Pozole Rojo Rápido para Celebrar
Pozole Rojo Rápido para Celebrar·(poh-soh-leh ro-ho rah-pee-doh pah-rah seh-leh-brar)
La Tamalada: The Sacred Rituals of Holiday Gatherings
The secret your grandmother knew, but perhaps never wrote down, is the magic of a stale corn tortilla. Authentic pozole is a sacred ritual of gathering, born from days of simmering bones and raw corn. But for the diaspora cooking on a Tuesday night in an Ohio suburb, the pressure cooker is a godsend. By blending a single soaked tortilla into the chili paste, you give a forty-five-minute soup the thick, velvety texture of a stew that has bubbled on a wood-fired stove all day. Keep the garnishes fresh, insist on bone-in pork, and let the aroma take you straight home.
Before you start
Prepare the garnishes.
Before the soup finishes cooking, arrange the shredded cabbage, radishes, diced onion, and lime wedges on a large communal platter so guests can build their own bowls.
Ingredients
- boneless pork shoulder2 lb
- pork neck bones or spare ribs1 lb
- white onion1 large
- head garlic1 large
- bay leaves3 med
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- water8 cup
- dried guajillo chiles6 med
- dried ancho chiles3 med
- dried arbol chiles2 med
- garlic cloves3 large
- white onion1/4 med
- ground cumin1 tsp
- dried Mexican oregano1 tsp
- stale corn tortilla1 med
- neutral cooking oil1 tbsp
- canned white hominy108 oz
- green cabbage1/2 med
- radishes1 bunch
- white onion1 large
- limes4 large
- dried Mexican oregano1 tbsp
- crisp corn tostadas12 med
Method
- 01
Build the foundation of the broth.
Place the pork chunks, bones, halved onion, garlic head, bay leaves, and salt into an electric pressure cooker, then add enough water to cover the meat by an inch without exceeding the maximum fill line.
- 02
Cook under pressure.
Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, followed by a 15-minute natural release to let the meat relax and keep the broth from clouding.
- 03
Hydrate the chiles and the secret thickener.
While the meat cooks, briefly toast the guajillo, ancho, and arbol chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, then submerge them in boiling water with the torn corn tortilla for 15 minutes.
- 04
Shred the tender pork.
Once the pressure is fully released, transfer the meat to a board, discard the aromatics and bones, shred the pork with two forks, and reserve the golden stock in the pot.
- 05
Blend the adobo.
Blend the softened chiles, the soaked tortilla, raw garlic, quartered onion, cumin, one teaspoon of oregano, and a cup of the chile-soaking liquid on high until completely smooth.
- 06
Fry the chili paste.
Turn the pressure cooker to sauté, heat the neutral oil, and aggressively fry the blended chili paste for five minutes to cook out the raw garlic flavor and deepen the color to a rich brick red.
- 07
Simmer the hominy.
Pour the reserved pork stock and shredded meat back into the fried paste, add the rinsed hominy, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes so the kernels absorb the spiced broth without turning to mush.
- 08
Serve with intention.
Ladle the deep-red stew into wide bowls and let guests finish the dish at the table with an abundance of crisp shredded cabbage, radishes, diced onion, a heavy squeeze of lime, and crushed oregano.
Notes
The cabbage imperative.
In the Norteño tradition, sturdy shredded cabbage replaces the delicate lettuce used in central Mexico, standing up to the thermal shock of the near-boiling broth to provide a lasting crunch.
Respect the canned hominy.
Canned hominy has already been nixtamalized and par-cooked. Boiling it for the full duration of the soup will turn it into disintegrated mush; add it only at the very end to heat through and absorb flavor.
From Cook Tex-Mex.