Menudo and Pozole are traditional dishes that are important in Mexican culture. It’s time consuming to make, so restaurants will usually only serve it on the weekends and households will only make it for special occasions or during Christmas time. Most importantly, it is said to cure any hangover.
The major difference between the two, is the meat content, but this of course varies in each restaurant and household. Menudo is usually made with beef tripe (stomach), and pozole is made with pork and has more hominy (pozole/posole is Spanish for hominy). I don’t really recall my parents making menudo from scratch at home. We usually went out to restaurants to eat it, or we would crack open a can of Juanita’s Menudo.
Yesterday, I thought I would try my hand at making a vegetarian version of pozole. I wasn’t really satisfied with the results, but I’ll share the recipe anyway. It tasted good, but it came out way to thick. Pozole should have a brothy consistency. I didn’t have any room in the pot to add more broth or water. I think I know what I need to do next time, which will include using canned hominy. I bought frozen pozole and didn’t realize it was uncooked (you have to cook it for 2-3 hours!).
Notes on ingredients: I used frozen posole (nixtamal, uncooked hominy) that I bought from Walmart. I also used red chile that I buy at Ardovino’s Farmers’ Market (You can contact them @ 575-650-1237). The package of posole suggested using Alburquerque Tortilla Company Red Chile Puree.
Veg Pozole
This recipe makes A LOT. You might want to cut it in half.3 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
3 quarts water
2-3 cups mushroom or ‘beef’ broth
24-28 oz. red chile puree
2 lbs. frozen posole corn (nixtamal)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
- Place garlic, salt, water, spices, and broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
- Prepare chile as directed, and add to pot.
- Rinse frozen posole and add to pot. Boil for 2 hours.
- Reduce heat and simmer for another hour, or until posole is cooked through.
- Adjust seasonings. Serve with diced onions, lime wedges, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper (optional).
- Serve with bread (bolillos or francesitos) & butter (Earth Balance) that is toasted.
What's missing besides the meat, Mexicans? The onion! I hate raw onion, so I didn't include it. Sometimes radishes are also used as a garnish.
