Slow Cooker Pork Pozole (Pozole Rojo)
This Slow Cooker Pork Pozole Rojo is so much easier than the stove top version! It uses premium hot sauce, hominy and slow cooked pork to give the best flavor.
Alright, we’re wrapping up what I am calling “football week” with a hearty Slow Cooker Pork Pozole Rojo recipe that you can make in the slow cooker! I was fairly unfamiliar with pozole until I had it on a trip to Mexico a few years back. Traditionally, pozole is a soup or stew served on special occasions. Think birthdays or religious holidays.
Pozole stew comes in two major varieties, red (or rojo) with a red chile base, or green (verde) with a tomatillo base. This recipe is ROJO (red), baby, and I’m taking a lot of the more arduous stovetop work out with a few ingredient shortcuts and your handy dandy slow cooker!
This pork pozole may seem like an unusual dish to serve at your gatherings for the big game, but I beg to differ. People love chili, right? It’s spicy, it’s hearty and hosts love it because it’s inexpensive and easy to make.
This pork pozole rojo is spicy, hearty, easy to make, and inexpensive! Consider it a way to expand your culinary horizons while watching the big game!
I mentioned that I took a few shortcuts here. I took them in the name of less time in the kitchen, and more time with friends and family watching the game! Due to awesome brands like El Yucateco, we have a lot of variety in hot sauces now, and we don’t have to go through the long process of boiling and blending dried chilies! I’ve made this pozole into a true “dump and go” recipe, and you’ve got to love the ease of that for game day!
I would love to hear what you’re planning to make for your next football party! Let me know in the comments.
Slow Cooker Pork Pozole Rojo
Ingredients
- 2 to 2.5 lbs boneless pork shoulder, excess fat trimmed and discarded
- 2 tsp cumin (rub on pork prior to searing)
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 4 large cloves garlic, diced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 25 ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin (add to liquid in crockpot)
- 2 bay leaves, whole
- 4 guajillo or ancho chile pods, dried
- ¼ cup El Yucateco Red Hot Sauce
- Up to ¼ cup El Yucateco Black Label Hot Sauce (optional, for smoky flavor)
For garnish
- Cilantro, avocado, dried red chili pepper, sliced radish, cabbage, tortillas or tortilla chips
Instructions
- Slice pork shoulder into 3 to 4 smaller pieces for quicker cooking. Coat with cumin and garlic salt.
- In large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add pork chunks to pan, sear on each side for 4-5 minutes until light brown and caramelized.
- Transfer pieces of pork to crockpot.
- To skillet, add onion and garlic. Saute for 5-6 minutes, scraping up any juicy bits left behind by the pork.
- Add sauteed onion and garlic to crockpot.
- To crockpot, chicken broth, hominy, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, dried chiles, and hot sauce.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 7-8 hours, until pork is falling apart.
- Fish out chile peppers and bay leaf, discard.
- Fish out pork and put on plate. Use two forks to shred, discarding excess fat. Return shredded pork to soup, stir.
- Serve with fresh cilantro, avocado or garnish of choice.
Notes
- If you are concerned about this soup being too spicy, I'd recommend omitting the dried chilies and limiting the hot sauce to just ¼ cup. You can always add more once the pork is cooked!
- This is not a super spicy dish. It has a nice, slow heat to it. No burn! Of course this is subjective, but my family did not think it was as hot as they expected.
Love this recipe? I think you’ll also love this Low Carb Mexican Chicken Soup, and these Adobo Pork Street Tacos!
These flavors look so good together! Putting it on the menu!
Thank you! We really loved this soup!
I lost my recipe for pozole so finding yours is so well timed for me! Also, love that hot sauce!
So do I! The Black Label is killer… super smoky!
This sounds so delightful and comforting during this cooler weather! I will have to try out this sauce.
Thanks Holly! Highly recommend the sauce if you can find it.
Looks savory and perfect meal to warm you up.
Thanks Heather! It is super savory and spicy.
This sounds so darn tasty! Loving it 🙂
Thanks a bunch, Gerry!
This sounds like such a nice comforting bowl of soup. Perfect for these cold winter evenings!
Thanks Sharon! It really is. We’ve been loving the leftovers for dinner this week.
im wondering just how hot this is. maybe cut out chilis? What do you recommend for someone with a slightly touchy tummy?
Hi Margie! It’s not THAT hot. I don’t like super spicy food, and I found it had a nice, slow heat to it. No burning. I would leave out the chilis if you were concerned, and just stick to 1/4 cup of a mild hot sauce. I hope that helps!
how hot is this? i cant take TOO hot. what would yo
u recommend i leave out?
Hi Margie! This isn’t super spicy. It has a nice, lingering heat to it, but no burn. My husband likes spicy food, and added a TON of extra hot sauce and dried chilies to it to get it to the spice level he prefers.
I’d recommend omitting the extra dried chilies, and just stick to 1/4 cup of a mild hot sauce. You can always add more after the fact!
The hot sauce is very diluted, lots of chicken broth and the juices from the pork.
I too, had this soup in a little town in New Mexico last summer and loved it. Attempted it for Christmas and did almost exactly this recipe! Will be tweaking to perfect . I predict this will soon become a standard like tortilla soup. Loved seeing your post!
Thanks Barbara! Let me know how you tweak, I love to hear! I’m always tweaking my recipes to get them just right!
I want to make. Just not sure how much cumin to use. It’s listed twice. 2tsp
And again as 1tsp.
Hi there! I’ll add some clarification in the ingredient list. The first amount is rubbed on the pork before you sear it. The second amount is just added into the crock with the liquid. I hope that helps!
Oh my gosh! This soup looks fabulous! So yum and I love the colors!
Hi, Michelle. My digestive system can’t tolerate beans of any kind so I’ve been avoiding chili. I think I’ll try this pozole. The hominy might work as a substitute for the beans for me. Give your hubby and little guy a hug.
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