Pozole Verde

A bowl of pozole verde topped with sliced radishes and jalapeños, shredded cabbage, and cilantro.

Get the Recipe: Pozole Verde

Pozole Verde is the perfect soup for transitioning from spring to summer. It's fresh, vegetal, and super easy to customize!

5 from 1 rating

Yield18 , 8oz (240ml by vol.) servings

Prep12

Cook8

Total20

Ingredients

Hominy

12 oz dried field corn kernels
1¼ teaspoons pickling lime, (A.K.A. Cal or calcium hydroxide)
12 cups water
1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
¼ white onion
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
3-4 whole cloves
2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

Chicken Stock

1, 4-6lb rotisserie chicken
12 cups water
½ white onion
⅓ bunch cilantro stems, bottom (harder) stems
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
½ lime

1 white onion
10 med tomatillos
3 poblano peppers
1-2 jalapeño(s)
1 tablespoon neutral oil
¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
4-6 cloves roasted garlic, 2-3 (20g) cloves of fresh garlic
⅓ bunch cilantro, middle (softer) stems and some leaves
½ oz fresh lime juice, ½ lime
8 cups chicken stock
6 cups hominy
1½ lbs shredded chicken
kosher salt to taste

Equipment

1 kitchen scale
measuring Cups
Measuring spoons
1 large mixing bowl
2 large pots
1 chef knife
1 cutting board
1-2 sachet(s) or disposable tea bag(s)
1 Fine Mesh Strainer
1 baking sheet
1 high-powered blender

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Instructions

HOW TO USE THIS RECIPE

The instructions for this recipe are for a fully, from-scratch version of pozole verde. If you intend to use pre-made stock, pre-nixtamalized corn, or canned hominy, please check the notes and FAQs for more information.

HOMINY

First, pick through your dried corn for broken or bad (brown/black) pieces. Next, weigh your leftover corn kernels to determine how much pickling lime you will need. In a separate bowl add 1% the weight of the kernels in pickling lime to about ½ cup (120ml) of water. (so, 340g of kernels will need 3.4g of calcium hydroxide) Mix both ingredients to make an alkaline slurry and ensure the calcium hydroxide breaks down well. Then, add the rest of the water, your dried kernels, and the solution to a pot and give everything a brief mix.
Place the pot onto your stove top and bring everything to a gentle boil for at least 30 minutes. (The time is going to depend on the thickness of the kernel and its hull (pericarp). You’ll know the kernels are ready when two things happen. 1. You can start to peel off the pericarp. 2. You can easily bite or cut a kernel in half and about 50% of it will be cooked through. You’ll see a thin white line (un-cooked) and then darker (cooked) flesh around it. (Just for an example… I once nixtamalized an heirloom purple corn that took over 90 minutes during the first boil.) I recommend going by feel more than time for a lot of this recipe.
Once the kernels are ready, turn off the burner and let everything sit for 8-12 hours. After they sit, it’s time to de-hull the hominy. (Reminder to start the chicken stock before this step, for timing purposes) Strain them into a colander and then rinse them thoroughly with water. The skins should start to slough off the hominy a bit. To help the process you can take handfuls of hominy and rub them together. Once rinsed, clean your pot to re-use it or grab a new one. One-by-one fully peel off the pericarp and pinch off the tip cap (the piece at the tapered end of the kernel that would have attached it to the cob)
Place, each de-hulled kernel into the pot until you’re done. Then, cover the hominy with 12 cups (2.8L) of fresh water (it should cover the hominy by least 2-3 inches or 5-7.6cm) and bring everything to another gentle boil on your stovetop for 2-4 hours. About 1 hour into cooking, add the onion and salt to the pot. Then, use the flat of the blade on a chef knife to crush the garlic. Now, add the garlic and the rest of the spices to a sachet or disposable tea bag and place it into the pot, so you can easily take it out when the hominy is done.
When done, the hominy will bloom, and the center will pop open (see hominy picture for reference). I would also recommend trying a piece of hominy every 30 minutes or so after the first 2 hours, to determine texture. It should feel starchy but have a clean bite, like al dente pasta.
Drain your hominy and set aside.

CHICKEN STOCK

For the chicken stock, break down the chicken with a boning knife. Separate the thighs, wings, and drums from the main part of the bird. Then twist off the spine to separate it. Leave the breasts attached to help keep them intact for shredding later.
Add the pieces to a stock pot and cover with 12 cups (2.8L) of water. Add in the onion, cilantro stems, bay leaves, spices, and lime half. It's up to you if you want to use another sachet for the spices and herbs. Bring everything to a gentle boil, uncovered, for 6 hours.
About 2 hours into cooking, take out the chicken breasts, thighs, and drums to pick the meat off of the bones for the soup. Shred everything up and place it into a lidded container. Add a little bit of stock to the container as well (to keep the chicken from drying out). Refrigerate the chicken until needed.
Strain the stock when it’s finished. Return it to its rinsed pot and keep it heated, on low, on your stovetop.

POZOLE VERDE

First, turn on your oven to 425°F (218°C) with a sheet pan inside. Let it come to temp and get everything nice and hot for at least 30 minutes.
While the oven and pan are heating up, clean your tomatillos, slice your peppers in half and remove their seeds, and cut your onion into 6ths. Drizzle them with oil and toss to coat. Set aside until ready to cook in the oven.
Then, take out your blender and set it aside on the counter with the lid off. Next, toast your spices in the pot that you are going to cook your pozole in. Turn your burner on medium-high and toss in the black peppercorns, coriander, and cumin. Move the spices around the pot by shifting it back and forth every 30 seconds or so. Once you can smell the spices, take them off the burner and dump them into your open blender.
Add in salt and the middle ⅓ of your cilantro bunch as well as the roasted (see FAQ for roasted garlic info) or fresh garlic and lime juice.
Your oven and pan should be properly pre-heated by now. Carefully pull the pan out of the oven and add the prepped peppers, onions, and tomatillos onto it. Place it back into the oven and let them roast for 10-15 minutes. Then, turn your oven to broil and let them char for another 5 minutes.
Take the roasted ingredients out of the oven and use tongs to add everything to the blender. (see notes about peeling peppers) Blend until smooth and then pour your salsa verde into a separate pot or large saucepan. Cook the salsa on medium until it darkens a bit, about 5-10 minutes. (this deepens the flavor even further) Then pour the cooked salsa verde into the pot with chicken stock to combine them. Now, you can add in your hominy and the shredded chicken. Warm everything through on the stove top for 15 minutes.
While the soup is warming, prep whatever toppings you’d like to use. I like sliced radishes, shredded cabbage, and cilantro leaves. (see FAQ for more options) Once done, salt to taste and ladle yourself a bowl of pozole verde. Lastly, add your preferred toppings and enjoy!

Notes

Notice the way I use the bunch of cilantro: Leaves are used for garnish, Middle (softer) stems and leaves are for the salsa verde, and the bottom (harder) stems are for the chicken stock.
Several other ingredients are also used in multiple places. So, make sure you read each list and combine like ingredients before purchasing them from the store.
Keep an eye on the hominy both as it soaks and as it goes through its second boil. You might need to add more water to keep it submerged.
To me, 1 tbsp (15g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt to 12 c (2.8L) of water is the perfect saltiness for pasta water, so I used it for the hominy. It works well for my taste, but you can add less to start and then increase until you've salted the water to your liking.
If you really want every last piece of meat, put a large bowl and inset colander into your sink when the chicken stock is done. Pour the stock into the colander to catch the meat letting the liquid pass through to the bowl below. Double strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer and then pick through the colander for smaller pieces of meat.
If you can’t find poblano peppers, Anaheim or cubanelle peppers will work too. (Of note: the flavor will be a different, more acidic and less vegetal) For jalapeño you can substitute with serrano peppers. Expect extra heat with serrano.
If you want to take the skin off the peppers after you roast them, you can place them into a bowl or plastic bag to sweat for 5 minutes and then peel them. I don’t do this here, because the blender will take away the need to peel the peppers. But I totally understand if you want to peel them.

Nutrition