After a brief week of warmer weather, winter returned and so did the desire for comfort food. Upon the request of a visiting friend, I made this New Mexico pork and green chile posole. This posole, like most posole dishes, is hearty, spicy and warms you through and through. It’s made with pork shoulder and roasted green chile, and served with warm flour or corn tortillas. The only problem with this posole is making sure you have enough, because everyone is going to want seconds!
If you are unfamiliar with posole, click on the following link. What is posole? Here in New Mexico, it’s comfort food and it is definitely a comfort food for me, that’s why you will find several posole recipes here in my kitchen. You’ll find a few listed at the end of this post. Enjoy!
Posole is a traditional holiday dish here in New Mexico and can be made with red or green chile. There are many, many posole recipes. This is how I make it.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 1 pound pork shoulder* trimmed of visible fat and cut into bite size pieces
- 1 tsp. green chile spice blend* or salt/pepper/garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil or 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. bacon drippings
- 6 cups water / stock*
- 1 pound fresh or frozen posole*
- 6 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- ½ tsp. toasted cumin coriander blend*
- 1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
- 1 cup mild roasted New Mexico green chile*, chopped
- ½ – 1 cup medium to hot roasted New Mexico green chile (amount depends on heat desired)
- 1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- Warmed flour or corn tortillas one to two per person
Cut the pork into bite size pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle with green chile spice blend. Toss to coat the pork pieces. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Chop the onion and the garlic.
- Heat a large soup pot over medium heat.
Heat the oil. When hot, add the pork, onion and garlic. Increase the heat to medium high to brown the meat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the water/stock. Bring to a boil. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the chile and salt.
Reduce to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour or until the pork is just at “pull apart tender”.
Add the green chile and more water if you think it needs it. Stir occasionally.
- Cook for another 30 minutes or until the posole has popped and is tender. Be careful not to over stir the posole. With too much stirring you can break it apart and end up with little pieces of posole.
Taste. Add more salt if needed.
Remove from heat and scoop into soup bowls.. Serve with warmed tortillas.
Pork – Pork shoulder or pork butt is best because it gets nice and tender when cooked with the posole. Pork loin tends to dry out and get tough. However, you could use the loin if you use canned hominy since you won’t be heating the hominy rather than cooking it.
Roasted Green Chile – The amount depends on what you have and how hot it is. I like using a blend of mild and medium-hot.
Liquid – The pork and posole add quite a bit of flavor to this dish, so using just water yields a very tasty stew. However, two cups of chicken stock never hurts.
Posole – Fresh or frozen? Both yield the same result and take about the same amount of time to cook. If you use dry posole, soak it overnight, then cook for 2 hours instead of 1. If you can’t get posole in your area, substitute with canned hominy. See the next note on how to change the recipe if using hominy.
Using hominy – Follow the recipe above through step 6. Once you add the liquid, simmer for 45 minutes to an hour until the pork is tender. Then, in Step 7, drain the hominy and add the hominy with the green chile and cook about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let the stew rest for an hour if possible. This allows the flavors to meld.
Amount of Chile – We like a lot of green chile in this dish, so in order to keep it from being too hot, I use 1 cup of mild then add spicier chile to provide the heat and even more green chile flavor. So knowing your chile always helps you know how much to add. Adjust amount accordingly.
Do you like this New Mexico Pork and Green chile Posole? If so, then try out these other posole recipes on MJ’s Kitchen.
If you can’t find posole in your area, you can purchase dry posole from Made in New Mexico. The main difference between using dried posole or fresh/frozen is that you do need to soak the posole overnight. Once soaked, drained and rinse, you have posole that can be used in any of these recipes.
I didn’t read any of the comments, so forgive me if I’m pointing out a comment that’s already been posted. I cooked this for my Christmas dinner, and carefully read all of the instructions, including how to use frozen posole. My dinner took more than 3 hours to cook, and the posole was not even close to being tender (we finally ate it, but it was very chewy). When I realized it wasn’t cooking fast enough I googled the issue, and found that posole relies on steam to cook, so I put a lid on my cooking pot; this sped the process up somewhat. There is no mention of covering it in the recipe, and that’s a pretty important piece of the process. One thing I will mention is that I couldn’t find a pork shoulder, so I used a pork sirloin roast, which turned out fabulous.
I may use this recipe again, but am a little bummed that it could have been better if the instructions had been more clear about prepping and cooking posole….as it was I spent most of Christmas day in the kitchen worrying if we’d be able to eat by midnight!
Rebacca,
I am so sorry that you spent Christmas Day nursing your posole.I’m not sure why your frozen posole took so long to cook. I’ve been using it for years and have never had it take so long. Dry posole is a different story. Even after an overnight soak it can take 2.5 to 3 hours. The only thing I can think of is that the posole was old even though it was frozen. I’ve never had to “steam” my posole. Sometimes I will cover dry posole for the first hour, but frozen or fresh posole, I have never found the need to cover. I do have a question…at what elevation do you live? The higher the elevation the longer it takes to cook. I had a reader that lives at 7000′ say it took 3 hours or more. I live at 5000′ and have always found the timing in the recipe sufficient. Let me say also, that covering never hurts. It speeds the cooking process just like with beans.
Again I’m sorry for the problems you ran into. I will go back through the recipe and make some additional notes in case others run into this problem. Other than this stress on Christmas Day, I hope you had a wonderful holiday. Cheers, MJ
Hi, MJ, thank you for the reply. I live at ~ 6,200 feet, so that may have been a factor. To provide an update, the day after Christmas I put the remaining posole in my crock pot and cooked it for an additional 5 hours. It came out perfect, so I’ll definitely check the dates on this the next time I cook I.
Canned hominy can never be substituted for posole corn. If you use hominy call this recipe something else, but it’s not posole. I suggest “tasteless soggy corn stuff that dishonors chile”
Hosteen, I do agree that the flavor and texture of a posole made with canned hominy is not even close, but there are many places where posole is not available or easily accessible, so hominy is a viable substitute. My sister and her family love this recipe made with hominy which is all she can get where she is. I also recently received an email from a reader who made this with hominy, and loved it. So as a purest of posole, you are right. Hominy is not the same as posole. But to make this flavor and use of green chile with a nixtamalized corn accessible, hominy is the best substitute out there. Thank you for your comment. Cheers, MJ
Agreed on being held hostage to canned hominy. I’m stuck with it for this batch. I do have some dry dent corn in the freezer that I plan to nixtamalize myself and use for tamales and posole next time I make it. I thought sure I could get dried posole this time and I was so wrong.
Thanks so much…
I’m having to use canned posole(I have to order it sometimes over here)…when should I add that to the pot & for how long….I’m hungry…lol…thanks❣
Paula, Add the drained hominy in step 7 when you add the green chile. Follow steps 1-6, just omitting the hominy until step 7. Enjoy!
Cheers, MJ
My friend from Santa Fe taught me to make posole 38 years ago. We use whole red chilis (Guajillo or Ancho) and cook them in the stew instead of powder. Delicious!
Sande, Thanks for commenting. I love red chile posole. What a treat to have s tried and true recipe. I usually use red chile sauce to my red posole, because I always have it in the refrigerator. Using guajillo or ancho would bother provide an excellent flavor. YUM! Sometims I do like to switch to green chile posole which has a totally different heat and flavor, but still quite delicious. Again, thanks for commenting. Cheers, MJ
Love making this, my wife requests it just about anytime we have a cold snowy week on the forecast. We love it spicy so usually go heavy on the hot green chiles. Easily one of my favorite recipes as I’m addicted to green chiles after living in SW Colorado for awhile. We usually use hominy and follow your directions to add later with the chile and it comes out great, never had it be mushy or anything. Thanks for the recipe.
Josh, Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m thrilled that y’all are enjoying this recipe. It’s a keeper for sure. Glad the instructions work out for using the hominy. I hate mushy posole. 🙂 Stay warm! Cheers, MJ
Solid and simple posole recipe with the comfort food results I wanted.
Oddly, hard to find a simple NM posole recipe that isn’t made overly complicated.
Thank you so much Mark for your nice comment! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the posole and appreciate your taking the time to comment. Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Day. Cheers, MJ
Just made a big pot of this. I live in Taos so I had some delicious roasted green chilies. I cooked the pork for 4 hours the night before and it is soooo tender and juicy and melts in your mouth! I used dried blue pozole and added it in the end with the green chilies, I topped it all off with purple cabbage, cilantro, limes, radishes and onion. SO GOOD! Thanks for the recipe! xox
Jessica, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for commenting. Blue posole…that’s so good! Blue corn products add a unique flavor to traditional dishes. That’s probably why I love blue corn tortillas and cornbread. Bet it made a beautiful bowl of posole with those toppings. Cheers, MJ
Pretty much the way I’ve made it much of my life. Although I’ve made the pozole from scratch before. BTW. I’ve always spelled it pozole.
Thanks for your comment Bruce. I’m impressed that you have made posole from scratch! I’ve read through the nixtamalization process many times, but have never taken the leap. It’s just too easy to buy it processed already. 🙂 There is quite a bit of debate on pozole vs posole, especially in NM. From my studies, the maize itself is “posole” and then when it becomes a stew/soup, it is referred to as “pozole” especially in Mexico. Here in NM, both the maize and the stew are referred to as posole. I’ve only seen “pozole” on the menu of Mexican restaurants, but never New Mexican restaurants. So, I’m just assuming it’s more of a cultural thing. Cheers, MJ
Hi MJ,
I am planning to make this for an upcoming trip of girls getaway to Angel Fire, so I would like to make it ahead of time and freeze it, then just thaw and reheat when we get there. Will this work, or would the posole get mushy?
Thank you, Lisa
Lisa, Yes, this freezes quite well; however, when you thaw it out, I would recommend letting it thaw out in the fridge or on the counter rather than microwaving or heating in a pot. Too much stirring will break the posole and you end up with it being a little mushy. So, as with any posole, minimize the stirring. Hope this helps and enjoy your getaway to Angel Fire! Cheers, MJ
Gotcha. I will just let it thaw while we’re driving up. Thank you!
Easily, the best posole I’ve ever eaten! The combination of spices is a taste treat!
Thank you so much Carolyn for your comment! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe. Cheers, MJ
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It took a world health quarantine to finally get me to make my own green chile posole and I am so glad I did! I live in NM and have been obsessed with ordering this dish out in restaurants but not having grown up in these parts, I was hesitant to make it on my own. Following this recipe made it super easy and it is delicious! My only other feedback is I had to simmer almost two hours longer than stated to get both the posole (I used Bueno frozen) and pork tender enough. I do live at just over 7,000 feet in elevation, so that might be the reason. Other than the simmer-time, I followed the recipe exactly and wouldn’t change a thing on the next go around. Thank you so much MJ!
Thanks so much Cari! I am thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, and yes, higher elevations do require a longer simmer time. I am surprised it took 2 hours longer because I live at 5000 ft., but the time may be also due to what one defines as “simmer”. For example, my husband’s “simmer” is a lot lower than what I call a simmer; therefore, his cooking time is longer.
Again, I am so glad that you enjoyed your homemade posole! Everyone needs a good comfort food like this when quarantined. Thanks so much for commenting. Stay warm, stay safe, stay healthy!
You’re so cute!
Hi MJ! I’m about to try your recipe! Have you ever tried making it in the insta pot (through step 6) so that the pork gets tender a little faster and then I can add the green chili and hominy? It’s been snowing/raining (up in Jackson, WY) all day (yes, already!) and I have some NM green chili’s in the freezer that are sure to be what we need to warm up!
Instant pot works perfectly
In your New Mexico Pork & Green Chili Posole is your Green Chili a Chili sauce, chili powder or diced green chilies? I have both red and green Mew Mexico Chili ppwder I brought home from a a trip to New Mexico.
Thanks
Actually, it’s fresh green chile that is roasted, peeled and then frozen if not used immediately. Maybe this post will give you a better idea of what it is. You can sometimes find canned green chile in the ethnic section at the grocery store or frozen in the freezer section. You can also buy online through a New Mexico supplier. If you have dried chiles, you could probably use them, but you would need to add them with the other ingredients so that they are able to rehydrate as the posole cooks. If all you have is green chile powder, then use about 1 – 2 Tbsp. to impart the green chile flavor. Any more than that could make the sauce murky. I hope this helps.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for stopping by and if you do make this, please let me know how it turns out.
MJ- it’s your friend from Los Alamos again. I hope you have been well. I live in LA, NM half the year and on the gulf coast of FL the other half. I usually pack a huge box of NM spices and Chile to bring east but forgot to bring dried posole this time…ouch! This means I will have to use canned hominy for the first time in this recipe. I am assuming that I drain & rinse the hominy before using, right? What size can or amount of hominy is needed? Also, only cook this dish 20 minutes with the hominy? Will the Pork be tender/done in 20 minutes?
I love, love love all of your recipes. When are you going to publish a cookbook so I can order it for all my kids?
Thanks for your help. I will look for your response. Zena
Well hello there Zena! Hope things are good in Florida! Glad you did make it back to New Mexico for a little while at least. Thanks for the questions on the Posole recipe! I’m having to reenter my recipe due to one of my plug-ins becoming extinct. So it’s giving the chance to tweak them a bit, but also opens up for introducing errors. Based on your questions I have edited the recipe to where I think it is clearer now. Yes, you do drain the hominy and, after the meat cooks in the stock for 45 – 60 minutes, you add the hominy with the green chile. Please take a look at the revised recipe and let me know if there is still confusion. Also, let me know how this turns out with hominy. I’ve never made it with hominy so I’m curious.
A cookbook…well there is a discussion going on now as to whether or not I’m going to do one not that I am fully retired. YAY!! I’d love to but it is a lot of work but then as Bobby says, not as much work as this website. Ha Ha So, if it happens, you’ll be the first to know! Thanks for the motivation! Hope you and your family have a very wonderful holiday season!!!!!
Thanks MJ. I will be making the posole in a few days and will let you know how it turns out. I’ve not used canned hominy before so I am hoping it will be okay. Nobody like mush. 😬. Best of luck if you decide to do a cookbook. I’m an excellent proofreader. if you need one, I would be the first to volunteer. 👍 Happy Holidays to you and yours. Zena
Great! I made a casserole once with canned hominy and it turned out fine. Just don’t cook too long and don’t stir too much. 🙂 A Happy Holiday to you and yours as well.
I’m not sure where you are on the FL gulf coast, but I have found posole at a local Mexican market in Fort Walton Beach. Being from NM, I miss the food and ingredients. I’ve been able to find everything except green chile and good flour tortillas at Mexican markets here and in Orlando. You can also order it from a couple of websites that specialize in NM food
Susan, I’m not in Florida. I live in New Mexico, so as you know – all New Mexico products are easily available here. There are also many and many most NM companies selling on line. I have a lot of readers that order from them. In fact, in case you’re interesting in some frozen green chile, The Hatch Chile Store is offering free shipping now until Christmas Eve. That’s a good deal! Thanks so much for your comment!
I think this post came out when my kids were visiting from Las Cruces! I saw it when I went to see the corn tortillas, and had to stop by. I’m out of green chile! It’s very sad… Evan said “Mom, I could have brought you some.” Duh! I wish I’d have mentioned it. Your stew looks fabulous, and makes me a bit homesick for New Mexico!
Oh no! You should just make a package of green chile a standard for when the kids visit. 🙂 Every time I go see my BILs I have to take them some green chile. Hope you had a great visit with the kids. Probably wanted to come back to NM with them, didn’t you? 🙂
Hi MJ,
This looks so comforting and delicious! I have heard of this dish but never tried it. Glad you have shared the recipe and will definitely be bookmarking this one:)
Thanks so much Asmita!
The seasoning alone made me drool at the thought of your posole MJ. I have never heard of it before but that’s my kind of food! We usually don’t have pork very frequently, however I think a comforting bowl of this would make me happy when the weather is cold outside.
Thanks so much Helene! One of the things I love about posole is that it is so versatile. It goes well with pork, chicken, beef or just vegetables. The flavor is so unique and delicious. Wish you could try it.
I’ve never had this before but I bet it’s delicious! You always create the best spicy dishes. I’m certain I’d have to take a pepcid before eating something like this or a tum after. However, I’m sure I’d love it going down either way!
Thanks so much Vicki! Thank goodness for pepcid. 🙂 Actually, you can control the spiciness with the type of chile. Mild chile has the spiciness of bell pepper but a better flavor.
MJ, this looks soooooo good! I bet that pork is so tender. I will definitely look for posole to try this out. They are calling for snow here in Maryland this weekend! I think your beautiful posole would certainly help me to stay warm!
Thanks so much Anne! Because I used the pork shoulder, it really was tender. SNOW!?!?! We’re going to be in the 70’s this weekend. If it were snowing, I would definitely be cooking up another pot this. 🙂 Stay warm my dear!
I feel so smug thinking “I’m already familiar with posole!” 😉 All this thanks to you! I still have a small amount of posole left and since, judging from what I read and see, I might be the friend who asked you for a pork & posole dish, so I should put this new posole dish on my to do list!
You still have some left! Perfect! Save it for some of your summer chiles. You’ll love this. 🙂 Thanks Darlin!
This recipe really interests me, MJ. I’ve been meaning to give posole a try but the various forms of corn required stymied me. You must have read my mind because that link you included cleared up my confusion. Living here, I’ve a number of Mexican groceries in which to shop. I know that I’ve seen canned hominy but haven’t seen frozen nor dried posole. Well, it’s not like i’ve been looking for it, either. I will now, though. Winter still has a few cold days up its sleeve, to be sure, and your posole would be a great meal for one of those days. Thanks for sharing another of your fantastic recipes. I’ll let you know how I do. 🙂
Thanks so much John! Posole is new to people outside Mexico and the southwest. We can find it in all forms. You may be able to find the dried posole in the “ethnic” aisle of your grocers or in a Mexican grocer. Of course, nowadays, you can buy it online, like you can buy anything online. 🙂
Things are much warmer than last month here, but at nights it is still quite chilly! I think this posole would be a great dinner! Pinned!
Thanks Katerina and I appreciate your pinning it!
Looks like a very hearty dish and those flavors sound amazing. And I love how I get to learn something new from you. This time it is the posole. On first look I thought it was kind of chick pea.
So glad to have introduced you to something new! Posole isn’t anything like chickpea so I hope you get a chance to try it sometime. Thanks!
I haven’t made pozole in a couple of years…you are lucky to have the availability of pozole, I have to use hominy. Have you ever used tomatillos when making the green version? I’ve used them as well as ground pepitas before.
No I haven’t use tomatillos nor pepitas in my posole. I believe that is more of the Mexican way of making pozole. This recipe is more of a New Mexican posole. I’ll have to check out the Mexican version. Thanks Karen!
I’ve never had posole, but you’ve made me very hungry via your photos, description, and recipe! I will see if I can find posole at any of my markets. I think Bil would love this if I made a toned down version 🙂
Thanks Liz! Posole will provide a nice new taste for you and Bill!
Oh MJ that really does look incrdibly comforting. Finding posole here could be a bit more of a challenge, one worth takign one though. Here the weather is all over the place from 1 day to the next. I am in Celcius, between last Sat afternoon and Sun morning there was a 30C difference, that is just nuts.
30C difference…that is nuts! But we’re getting much the same. The husband went walking in a T-shirt last week and now we’re back to winter coats. UGH!!! Oh well, there’s always posole to keep us warm. 🙂 Thanks Evelyne!
I do love posole! You are right it is perfect for a cold day. Got cold up here too! After I finsh the gumbo just might have to do a pot of this!
Thanks Abbe! We’ll be making our gumbo this weekend. Yours made me quite hungry!
Another great addition to your posole recipe collection. I have tried all of your posoles and love them all. It’s turned really warm here so I probably won’t be trying it right away. Plus my fellow posole lover isn’t around to share it. I definitely will be making at some point though. Your pictures make my mouth water. YUM!! Maybe I won’t wait after all.
Thanks Sweetie!! I know how much you love posole. I think the posole lovers of your family would enjoy this one as well. 🙂
This posole looks so delicious and inviting! Love the sound of chile spice you created. Although the weather has been holding up relatively well here in NYC, I can never refuse a heart warming dish like this.
Thanks so much Yi! Sounds like it’s colder in the SW than in the northeast …. for a change. 🙂
Love posole — neat ingredient. And it blends so well with pork and green chilies! This is a dynamite dish — my kind of food. 🙂 Thanks!
It is a great ingredient isn’t it? Thanks!
Love the green chile but I just have never been a hominy fan. This looks delicious, though!!!!
Personally, I’ve never been a canned hominy fan either, but I love fresh/frozen posole! I find a huge different. Thanks Debra!
Comfort food at it’s finest! Although the pounding rain and wind is giving us a break from the winter storms, the cold evenings cry out for a bowl of this wonderful posole.
Thanks so much Deb! You guys are certainly getting the type of weather that calls for comfort food!
My husband is not a fan of hominy, but I think this could win him over — he loves green chile and pork! It’s supposed to snow here today and this is just the kind of hearty meal that makes winter more bearable. Great recipe, MJ.
Thanks Judy! Personally, I’m not a fan of canned hominy but I love frozen/fresh posole. I can’t believe winter returned. Boo! 🙂
Posole is new to me, but you can hardly go wrong with the combo of pork and chile. YUM!
I think posole is mainly a southwestern US and Central America product. Those regions have been very dependent on corn and corn products, so there have been many creative ways of enjoying it. Thanks!