Recipe
Make This Easy Posole Recipe to Warm Up For the Fall
Fall is my favorite time of year: comfy sweaters, crunchy leaves, pumpkin-spiced everything, and posole? Oh yes. Any person who grew up in a Mexican or Mexican American household knows what I'm talking about. If your abuela or mom brings out the big stock pot, you know your entire family is coming over for dinner and some bomb champurrado.
My family normally makes this posole recipe in a big batch for holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas when my very large family gets together. However, I still make a smaller batch for myself every year, when fall quietly makes itself known. I usually freeze the leftovers and warm them up when I become homesick during school. This soup instantly makes me feel comforted because it reminds me of being with my family, and the warm, spicy broth evokes this feeling of being wrapped up in a fluffy blanket.
One nice thing about this recipe is that it is very forgiving. The variety of toppings allows for creative combinations, as well as control for those who don't like certain ingredients. This soup relies on a “low and slow” style of cooking to make sure the pork shoulder is fall-off-the-bone tender and the broth has enough time to develop its signature spicy flavor. While more traditional posole recipes normally require more spices, the posole recipe I’ve grown up eating uses red enchilada sauce to achieve the same flavor profile without all the work of boiling and pureeing chilies.
Mexican Red Posole
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hrs
- Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins
- Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs pork shoulder/butt trimmed excess fat
- 6 to 7 quarts water
- 1 can yellow hominy
- 1 can red enchilada sauce mild or medium heat
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 to 4 bay leaves
- 1 head red or green cabbage thinly shredded
- 1 large white onion diced
- 1 bunch radishes
- 2 to 3 limes cut into wedges
- 1 tub Mexican Crema for garnish optional
- Oregano optional
- Tortillas or tortilla chips optional
- Salt to taste optional
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This posole recipe is one of my favorite family recipes because it can be easily changed in a variety of ways. If you like green enchilada sauce, use that in place of red enchilada sauce. If you don’t like pork, use chicken, or make a vegetarian posole by omitting any meat and using a vegetarian stock instead. You can even make homemade tortillas if you prefer those over store-bought tortillas. The point of this recipe isn’t to get it exactly right, but rather to enjoy this comfort food with good company and good times.