Citrus Pozole Rojo

Pozole is traditionally broken down into three types, blanco, verde, and rojo. Rojo is generally built with chili peppers and skews to the hotter side of soups. I wanted to make a version of pozole rojo that was approachable to people that didn't really live in the smokey hot flavor world.

For this version of rojo, I added red beets to increase the color, then brightened it up with lime and mandarins. I still added some fresh chilies in addition to the chili braised pork to keep it a little on the hot side.

This is one of those soups that benefits from a long slow cook. The longer and slower you cook it, the more the flavors marry and enhance each other. The hominy is almost impossible to overcook, as are the beets. The carrots will loose some texture over time, but the pork remains tender. Eventually it will break down into shredded pork, but that takes a very long time to occur.

The end result of this rojo is a pozole that is slightly less than traditional, but one that is extremely flavorful, and worth the effort to make.

Enjoy.

---

---

Ingredients

• citrus braised pork 3 lbs

• pork braising liquid 2 qts

• chicken stock 1 qt

• Tajin 1 T

• adobo chili powder 1 T

• New Mexico chili powder 2 tsp

• guajillo chili powder* 1 T

• Sazon Goya 2 ea

• onion, white, diced 2 ea

• onion, red, diced 1 ea

• beets, peeled and diced 5 ea

• carrots, peeled and chopped 6 ea

• hominy, rinsed 2 12oz cans

• tomatoes, diced 2 12oz cans

• orange juice 1 cup

• jalapeno, seeded, minced 1 ea

• salt to taste

• pepper to taste

• water as needed

*this adds a touch more smoky flavor to the soup

Garnish

citrus slice, cured cabbage, radish, avocado

Method of Procedure

1. Prepare the pork and braising liquid as per the citrus rojo pork recipe.

2. Remove the pork from the blade and chop the braised pork, reserving the blade for the soup.

3. Saute your onions with your Tajin, chili powders, Sazon, and jalapenos on medium heat for about 15 minutes while stirring.

4. Add your pork and continue to cook while stirring for another 15 minutes.

5. Add your beets, carrots, rinsed hominy, and tomatoes to the stew and cook for another 20 minutes while stirring.

6. Add your reserved pork blade, braising liquid, orange juice, and stock, then bring to a simmer.

7. Cook for 3-4 hours until everything has become tender, flavorful and balanced.

8. Season to taste with orange juice, add more water if it's thickened too much, and add more heat via hot sauce, or chili powder if desire.

9. Plate and garnish.