Jalisco Red Pozole (Pozole Rojo Tapatio)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •10 to 12-quart pozolero pot or heavy stockpot
• •Large nonreactive pot for nixtamalizing corn
• •Cast iron comal for toasting chiles
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Deep clay pozolero bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Nixtamalize the corn

   Rinse the dried cacahuazintle. Put it in a large nonreactive pot with enough water to cover by 3 inches. Stir in the cal. Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes, until the yellow skin on the kernels loosens when you rub one between your fingers. Turn off the heat, cover, and let it rest overnight. This is not extra work. This is why the corn opens properly.

   Use cal from a Mexican market or tortilleria supplier. Do not use garden lime. Food-grade cal is the difference between nixtamal and a mistake.
2. 2

   Rinse the nixtamal

   The next day, drain the corn and rinse it under cool water, rubbing the kernels between your hands to remove the softened skins. Pinch off the hard little tip from the kernels when you can. You do not need to become obsessive, but the more cleanly you work now, the better the pozole blooms in the pot.

3. 3

   Cook the corn

   Put the rinsed corn in a large pozolero pot with fresh water to cover by 3 inches. Add half of the onion, half of the garlic head, and 1 bay leaf. Simmer gently for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the kernels begin to flower open. They should look like small white blossoms. If the water drops, add hot water. Cold water shocks the simmer and slows everything down.

4. 4

   Build the pork broth

   In a second large pot, combine the pork shoulder, ribs or backbone, neck bones or trotters if using, the remaining onion, remaining garlic, 2 bay leaves, and salt. Cover with cold water by 2 inches. Bring to a gentle simmer and skim the gray foam during the first 20 minutes. A hard boil makes cloudy broth and dry meat. Lazy bubbles. Patience.

5. 5

   Simmer the pork

   Cook the pork 2 to 2 1/2 hours, partially covered, until the shoulder pulls apart with a fork and the bones have given the broth body. Remove the meat to a tray. Strain the broth and discard the spent onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Shred the pork into generous pieces. Do not shred it into threads like office cafeteria meat. Pozole deserves texture.

6. 6

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile guajillo, chile ancho, and chile de arbol if using, one type at a time, about 20 to 30 seconds per side. They should darken slightly, puff in spots, and smell deep, not burned. The ancho is thicker and can take a little more time. The guajillo is thinner. Watch it. Burned chile turns the whole pot bitter.

7. 7

   Soak and blend

   Put the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with hot water, not boiling water. Let them soften for 20 minutes. Toast the cumin seeds on the comal for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Drain the chiles and blend them with the toasted cumin, Mexican oregano, 2 cups of warm pork broth, and 2 cups of the cooked pozole corn. Blend until completely smooth. The corn in the blender gives the chile base body without flour. Asi se hace y punto.

8. 8

   Strain the chile

   Pass the blended chile through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing hard with a spoon. Discard the tough skins and seeds left behind. A serious pozole broth should be full, but it should not scrape the tongue with chile skins. This is one of those quiet steps that separates a careful cook from a lazy one.

9. 9

   Fry the adobo

   Melt the manteca de cerdo in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add the strained chile paste carefully. It will sputter. Stir and fry 8 to 10 minutes, until the color deepens to garnet and the fat begins to shine at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. Oil will fry it, yes, but lard makes it taste like the pot came from Jalisco.

10. 10

    Unite the pot

    When the corn has flowered, add the strained pork broth, shredded pork, and fried chile paste to the pozolero pot. Simmer 45 minutes more so the corn drinks the chile and the pork returns its flavor to the broth. Taste for salt near the end. The broth should be assertive because lettuce, radish, lime, and tostadas will soften it at the table.

11. 11

    Prepare the table

    Arrange shredded romaine lettuce, sliced radishes, diced white onion, lime wedges, dried Mexican oregano, tostadas, and salsa de chile de arbol in small bowls. In Jalisco, the table finishes the pozole. Do not put sour cream on it. Do not put yellow cheese near it. That is not this food.

12. 12

    Serve deep bowls

    Ladle the pozole into deep pozolero bowls, making sure every serving gets corn, pork, and red broth with a little chile-stained fat on the surface. Let each person add lettuce, radish, onion, oregano, and lime. Serve tostadas alongside. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •If you cannot find dried cacahuazintle, buy prepared nixtamal or Mexican-style canned hominy. That is a compromise, not an upgrade. Rinse canned hominy well and add it after the pork is tender, then simmer at least 45 minutes so it takes the chile flavor.
• •The chile guajillo should be flexible and glossy, not brittle and dusty. At a good mercado, the chile vendor will let you bend one. If it cracks like old paper, walk away.
• •Pork shoulder gives meat, ribs and backbone give flavor, neck bones or trotters give body. You need all three ideas in the pot. Lean pork loin makes a thin broth and nobody needs that sadness.
• •The red color comes from chiles. Tomato does not belong in this tapatio version. Some families use a little tomato in other regional pots, but here the guajillo and ancho do the work.
• •Pozole is better after resting. Make it in the morning for dinner, or make it one day ahead and reheat it gently. The corn keeps drinking the broth overnight.

Advance Preparation

• •The corn can be nixtamalized, rinsed, and refrigerated up to 2 days ahead before the final simmer.
• •The pork broth can be made 1 day ahead. Chill it, lift off only the excess solid fat, and keep enough richness for the final pot.
• •The fried chile base can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated in a covered jar. Warm it before stirring it into the broth.
• •Fully assembled pozole keeps refrigerated for 4 days. Reheat gently and add a little water or broth if the corn has thickened the pot too much.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 720g)