Pozole Rojo

Pork shoulder simmered until it falls apart in a red broth of guajillo and ancho chiles, with big chewy hominy. The table of garnishes is half the dish.

Toast the dried chiles only until they smell good and puff, about 15 seconds a side. One that goes black will make the whole pot bitter, and nothing fixes it. If you smell smoke, throw that chile out.

Chef's shortcut: Put Pinche Crack on the table with the garnishes in place of chile powder. A shake over the cabbage and radish with a squeeze of lime is how this bowl should be eaten. Get it at Crack Spice

Ingredients

• Pork
• 3 lb boneless pork shoulder, in 2-inch chunks
• 12 cups water
• 1 white onion, halved
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Red chile sauce
• 6 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 3 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 4 garlic cloves
• ¼ white onion
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 29-oz cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
• Garnishes
• 3 cups shredded green cabbage
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced
• ½ white onion, finely diced
• 3 limes, in wedges
• 1 tbsp Pinche Crack chili-lime seasoning
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano, for rubbing over the bowls
• 8 tostadas

Method

1. Put the pork, water, halved onion, garlic, bay leaves and 1 tbsp salt in an 8-quart pot. Bring to a boil and skim off the gray foam for the first 5 minutes. Drop to a gentle simmer, set the lid ajar, and cook until the pork is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
2. While the pork cooks, toast the guajillos and anchos in a dry skillet over medium, pressing them flat with a spatula, until they smell toasty and blister in spots, about 15 seconds a side. Do not let them blacken.
3. Put the chiles in a bowl, pour 3 cups boiling water over them, and weigh them down with a small plate. Soak until soft, 20 minutes.
4. Blend the chiles with 2 cups of the soaking liquid, the 4 garlic cloves, the quarter onion, oregano and cumin until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Push it through a fine strainer and throw out the skins.
5. Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high. Pour in the chile sauce, which will spatter, and cook, stirring, until it darkens to brick red and thickens, about 5 minutes.
6. Fish the onion and bay leaves out of the pot. Stir in the chile sauce and the hominy and simmer uncovered until the pork breaks apart when pressed with a spoon and the hominy has bloomed open, 30 to 40 minutes.
7. Taste and salt. It will likely want another 2 to 3 teaspoons. Ladle into deep bowls and let everyone add their own cabbage, radish, onion, oregano rubbed between their palms, Crack Spice and plenty of lime, with tostadas on the side.