This recipe for slow cooker pozole rojo (which means red in Spanish) will be your new favorite dinner. Pozole is traditionally a thick stew of pork, hominy (coarsely ground corn), chili peppers and seasonings.
Rumor has is pozole is a great hangover remedy because it’s thick and hearty and ready to absorb stubborn liquor still hovering in your bloodstream. We don’t know this from personal experience but we’re willing to experiment!
Pozole is traditionally served around Christmas time but it’s so good that we like it year-round! It’s especially delicious on day two so try doubling the recipe for meals all week.
Slow Cooker Pozole Rojo Recipe
what you'll need
- 2 1/2 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 2 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp Mexican oregano, or regular oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- chili sauce
- 1 cup chilies de arbol, about 30
- 6 large dried ancho chilies
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 - 15 oz cans, hominy
- garnish
- avocado, diced
- cabbage, shredded
- onion, diced
- radish, sliced
- cilantro, chopped
let's do it
- Pat pork dry then cut into two pieces. In a small bowl combine cumin and salt. Rub mixture over all sides of pork pieces. Set aside
- In a large sauté pan, heat oil until shimmering. Add onion and cook 3 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook 1 more minute. Scrape mixture into large slow cooker. Sear pork in same pan until browned well on all sides 5-7 minutes. Transfer pork to slow cooker then add water, chicken broth, oregano and bay leaf. Turn cooker to high and cook for 1 hour.
- Tear off stems from chilies then clean out seeds. Put cleaned chilies in heat proof container and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 30 minutes to soften. Remove chilies from water and transfer to blender. Add 1½ cups chili soaking water, garlic, and salt to taste. Pulse until completely smooth. Strain mixture and discard solids.
- After 1 hour of cooking time, add 1 cup chili sauce to slow cooker and stir well. Set heat to low and set timer for 2 more hours.
- After 2 hours of cooking, add hominy and set timer for 1 more hour. When cooking is completed, remove bay leaf and discard. Take pork out of slow cooker and chop or shred meat then return to slow cooker.
- To serve garnish with your choice of avocado, cabbage, onion, radish and cilantro. Enjoy!
One Last Thing
Get creative with what you serve yours over; rice, small shell pasta, baked potatoes or tortilla chips. Yum!
