Chicken Pozole (Pozole Verde de Pollo)

Chicken pozolé, my second favorite of the pozolé recipes. My first experience with pozolé was the more traditional red chile pork pozolé. To be honest, it was my oldest sister who introduced it to our family. We were strictly a red chile menudo family, lol! To me the pozolé is just like menudo, minus the beef tripe and beef feet. So for those who don’t prefer to eat tripe, pozole is the best!

It wasn’t until a few years back that I started preparing chicken pozole, both in red and green. Besides the broth, cabbage, radishes, chile and lime, the hominy or maiz is my favorite! It was how my Mom convinced me to try menudo. She purposely would add extra hominy because she knew we would at least try the menudo. I love menudo these days!

And as I have said, a Mexican soups, just like tacos are nothing without the fresh garnishes!! 

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Chicken Pozole (Pozole Verde de Pollo)

What is your favorite part of Pozolé? I love everything about it, especially the maiz(hominy). I love both the red and green versions too!

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Chicken Pozole

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast or thighs
• 9 cups water
• 1/2 an Onion
• 6 cloves of garlic
• Handful of cilantro
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• Salt to taste

You Will Also Need

• 2 1/2-3 cups maiz pozolero Hominy
• 1/3 cup pepitas(pumpkin seeds without the shell) toasted
• 2 large poblanos previously roasted
• 6 tomatillos previously roasted
• 1-2 serrano peppers previously roasted
• 5 fresh epazote leaves optional
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cup broth from cooking chicken
• 3 tsp chicken bouillon powder optional

Garnish

• Radishes sliced
• Cabbage or lettuce shredded
• Lime wedges
• Chile serrano minced
• Chile piquin crushed
• More Mexican oregano
• Tortilla chips or tostadas

Instructions

Directions

1. In a large pot, combine the chicken, 9 cups of water, onion, garlic, cilantro, bay leaves, celery, carrot, peppercorns and salt to taste. Adding the carrots and celery is optional. I just think it adds more flavor to the chicken stock. Heat to medium. When it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Skim the foam on top as needed, cover partially and continue cooking for 45 minutes.

2. Remove the chicken from pot, shred chicken and transfer to a cover dish, reserve. Using a slotted spoon remove all the solids from broth and discard.

3. Add the maize(hominy) into the broth and keep on low. To the blender, add pepitas, poblanos, tomatillos, serranos, epazote, oregano, cumin,  1 cup of reserved broth and bouillon. Blend on high until smooth. Pour into pot with remaining chicken broth and maize(hominy).

4. Bring the pozole up to boil, taste for salt and add the chicken back in. Continue cooking for 25 to 30 minutes.

5. Serve pozole in large bowls and garnish with radishes, cabbage, lime, serrano, oregano and piquin. Serve with homemade tostadas or chips. Yields 6 servings.

Slow Cooker Method

1. If you prefer to prepare this recipe in the slow cooker, you need to prep ahead a few ingredients. Roast and toast the ingredients as directed above to prepare your sauce. Once the sauce is blended, add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker, minus the hominy. Cook on low for 8 hours or on  high 4-5 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Add back into slow cooker along with the hominy. Cook on high for 1 more hour.

Recipe Notes

If your pepitas are raw, you can simply toast them on a preheated pan at medium/low for 10-12 minutes. Stir often. When they begin to pop, they are ready. 

These days I cook my chicken in the pressure cooker. Follow directions for chicken, but using a pressure cooker. After the cooker comes up to high pressure, reduce to medium/low. Set timer for 35 minutes. Wait for the safety valve to release before removing chicken.

If you prefer, you can add 6 chicken piece, bone in, skin on to the recipe. Just make sure you add plenty of liquid.

What is your favorite roasting method for poblanos? When I am only roasting a few, I do the traditional stove top dry roasting on a cast iron comal. This is how my Mom always did it for her delicious chiles rellenos. But when I have a larger amount, I use my broiler on high heat. It takes about 20-25 minutes turning as needed. Another great tip, remove the stems and seeds before roasting the poblanos. No more seeds sticking to everything! Store roasted chiles in a paper bag or glass bowl with a lid to steep and cool before peeling blistered skins. 

Pepitas are pumpkin seeds without the shells. They can be found almost anywhere these days. I grew up enjoying them as a snack with chile and lime seasoning. Still enjoy them that way! Don’t forget to type in POZOLE to the search bar to see all the variations of pozole on my blog. Red, green, pork, chicken, beef, meatless and yes, even shrimp!!

If I don’t have fresh tomatillos on hand, I always have a few cups of homemade tomatillo salsa available in my refrigerator. I try to recycle glass jars, jelly jars and mason jars to store the homemade salsa. 

Epazote!!! Fresh epazote, finally! Epazote is an herb used in Mexican cuisine. It was never available where I live until a few summer’s ago. Thanks to the organic farmers market in a city near me. I buy a couple of bunches and freeze the individual leaves in between paper towels flat. It works! I have epazote year round for my soups, stews and quesadillas. I have to admit, it has a strong odor when it’s fresh. I prefer the subtle flavors it adds when cooked.  If you can’t find it for your recipes, substitute with fresh cilantro. Some herbs are better than none!

Many times, I will use the chicken bouillon powders and cubes instead of salt in my recipes. There are many brands to choose from on the market. It just adds a little more flavor to my dishes.

We all have that one friend that won’t eat green food, right? I know I do, Lol! I am sure happy that I love green food! I think it’s the most beautiful shade of green.

Crushed homemade tostadas or tortilla chips is my favorite way to enjoy this chicken pozole!