Enjoy Red Beef Pozole at home with this easy recipe! The beef is simmered with spices until tender, creating a delicious broth. Add the hominy and then all comes together perfectly. It’s Mexican comfort food heaven!
Serve pozole with tostadas or tortilla chips and garnish with any of these ingredients that you like: shredded cabbage, chopped cilantro, radishes, minced onions, lime juice, hot sauce. And for a drink? Horchata is a must!
Hello!!! You know what time it is? It's Pozole and Tamales time baby! These are the most traditional Mexican dishes of the festive season and I don't know about you, but everyone I know associates December with Pozole and Tamales.
In this post you’ll find:
It's the ideal hearty soup for chilly weather. But Mexican food lovers enjoy it yearlong and especially as a weekend dish!
My mom used to make the best Pozole ever and it was always the most requested meal by family members for special occasions. She would cook a humongous pot that left us with lots of leftovers.
Speaking of leftovers, this is one of those dishes that tastes better the day after. Kind of like beef chili or meatballs in marinara sauce. So go ahead and make enough for leftovers and enjoy it even more the second day!
What kind of meat should I use?
For this Pozole recipe I will use beef but it can also be made with pork or even chicken.
- Beef: Use chuck roast + bone-in shank center cut with bone.
- Pork: It can be a one of these or a combination of pork shoulder (espaldilla), pork loin or pork shoulder (lomo de puerco)
- Chicken: A combination of chicken breast, thighs & legs.
- Bones: These are essential for flavor and make sure to include some from whatever type of meat you'll be using: neck or backbones are a good option.
Ingredients
This recipe will feed about 4 people while having some leftovers. If you are feeding a crowd, good news: It doubles (or triples) beautifully!
- Meat: 1.5 pounds chuck roast trimmed and cut in 1 ½" chunks + 1 to 1.5 pounds bone-in shank center cut (if you're using pork or chicken, use about 2.5 or 3 lbs of a combination of meat with bones)
- 1 large white onion
- 1 whole garlic head
- 12 cups hot water (plus more as needed) about 3 liters
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano preferably Mexican
- 2 large bay leaves or 3 small ones
- 2 beef bullion cubes
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- One large can (6 lbs & 12 oz ) Mexican style cooked hominy drained and rinsed
- 2 cups red sauce
- For the red sauce: 3 guajillos chiles & 3 ancho chiles (washed and with seeds removed) + garlic cloves, oregano & kosher salt.
- Garnishes: shredded cabbage diced onion, sliced radishes, fresh cilantro, lime juice & hot sauce.
Make The Sauce: step by step
You can make the sauce before you start cooking the pozole up to a week in advanced. Or start this process while the meat cooks. It's up to you!
- Start by removing the stem and seeds from the chiles. Rinse well to remove any dust.
- Place in a medium pot along with the onion, garlic, spices & water.
- Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes or until the chiles are soft. Remove pot from heat and cool.
- Transfer to a blender or food processor along with 1 cup of the water where the chile cooked on.
- Puree chiles very well
Add to blender Blend until pureed well.
How To Make Pozole
- 1) In a large pot, add the water, whole onion, oregano, bay leaf, beef bullion, salt & pepper.
- 2) Cover and bring liquid to a boil. Add the two cups red sauce and continue to cook on low heat for about two hours
Cook beef in a large pot Add red sauce
- 3) Once the beef is tender, remove & discard the bones, onion, garlic and bay leaf.
- Note: You can shred the beef if you want or serve in chunks as is.
Remove onion, garlic & bay leaves Optional: Shred beef
- Add the hominy and cook for about 30 more minutes or until soft. Taste for seasoning.
Add the hominy simmer for 30 more minutes or until hominy is soft.
- When done, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with any of these ingredients that you like: shredded cabbage, chopped cilantro, minced onions, lime juice, hot sauce.
- serve with tostadas or tortilla chips.
Reheating Leftovers
The best way to reheat leftovers is to place in a sauce pot and cook over medium-low heat until heated thru. Cooking it again in real heat (versus microwave) will help develop the flavors even more!
But if you can't use a stove, go ahead and reheat in microwave for a couple of minutes per serving.
FAQs:
Per this page "A half-cup of canned yellow hominy contains 58 calories, 2 grams of fiber, 276 milligrams sodium and about 1 gram each of protein and fat. A half cup of plain cooked hominy grits contains 76 calories, about 1½ grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber, and traces of sodium and fat. Hominy grits often are enriched with thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid and iron; vitamin D and calcium are added to some brands."
Even though it may not have a major nutrition factor, it is not unhealthy per se! So go ahead and eat it without any fears 🙂
The chiles used to make the sauce are not spicy but they do have a little bit of a kick. If you don't want it to be spicy, don't add extra hot sauce after it's cooked.
Yes you can! Just store in an airtight plastic container and defrost in the refrigerator.
Another sauce you can use is my delicious red sauce recipe
This recipe was originally published in November 2019. Post has been updated to be show step by step instructions and to be more helpful.
Print Recipe
Best Beef Pozole Rojo
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chuck roast trimmed (see note #1 below) fat trimmed off and cut in 1 ½" chunks
- 1 to 1 ½ pounds bone-in shank center cut with bone (see note #2 below)
- 1 large white onion remove outer skin but keep it whole (do a cross cut one the top of the onion only to help release the flavors)
- 1 whole garlic head cut a little bit of the top
- 12 cups of hot water (plus more as needed) about 3 liters
- 2 cup prepared red sauce (or more to taste) ingredients to make below
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 to 3 bay leaf
- 2 beef bullion cubes
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 6 lbs & 12 oz can Mexican style hominy drained and rinsed
Red Sauce (chile colorado) - Makes 2 cups
- 3 dried chile guajillos seeds removed & rinsed
- 3 dried ancho chiles seeds removed & rinsed
- ¼ medium onion (yellow or white)
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (if using table salt use a little less teaspoon)
- 4 cups water
Garnishes
- Shredded cabbage, finely diced onion, sliced radishes, fresh cilantro, lime juice & hot sauce.
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the water, beef, whole onion, oregano, bay leaf, beef bullion, salt & pepper.
- Bring liquid to a boil then cover and simmer until beef is tender (about two hours). As water begins to evaporate, add boiling hot water to keep the broth at the same amount.
- Once the beef is tender, remove & discard the bones, onion, garlic and bay leaf.
- Add the hominy and 2 cups red sauce (instructions below). Cook for about 30 more minutes. Taste for seasoning.
- When done, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with any of these ingredients that you like: shredded cabbage, chopped cilantro, minced onions, lime juice, hot sauce.
- serve with tostadas or tortilla chips.
Make the sauce (while the meat is cooking or make ahead)
- Remove the stem and seeds from the chiles. Rinse well to remove any dust.
- Place in a medium pot along with the onion, garlic, spices & water.
- Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes or until the chiles are soft. Remove pot from heat and cool.
- Transfer to a blender or food processor along with 1 cup of the water where the chile cooked on.
- Puree chiles and then pass thru a strainer to remove the remaining seeds and skins. If you have a lot of pulp left, you may add it back to the blender along with ½ cup of the chile water. Blend and strain again.
- Set aside.
*Ana's Notes:
- Bring meat to room temperature before cooking.
- If you're using pork or chicken, use about 2.5 or 3 lbs of a combination of meat with bones.
- If you need to add more water when cooking the meat, make sure it's boiling hot as you don't want to bring the temperature down.
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
Whenever you come back to this recipe, you'll be able to see your notes.
NUTRITION
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
Crystal says
What if I can't find Ancho Chiles? What can I substitute for them? I have dried chipotle peppers will that work?
Ana Frias says
Hi Crystal! That should work as they have a smoky flavor too. I would just add a couple since they do tend to be more spicy.
Let me know if you have any other questions! Enjoy
Crystal says
It came out Delish!!! Thanks so much for the recipe this will def be used many more times!!! 🤗
Ana Frias says
Yay!!!! I'm so happy to hear this Crystal! Once you know how to make Pozole, you'll never order it at restaurants again! Have a great day!
xo, Ana
Zenon C. says
This recipe more like hominy soup instead of pozole. It's really important to use gelatin bones. Use espinazo (spine) and even hooves/foot meat. DO NOT REMOVE THE BONES.
Ana Frias says
Hi Zenon, did you make the recipe? It has plenty beef! This recipe calls for "bone-in shank center cut" (chamorro en Español) with bone has gelatin inside the bones so I'm not sure why you commented that mine does not have it. Thanks for stopping by
Angela Slavich says
This Pozole is delicious! I added just the right amount of the sauce for my family and saved the rest. I’m so glad there are leftovers! I was intimidated at first but found it quite simple. I used my pressure cooker for the meat while I made the sauce on the stovetop.
Ana Frias says
This is great to hear Angela!!! I'm thrilled that you liked this Red Pozole and that you found it simple to make. I appreciate the feedback and happy holidays!
TGarcia says
Am I supposed to add 1 cup or 2 cups of red sauce? The recipe calls for 1 cup prepared red sauce, but the directions say to add 2 cups...?
Ana Frias says
Add two cups of the red sauce to the pozole. enjoy!
Mari says
If I use chicken to make the pozole would I use chicken buliion instead of the beef bullion? What do you recommend
Ana Frias says
Hi Mari! You can use Chicken bouillon or even beef one. For soups sometimes I mix the flavors with great success! You can use the classic Knorr one or Better than bullion which is more natural.
Mathew J. says
I decided to make pozole for the first time to celebrate Mexico's independence day. I used pork loin and followed the recipe fairly closely (substituting the garlic cloves with granulated garlic). I cooked the soup low and slow for 2.5 hours. My wife and I were thrilled with the result--flavorful and pleasant mouthfeel. Thanks for the recipe, Ana!
Ana Frias says
Great to hear this Mathew!!! I hope you make it again soon 🙂