
- 2 medium white onions (yellow, sweet, or red is fine too if that is all you have)
- 1 cut into chunks for the stock
- 1/2 an onion diced for the red sauce and 1/2 thinly sliced for garnish
- 10 garlic cloves
- 6 whole cloves for the stock
- 4 minced for the red sauce
- 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon of Mexican oregano
- 2 teaspoons of cumin
- 2 teaspoons of chili powder
- 2 cans of hominy (15 oz cans)
- 3 guajillo chiles dried (quickly rinsed, seeds removed, cut open and flatten)
- 3 ancho chiles dried (quickly rinsed, seeds removed, cut open and flatten)
- 2 arbol chiles dried (quickly rinsed, seeds removed, cut open and flatten) (optional)
- Sea salt
- 2 teaspoons for stock
- 1/2 teaspoon for the red sauce
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Lime cut into wedges
- Cabbage chopped into long thin slices
- Avocado (1/4 of an avocado per person)
- 3-5 radishes sliced into thin rounds
- Jalapeño or serrano chili pepper thinly sliced for garnish (optional)
Traditionally pozole rojo calls for canola oil, but olive oil or avocado oil is much healthier option.
Instructions for Pozole Rojo Tradicional
- Use a large pot and heat water to a boil.
- Add pork, onion chunks, 6 garlic cloves.
- Lower heat and let simmer for at least 90 minutes. I let mine simmer for over 2 hours. You want the meat to be falling off the bone.
- In a small pot bring about 2-3 cups of water to a boil. Remove pot from heat, add all dried chiles to soak and cover for about 15-20 minutes until soft.
- Remove pork from the broth. Discard bones, shred and set aside.
- Keep the broth for later and put in a separate pot if you don’t have many big stock pots. Trim fat from the broth. Discard onions, garlic and pork bones. You can also use a strainer to strain the broth, then trim the fat from the broth.
- Taste the broth and season with salt.
- Add the soaked chiles and some of the water they soaked in to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth like a pureé.
- Use the same large pot you used for the broth or a new one if you have more than one large stock pot.
- Heat 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil in the large pot and add the 1/2 of the diced onion and minced garlic. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes or until onions get slightly translucent. Deglaze with 1-2 tablespoons of stock.
- Add cumin, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and Mexican oregano. Stir for 1-2 minutes then add the pureed red sauce. Stir until sauce begins to bubble. Taste and add salt if necessary.
- Add the remainder of the stock, rinsed and drained hominy, and shredded pork and bring to a boil.
- Taste pozole and add salt and or spice if necessary. You can also use pepper here.
- Serve hot and add cabbage, cilantro, radish slices, 1/4 of an avocado, a small lime wedge and raw onions. You can also add fresh slices of a jalapeño or serrano chile slices if you really want it spicy.
Here is a 3-pack of all the chiles you need for the best traditional pozole in San Diego.
Order Your Ingredients Now
If you’re ready to place an Amazon order here are all the ingredients for you. I did not include olive oil.
Looking for more warm and hearty recipes? Try our healthy vegetable curry recipe or our slow cooker chili.