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.
Servings Prep Time
4-6serving 15minutes
Cook Time
38minutes
Servings Prep Time
4-6serving 15minutes
Cook Time
38minutes
Ingredients
  • 1tsp vegetable oilplus 1 tablespoon
  • 2 guajillo chilesstemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces
  • 2 California or ancho chilesstemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces
  • 1 chile de árbolstemmed and seeded
  • 3/4cup boiling water
  • 1/2small white or yellow oniondiced
  • 4 large garlic clovessliced
  • 2tsp ground cumin
  • 2tsp oregano
  • 1tbsp kosher salt
  • 1/2tsp black peppercorns
  • 5 1/2cups beef or chicken broth or water
  • 1lb meaty pork bones
  • 1lb beef shank bones or meaty oxtails
  • 1 smoked pork hock(about 12 ounces)
  • 1 1/2lbs boneless pork shouldercut into 4 pieces
  • 28ounces white hominy with liquid1 can
For serving
  • Finely shredded green cabbage
  • Hot sauce or red pepper flakes
  • Lime wedges
  • Diced white onion
  • chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • Warmed tortillas
  • Dried Mexican oregano(optional)
  • Sliced radishes(optional)
Instructions
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Secure the lid and set the Pressure Release to Sealing. Press Meat/Stew, then set the cooking time for 30 minutes.
  7. When the cooking program is complete, perform a quick pressure release by moving the Pressure Release handle to Venting. Press the Keep Warm setting.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
Recipe 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.