Red Posole With Pork

Posole is not just a soup, it’s an event: a big hearty bowl of goodness, sumptuous and filling, and totally worth the effort of a couple of extra steps. The bones are essential; use bigger ones so they are easier to handle at the end. I like to cook a bone-in pork shoulder for this and use the big blade bone. The pork hock adds subtle smoky notes, while the beef bones or oxtails add to the soup’s complexity. Frying the chile puree improves the flavor of the soup, so don’t skip this step.

Cuisine

Mexican

Course

Main Course

Difficulty

Medium

Duration

30-60 min

Cooking Technique

Pressure Cook, Sauté

Keywords

30-60 min, 4-6 serving, beef or chicken broth or water, beef shank bones or meaty oxtails, black peppercorns, boiling water, boneless pork shoulder, california or ancho chiles, chile de árbol, chopped fresh cilantro leaves, contributed, cook 38 min, Deborah Schneider, diced white onion, dried mexican oregano, finely shredded green cabbage, ground cumin, guajillo chiles, hot sauce or red pepper flakes, kosher salt, large garlic cloves, lime wedges, main course, meaty pork bones, medium, mexican, oregano, prep 15 min, pressure cook, sauté, sliced radishes, smoked pork hock, vegetable oil, warmed tortillas, white hominy with liquid, white or yellow onion

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

38 min

Servings

4-6 serving

Ingredients

1 tsp vegetable oil
2 guajillo chiles
2 California or ancho chiles
1 chile de árbol
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 small white or yellow onion
4 large garlic cloves
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
5 1/2 cups beef or chicken broth or water
1 lb meaty pork bones
1 lb beef shank bones or meaty oxtails
1 smoked pork hock
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork shoulder
28 ounces white hominy with liquid
Finely shredded green cabbage
Hot sauce or red pepper flakes
Lime wedges
Diced white onion
chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Warmed tortillas
Dried Mexican oregano
Sliced radishes

Instructions

Press Sauté—normal/medium on the Instant Pot and heat the 1 teaspoon oil. Add the guajillo, California, and árbol chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes, until fragrant. Press Cancel.
Transfer the chiles to a blender and pour in the boiling water. Let soak for 10 minutes, until the chiles have softened, then pour off and discard the water.
Add onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, peppercorns, and 1/2 cup of the broth to the blender. Puree until very smooth, scraping down the blender as needed.
Press Sauté—normal/medium on the Instant Pot and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the chile puree and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until thickened and slightly darkened; be careful not to burn the puree. Press Cancel.
Place the pork and beef bones and the pork hock in the pot. Arrange the pork shoulder pieces evenly on top. Pour the hominy and its liquid over the meat, then pour in the remaining 5 cups broth.
Secure the lid and set the Pressure Release to Sealing. Press Meat/Stew, then set the cooking time for 30 minutes.
When the cooking program is complete, perform a quick pressure release by moving the Pressure Release handle to Venting. Press the Keep Warm setting.
Open the pot. Using tongs, transfer the bones and the pork hock to a plate; leave the pork shoulder in the pot. When cool enough to handle, remove any meat from the bones and hock, shredding it into bite-size pieces. Add the meat back to the pot; discard the skin and bones.
Using a spoon, skim off and discard as much fat as possible from the surface of the posole. Using the tongs, transfer the pieces of pork shoulder to a cutting board, chop them into 1-inch pieces, and return to the pot. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Ladle the posole into warmed bowls and serve right away with the cabbage, hot sauce, lime wedges, onion, cilantro, warmed tortillas, oregano (if using), and radishes (if using) on the side.

Notes

VARIATION
For Red Posole with Chicken, substitute 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the pork shoulder and reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes. After the pressure has released, using tongs, transfer the chicken to a cutting board, shred with two forks, and return the shredded chicken to the soup.
Note To make the posole as fat-free as possible, prepare it in advance, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate it for up to 2 days. Before reheating, use a spoon to remove the congealed layer of fat from the surface.

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