If you haven’t noticed yet, I LOVE posole. No matter how I make it, what ingredients I use, the flavors and textures in a bowl of posole are so very heartwarming that it is hard to call it anything but genuine comfort food. One can find several posole recipes here in my kitchen, but here’s one I haven’t previously shared – Beef and Red Chile Posole.
This posole has very few ingredients but an abundance of flavor. The beef can be whatever you have in the freezer – no special cut required. The posole can be frozen, dried or a can of hominy. After that, all you need are a couple of aromatics, seasoning, a little red chile, and 2 – 3 toppings.
Beef and red chile posole can be made as a big batch or a small batch. I usually make a small batch because it’s quick and easy, and still fulfills all of the necessary characteristics of comfort food. The recipe below is for a small batch. See my Kitchen Notes for more information. Also, check the end of this post for more posole recipes.
Beef and Red Chile Posole
*See Kitchen Notes for more information and substitutions.
- 6 cups liquid (mix of stock and water)
- 2 cups frozen posole*
- 8 – 12 ounces uncooked beef*, cut into long strips or large chunks
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. Mexican oregano, crushed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ½ – 1 cup spicy red chile sauce* (more or less according to personal taste)
- Cabbage*, thinly sliced
- Raw onion, minced
- Cheese*, grated or crumbled
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Avocado, sliced or chopped
- lime
Bring the liquid to a boil. While the liquid is heating up, prep ingredients (onion, garlic, beef) .
Once the liquid boils, add the posole, beef strips, onion, garlic, and oregano.
Bring the liquid back to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer, uncovered, for 40 – 45 minutes, or until the posole is starting to “open” and get tender. Stir only occasionally as to not break up the posole.
At this point turn off the heat and remove the beef.
- Tear the meat into small pieces and add back into the pot.
Stir in the red chile and reheat.
- Taste and add more salt if need.
Finish cooking, stirring ONLY occasionally, until posole is tender (about 5 – 10 more minutes).
- Remove from heat, top with your choice of toppings and any sides, and enjoy!
Frozen Posole – If you can find frozen posole, you can substitute with dried posole or canned hominy.
- For dried posole, soak 2 cups of posole overnight. Drain and rinse. Follow the instructions in the recipe. However, you will have to add about 1 hour to the cooking time as dried posole takes at least twice as long.
- For canned hominy, cook the beef, onions, garlic, salt, and oregano in the liquid for at least 30 minutes or until the beef is tender. Remove the beef and tear or cut into small pieces. Return to the pot along with the hominy and red chile and reheat. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Beef – I usually use whatever I have in the freezer – tri-tip, stew meat, lean sirloin strips (bought for stir-fries), a small piece of chuck roast. You don’t need an expensive cut of meat.
Red Chile Sauce – The amount depends on how hot the chile is and how hot you want the posole. Posole can handle a pretty chile. If you don’t have any red chile already made, then, while the posole is cooking, you can make a small batch using red chile powder.
Toppings – I keep the topping to 3 at most. Our favorites our the cabbage, onion and cheese with avocado slices as a side. For the cabbage, savoy works best, but green or red cabbage can be used. Just be sure to slice it very thin.
Double the recipe by doubling all ingredients except the liquid. Start with about 8 cups liquid and add more as needed.
Now that you’ve seen my Beef and Red Chile Posole, you’re probably wanting more. Here are some other posoles that I’m sure you’ll love.
Here is a Mexican pozole from Spicie Foodie: Spicie Foodie’s Red Chicken Pozole
Even though thanks to your kindness I was lucky to taste posole several times (and loved it every single time! the flavours are so unique I cannot imagine it replaced with anything) I still see it as a highly exotic ingredient and love discovering new recipes here. We’re having such an awful rainy day…. I wish I had it for tonight’s dinner.
Thanks so much Sissi!! I’m thrilled to have been able to introduce you to new ingredients and flavors. You’ve down the same for me. You know that I now have an addiction to Gochujang. Just today I made a quesadilla with Gochujang spread on a flour tortilla and cheese. Hope you had a wonderful holiday!
I’ve never had posole, MJ, but I sure would like to try it! The recipe looks and sounds so flavourful, and I love that it is served with all those delicious toppings. Thank you for sharing, and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Hope to see you again this week. Have a great week ahead!
You are most welcome April!
Your Beef and Red Chile Posole reminds me so much of my youth and growing up in Texas. We had a Hispanic neighbor who made posoles often, usually spicy but so good. I love hominy in just about any form, but it’s hard to find here. Now you got me in the mood for your a posole stew, so I’ll go on a search for hominy, maybe I can find some dried. Thanks for sharing.
I bet you did find some good posole in Texas. Lots of Mexican influence there as well as throughout the southwest. Hope you can find some hominy where you are. I’m sure it isn’t that easy to find. Good luck on finding dried posole, but please let me know if you do.
Ron, you can find canned hominy in just about any supermarket. Look in the “ethnic foods” isle. Also, in all big box stores. I, too, love hominy. No problem buying it in any form here in California, and I always keep a few cans in my pantry. Find some and stock up!
P.S. You can also find dried hominy in the dried beans section. It has to be cooked first, just like beans. But, I find canned perfectly fine and easy to use in recipes like this one. Just be sure to rinse it well in a colander, just as you would with canned beans. Happy cooking!
Thanks Sharon for the information! I love going down the ethnic aisles. 🙂 Ron is in Europe, so I’m not sure what’s available over there. Wish I could get over there and spend some time in its various markets. That would be fun. Right now I’m stocking up on the frozen posole because that’s available this time of year. To be honest, I’ve never tried canned hominy in any of my posole recipes; however, my sister in Houston say it works great in my recipes just like it works for you. I think I need to give the canned variety a try. Thanks for your comments for Ron! They are helpful for everyone.
My boys love hominy so I know they would love this cozy bowl of soup. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season
Thanks Bobbi! How do you keep those boys of yours fed? Not only do they seem to like a lot of different types of foods, they seem to love food….:)
Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season as well!
Posole is something that I have never had! I should definitely try to find some and make this because it looks so perfect for our cold wintery evenings! I love the fresh toppings, too.
Thanks Amy! It’s definitely worth trying! I first tried it 40 something years ago and have been eating it ever since. It has a very unique flavor, different from other corn products. Hope you can find some.
Hi MJ
I’m so glad you mentioned frozen Posole. I can find it and there’s absolutely no hint of direction on the package about what makes it different than dried. Even their website doesn’t indicate how to cook. So what I’m assuming, is that it doesn’t need soaked or take as long to cook as dried, and that frozen posole is “almost” cooked? And just needs the 45 minutes to become soft?
Yes, Lea Ann – your assumption is correct. The frozen is frozen fresh posole, so no presoaking is required and 45 minutes of cooking is all that is needed. The frozen posole I buy is in 2 pounds packages and that makes A LOT of posole. So when I buy it, as soon as I get it home, I break it apart (which is easy to do) and package it in 2 cups and even 1 cup servings so I can make small batches and also add it to soups and casseroles. That were a few years when Costco was selling 5 pounds bags of fresh posole which was perfect because that make it real easy to repackage and freeze, but I haven’t seen it the past couple of years. I hope you try it. I just love the flavor of posole in so many dishes! Thanks for your comment!
What a tasty and hearty posole. I really need to see if I can even find posole here, not a common food here at all.
I’m sure it’s not, but as I told Raymund in a comment below, you can find it through Amazon. They carry everything. 🙂 Thanks Evelyne! I hope you find it because it’s worth the search.
This is a bowl of heartiness! Perfect for the cold weather we have here!
Thanks Katerina! Yes, it is perfect for cold weather!
Is posole same as hominy? I have been looking for this corn variant as we have them in the Philippines but cant find it here in NZ. I remember I saw one in a can before but they were not popular I think the supermarket discontinued it. Now I am craving for that dish, how will I be able to make it.
Yes, hominy is posole, but I find that the canned hominy is over processed thus causing the posole to lose some of its unique flavors. You can purchase dried posole online from a variety of sources. You can actually purchases New Mexico dried posole through Amazon! Amazon might be your best source since shipping internationally for it isn’t much of a problem. Our local New Mexico suppliers might not ship to NZ and if they did, it wouldn’t be cheap. 🙂 Thanks for stopping Raymund!
It really looks delicious, even if I don’t know what posole is :D. Is it a kind of a legume? I’ve read about hominy in stories, but I actually don’t know exactly what that is either. I feel as though I’m missing out on something good! LOL!
Lisa, posole is a corn product that’s been boiled and soaked in slaked lime water, creating a very unique flavor. Hominy is a posole, but I find the canned hominy overprocessed and prefer to use the dried posole or frozen. If you haven’t tried it, then yes, you are missing out on something really, really good. 🙂
Thanks to your blog, I fell in love with posole. This is one beautiful addition to maintain my devotion 🙂 Thank you MJ.
thanks so much Darlin! It’s always fun to find another posole lover especially one across the ocean. 🙂
A big bowl of comfort! Taking the time to prepare the garnishes make this most scrumptious.
Thanks Deb! You know, for years I didn’t eat posole with garnishes, then several years ago I so them in a Latino cookbook. I think is it more a Mexican thing and a New Mexican thing, but that’s o.k. I love the garnishes. They complement the flavors and texture of the posole. It’s well worth it.
Love posole! Had some last night, actually — we had dinner at a friend’s house, and that was on the menu. 🙂 This sounds good — like the use of beef in it. Thanks!
So you’re not the only posole lover in your town then? 🙂 Is frozen posole easy to find there or is it mostly the dry posole? Hope you get a change to try this recipe. It’s so easy and so good. Thanks!
Your bowl of Posole looks so heart warming and delicious!! Tis the season for Posole!!
Thanks Jan! Yes it is the season, but I don’t have a problem eating posole year round. 🙂
Another amazing pozole recipe! I love pozole so much. I can’t wait to try this one. Even though we are in Mexican and Tex/Mex country, it’s hard to find a really good pozole in a restaurant. I love having all your great recipes to fall back on.
Thanks so much Nads! That is surprising that you can’t find it in restaurants. Is it easy to find frozen posole so you can made it at home?
Oh, I can find it in restaurants, it’s just not good. I’ve never looked for frozen pozole. I always use canned, which is fine for us.
Comforting, delicious and healthy too! I would love some too.
Thanks Angie!