Nana's Mexican Pozole Rojo (Red) Recipe - The Foodie Affair (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between pozole and posole? ›

There's really no big difference between pozole and posole, except a letter. In Mexico, where the brothy, chile-spiked soup originated, it's often spelled with a "z"; near the border and beyond, it's often spelled with an "s." It just depends where you are, and who taught you to cook it.

The three main types of pozole are blanco (white), verde (green) and rojo (red). Pozole blanco—"white pozole"—is the preparation without any additional green or red sauce.

The big difference between these two soups is the meat that they use. While pork and chicken are commonly used to make pozole, menudo uses tripe, which is the stomach lining of the cow with a chewy texture very similar to that of sautéed calamari.

The indigenous ancestors used human flesh in the stew. Aztec priests would make human sacrifices to their gods, offering up the heart and using the rest of the flesh for a ceremonial pozole. After the Spanish conquest, Spanish rulers outlawed cannibalism, and so pork was used in replacement of human flesh in pozole.

It's a balanced dish made with nutritious ingredients that could help you lose weight, manage your blood sugar, and improve your gut health — all while being naturally gluten-free. However, it can also be high in sodium, fat, and calories. Thus, using low sodium broths and lean cuts of meat is advised.

Posole is hominy, pure and simple. The corn has been treated by soaking it in cal and then rinsed. In the southwest, there is a dried flint corn that has been treated like this and in English, we call it Prepared Hominy and in Mexico it's known as nixtamal. We sell Prepared Hominy. My recipe for Posole Verde is here.

Both soups are also deeply emblematic of their cultures. The roots of pozole pre-date Spanish colonization, and the dish is said to have had ritual significance for the indigenous people of Mexico. Its principal ingredient, corn, was a sacred crop to the Aztecs and Mayans.

Originally, Pozole was made from the human meat of prisoners whose hearts had been ripped out in ritual sacrifice. Thankfully, after the Spanish conquest in the 1500's, cannibalism was banned and the meat in this dish was replaced with pork.

The most significant difference lies in the protein. People who prefer leaner meats, such as chicken, usually opt for green pozole. Red pozole is served with pork, white pozole is made with beef, and menudo is made from beef tripe. The traditional soups don't have to include traditional meat cuts, however.

It usually contains pork. You can add on (season the dish with) cabbage, chile peppers, garlic, onion, avocado or radishes. If you're asking about its history maize was a very sacred plant to the aztecs meaning this dish was made and eaten on special occasions.

Why do Mexicans eat menudo? ›

Menudo is traditionally prepared by the entire family, and often serves as an occasion for social interactions such as after wedding receptions where the families of the newlyweds go to one of their family's houses to enjoy a bowl of menudo before and after the ceremony. It is also believed to be a hangover cure.

Posole can be made a bit leaner than menudo thanks to the option of making it with chicken, but both dishes are full of vegetables and different groups of nutrients, so honestly, both soups are pretty healthy overall.

Today, you can find a bowl of pozole at many carnicerias or familias' tables, but it was originally regarded as a meal for the privileged elite of the Aztec empire. A bit similarly to how it's served today, the dish was often made for special occasions.

Pozole is the height of Mexican comfort food. A deep bowl full of steaming broth, scented with cumin, oregano, and chiles, packed with flavorful bites of heirloom corn and tender meat, this hearty soup is flavorful, satiating, and absolutely delicious.

Its origins remain a mystery – some people attribute its humble beginnings in Central Mexico during Mexico's pre-revolution era as a soup prepared from poverty – also known as “poor man's soup.” Usually, food waste and leftovers were given to peasant cooks, who invented menudo by using the stomach.

Pozole can be prepared in many ways and the 3 most common types of Pozole are Rojo (red), Blanco (white), and Verde (green). I've honestly only ever had Rojo or Verde and love them both so much! Today, we have a guest recipe share an authentic Pozole Verde made by my dear friend, Martha.

Pozole and posole are the same dish spelled differently. “In Spanish we write it with a z and in English they write it with an s,” Carrillo Arronte explains.

In the Nahuatl dialect, wich had its origin in Mexico, "pozolli" translates to foam. When the corn used in the pozole is boiled, the kernels open up resembling a flower's bloom and produce a light layer of foam, wich is where pozole gets its name from.

Pozole is a super easy and amazingly tasty stew made with pork, dried chiles, and hominy. This recipe for the traditional Mexican stew is a pozole rojo and features red chile peppers. To some, this soup is at its best thanks to the garnishes, which provide balance and flavor in addition to decoration.