← Nouns Cooking · Mexican

Ingredients

• 1.4 kg pork shoulder (bone-in if possible), cut into large chunks
• 3 l Water
• 1 white onion, halved
• 6 cloves Garlic, peeled
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 1.2 kg tinned hominy (drained weight), drained and rinsed
• 3 Dried ancho / guajillo chillies, stemmed and seeded
• 4 Dried guajillo chillies, stemmed and seeded
• 3 cloves Garlic
• ¼ white onion
• 1 pinch Cumin
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• ¼ small cabbage or 1 head lettuce, finely shredded
• 10 Radish, thinly sliced
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 4 Lime, cut into wedges
• 2 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
• ground dried chilli, to taste
• 8 tostadas (crisp-fried tortillas)

Method

1. Put the pork, water, halved onion, garlic, bay and salt in a very large pot and bring to the boil, skimming off the foam. Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for about 2 hours, until the pork is very tender.
2. Meanwhile, toast the chillies in a dry pan over medium heat for about 30 seconds per side, until fragrant. Cover with hot water and soak for 20 min.
3. Drain the chillies and blend with the garlic, the quarter onion, cumin, cloves and 250 ml of the pork broth until very smooth. Strain through a sieve.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add the chilli sauce (it will spit) and fry, stirring, for 5 min, until it darkens and thickens.
5. Lift the pork out of the pot, discard the onion and bay leaves and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, removing any bones.
6. Stir the chilli sauce, hominy and shredded pork into the broth and simmer for 30 min, so the hominy soaks up the flavour. Taste and add salt.
7. Ladle into deep bowls and let everyone add their own cabbage, radish, onion, lime, oregano and chilli, with tostadas on the side.

Tips

• Pozole is even better the next day; cool it quickly, refrigerate and reheat until piping hot.
• Chicken thighs work too: poach them for 40 minutes instead of 2 hours.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Pati Jinich ¡Hola! Jalapeño BBC Good Food