A Rich, Hearty, Flavor Packed Authentic Mexican Pozole

Around here, cream based soups reign supreme, except when it comes to this exceptionally rich and hearty broth based Mexican soup. If you are not familiar with Pozole, it is a traditional broth based stew or soup from Mexican cuisine that is typically made with hominy and meat, using either chicken or pork. We used pork because it brings so much flavor to this soup.

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My girlfriend Veronica is legend around here for her Pozole! She has made it for us before and I fell in love with it from my very first taste. It’s a rich and hearty broth soup with just bit of lovely heat that warms you from the inside out. I begged her to teach me how to make it and she promised to teach me the next time she made it. I finally got the opportunity to cook up a large batch with her for Día de los Muertos. She made up a huge quadruple batch and we all feasted on her delicious Pozole for dinner. as we remembered those family and friends that have passed away and are no longer here with us.

There is nothing I enjoy more than spending an afternoon in the kitchen cooking with my favorite foodie girlfriend, Veronica. We both love to cook and we both love to eat good food. Is it any wonder that the two of us get along famously? We are a match made in heaven.

So lets get going with this fabulous soup recipe so you can enjoy it for dinner tonight!

Begin by peeling and chopping the onion. Smash and peel 6 cloves of garlic and mince 6 cloves of garlic. Set aside.

Using a sharp knife, cut pork into large chunks. Remove any visible excess fat and discard.

Place trimmed chunks of pork in the bottom of a large dutch oven pot.

Add half the chopped onion, the 6 smashed garlic cloves.

Add salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. 

Cover with water. Add just enough water so that the meat is submerged under about an inch of water. 

Stir and bring mixture to a boil over high heat.  Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and cover pot. Simmer mixture over low heat for 45 minutes.

Use a spoon to skim off any foam that rises to the surface of the broth. If you did a good job trimming off most of the excess fat there won’t be much foam to skim off. 

Using tongs remove the chunks of pork meat from the pot.

Use an emersion blender or transfer liquid in small batches to a blender to puree the broth in the pot. 

Once you have pureed the broth, cut the chunks of pork into smaller bite sized pieces, about an inch in size. Discard bones. Use care, meat will be hot. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.

Sauté the remaining chopped onion and 6 cloves of minced garlic until onion is soft and translucent.

Add the reminaing spices; cayenne pepper, red chili powder, and ancho chili powder. Stir to coat onions and garlic with the spices. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the cubed pork meat and sauté until meat pieces are browned. Cook in two batches if all the meat will not fit comfortably in the skillet.

Return the browned pork, along with the spices and diced onions to the pureed broth in the Dutch oven pot. 

Stir in the drained and rinsed hominy, and diced green chiles.

Add the chicken broth.

Increase heat and bring the mixture to a boil.  Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover the pot. Cook soup on low for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Soup is done once pork meat is soft and tender.

To serve soup, ladel a generous serving into a bowl. Be sure to include a generous amount of meat and hominy along with the broth. It’s delicious served this way but to take it over the top add some dried Oregano, some freshly chopped cilantro, a little diced onion, a bit of shredded cabbage, and a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice. Pick your favorite toppings to take the flavor over the top!!! Don’t skip the lime juice, it gives each bowl a bright hit of flavor that’s utterly delectable.

To make this an extra special meal, serve this soup with homemade empanadas. Try these delicious Cheesy Chorizo Empanadas with a hot steaming bowl of Pozole for the perfect Mexican meal. I guarantee that this will be one of the best meals you will ever have. Granted, it is a lot of work, but for a special occasion, it is well worth the time and effort it takes to make both the soup and empanadas. This is a very special, delicious meal!

An Extra Special Treat, Cheesy Chorizo Empanadas

Thank you Veronica for teaching me how to cook this amazing meal! It was so much fun spending the day with you cooking in your kitchen and then feasting on what we cooked together! This was one of the best meals I have ever eaten! Absolutely delicious!!!!!

This post was originally published January 2021 and republished November 2022 with additional content.

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