Pozole Blanco Recipe

"Just like Mom used to make, with a slight little tweak on how to start the broth. Growing up, we always used Juanita's White Hominy, and it truly is the best - not mushy and holds together well. It comes in various size cans, including a 110 oz one that is easily found at Walmart. If you can't find that, just use smaller cans to achieve the 110 ounces or so. Bush's White Hominy is my next favorite go-to brand, followed by Goya. Because bouillon is crazy salty, I often just use a 32 oz box of good chicken broth to replace the bouillon and the 4 cups of water."

Step by Step Method

Step 1

Peel onion, cut in half and set aside. Strip the thyme leaves from the stems, you'll need a teaspoon. Reserve the stripped stems for later use.

Step 2

First make the broth base in a blender jar. Add 1/2 the onion, the garlic cloves, just 2 bay leaves, the thyme leaves, the chicken bouillon, and the Mexican oregano. Add 4 cups of the water, the vinegar, and 1 cup of the drained hominy. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Step 3

Pat the pork dry, then cut into 2-3 inch chunks. Salt generously and massage into pork.

Step 4

Melt the lard in a large Dutch oven or deep pot, at least 8 1/2 quarts. Working in batches, add the pork in a single layer. Brown each side, about 3 minutes per side. Remove pork and continue until all is browned. After the last batch, return all the pork to the pot.

Step 5

Pour in the broth base. Add 10 cups water. Add the remaining 1/2 onion, remaining 2 bay leaves, the stripped stems from the thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 60-80 minutes, until the pork is cooked through and shreds easily.

Step 6

Remove the onion, bay leaves, and thyme stems. Add the rest of the hominy. Cover and bring back to a simmer. Cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Step 7

While the pozole finishes its final cooking time, prepare the toppings: thinly shred the cabbage, thinly slice the radishes, finely dice the onion. Prepare the chile de arbol salsa, if using, during this time. See my recipe #12496.

Step 8

To serve, ladle broth, pork and hominy into wide shallow bowls. Place the toppings into individual serving dishes at the table and allow everyone to add toppings to their taste, along with a squeeze of lime.