Pozole Negro
This rich, deeply dark pozole negro builds its color and flavor from a blend of toasted guajillo, ancho, and chile negro simmered with charred tomato, onion, and tortilla pieces, then strained into a savory chicken broth with hominy and refried black beans stirred in for extra body. It’s cozy, warming, and the kind of bowl that tastes even better the next day!
Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- Small mixing bowl
Ingredients
For the Pozole:
- 2½ lbs bone-in chicken thighs or breasts
- 20 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt to taste
- 3 dried chiles guajillo stems and seeds removed
- 2 dried chiles ancho stems and seeds removed
- 2 dried chiles negro stems and seeds removed
- 1 medium tomato quartered
- 1 white onion quartered
- 4 –5 garlic cloves peeled
- 2 corn tortillas charred and torn into pieces
- 1 can 30 oz hominy, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup refried black beans
- 1½ tbsp chicken bouillon
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground cumin
For Serving:
- Warm tortillas
- Fresh lime wedges
- Sliced radishes
- Shredded cabbage or lettuce
- Diced white onion
- Fresh cilantro chopped
- Dried chili flakes or hot sauce
Instructions
- Add the chicken, water, bay leaves, and a generous pinch of salt to a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20–25 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred into generous pieces. Reserve the broth in the pot, do not discard it.
- While the chicken cooks heat a separate medium pot over high heat. Add the guajillo, ancho, and negro chiles and toast for 1–2 minutes flipping frequently until they darken slightly. Do not let them burn completely or the sauce will be bitter. Remove the chiles and set aside.
- In the same pot add the tomato, onion, and garlic and cook over high heat for 5–7 minutes until softened and slightly charred. Add the toasted chiles back to the pot along with 3–4 cups of the reserved chicken broth and simmer for 8–10 minutes until the chiles are completely softened.
- Transfer the chile mixture to a blender along with the charred tortilla pieces and blend on high until completely smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve directly into the pot of reserved chicken broth pressing firmly on the solids to extract as much sauce as possible. Discard the solids.
- In a small bowl whisk the refried beans with ½ cup of the warm broth until completely smooth with no lumps then stir directly into the pot.
- Add the shredded chicken, hominy, chicken bouillon, oregano, and cumin to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a steady simmer and cook for 10 minutes until the flavors are completely melded and the broth is deeply dark and fragrant. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Ladle into bowls and top with sliced radishes, shredded cabbage or lettuce, diced onion, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Serve with warm tortillas and hot sauce or chili flakes on the side.
Notes
- Toast the chiles just until fragrant and slightly darkened, a few seconds too long and they turn bitter, which carries through the entire broth.
- Charring the tortilla pieces before blending them into the sauce adds smokiness and acts as a natural thickener that gives the broth body.
- Whisking the refried beans with warm broth before adding them ensures they dissolve smoothly into the pot instead of clumping at the bottom.
- This pozole gets better overnight! Make it a day ahead and reheat. The chiles, hominy, and chicken continue to absorb flavor as it sits in the fridge.