American
Posole Rojo
Slow-simmered pork and hominy in a deep red chile broth — the restorative soul of the Southwest.
Recipe by Cyman Huang
Cooked, styled and photographed in his kitchen.
Posole is one of the great soups of North America, predating European contact by millennia. It is made with hominy — nixtamalized dried corn with a distinctive, earthy-sweet flavor — and braised pork in a rich red chile broth.
In New Mexico and Arizona it is the traditional dish for celebrating the New Year and major holidays. Deeply nourishing and deeply flavorful, it is one of the most satisfying bowls of food in the entire American repertoire.
Watch it come together
Ingredients
Broth & pork
- 2½ lbs bone-in pork shoulder or country ribs
- 2 cans (29 oz each) hominy, drained and rinsed (or 1 lb dried hominy, soaked overnight)
- 1 large white onion, halved
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 8 cups water
Red chile base
- 6 dried ancho chiles
- 3 dried guajillo chiles
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Garnishes (part of the experience)
- Thinly shredded cabbage
- Thinly sliced radishes
- Dried oregano
- Lime wedges
- Diced white onion
- Sliced jalapeño
- Toasted dried chiles, crumbled
- Tostadas or tortilla chips
Method
- 1
SIMMER THE PORK: Place pork in a large pot with onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and water. Bring to a boil, skim any foam, reduce heat, and simmer gently 1.5–2 hours until very tender. Remove pork, shred, discard bones. Strain and reserve the broth.
- 2
MAKE RED CHILE BASE: Toast and soak the dried chiles. Blend with garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and 1 cup of the reserved pork broth until smooth. Strain.
- 3
BUILD THE POSOLE: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the pot over medium-high heat. Add the red chile sauce and cook, stirring, 5 minutes — it will darken and become fragrant.
- 4
Add reserved pork broth (6–8 cups total), shredded pork, and drained hominy. Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes for the flavors to meld. Taste and adjust salt.
- 5
SERVE: Ladle into deep bowls. Pile shredded cabbage over the top, add radish slices and diced onion, squeeze lime generously, add jalapeño, crumble dried oregano, and set a tostada alongside for dipping.
Substitutions
- Chef's tip: the garnishes are not decoration — they are structural. Cabbage adds crunch, radish adds bite, lime brightens the whole bowl, tostada adds texture.
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