VENISON POZOLE ROJO
Updated: Sep 16
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This easy and delicious Venison Pozole recipe is the ultimate comfort food. When thinking of authentic pozole, succulent fatty pork is likely to come to mind. But in this recipe, I opt for using cuts of venison that yield tender results from cooking low and slow. As far as which cuts to use, necks, shoulders, shanks, and rib meat work well here.
Looking for more venison favorites? Check out my ground venison collection, smoked backstrap, and snack sticks.
The only real thought that needs to go into this recipe is figuring out which corn you will use. The three best options are to either use Mexican-style canned hominy, dried American South Western pozole corn or try and pick up some nixtamal (half-cooked hominy) from a local tortilla factory if you have one nearby. Finding dried correct chilis these days is much easier than in the past. My two favorite varieties to use are dried ancho chilis or dried guajillo chilis.
Be Prepared With Extra Stock
Pozole is prone to soaking up extra liquid due to the hominy. Keep a little extra venison or chicken stock on hand as needed for cooking or to spruce up leftovers.
Using Dried Pozole Corn?
If you're using this dried version, work ahead and cook ahead of time. This can take up to 5 hours lightly simmered with the lid on.
Ingredients Alternatives?
If you cannot tolerate chili-forward venison stews, you can try leaving some of the chiles out. In their place, you can try adding a little achiote paste for that rich red color that everyone is after with Pozole Rojo. Achiote will slightly alter the flavor, but it's a welcomed addition in my home.
How to Store Leftover Pozole?
This is one of those slow cooker dishes that gets better with time. The flavors greatly enhance when stored in the refrigerator covered tightly with a lid for a day or two.
You can also freeze pozole. When stored in a food-safe container with a tight-fitting lid, it will last in the freezer for two months. Place the frozen pozole in your refrigerator the day before you plan on serving in order to thaw.
How long does pozole take to cook?
The cooking vessel and cut of meat that you are using will dictate the length of the cook. I used a crockpot on the low setting and my protein of choice was venison rib meat and neck meat. This took around 10 hours to complete the cook. If you use the high setting on your crockpot you're looking at around a 8 hour cooking time.
What to serve this with?
I like to add crispy corn tostadas or tortilla chips for some crunch. For color and extra flavor, I garnish with radishes, lime, cilantro, onion, hot sauce and thinly sliced cabbage. And to make this dish even heartier, serving it on top of a bed of rice is never a bad idea!
Looking for other venison recipes? These are a few of my favorites:
Lastly, if you make this venison slow cooker pozole recipe, be sure to leave a comment or tag me on Instagram! I thoroughly enjoy hearing feedback and checking out the photos of recipes that you've made.
VENISON POZOLE ROJO
Serves: 4 to 6
Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: Around 9 to 12 hours on low setting
Slow Cooker Size: 6+ Quarts
Author: Larry White
INGREDIENTS
5 dried ancho chilis or 8 dried guajillo chilis (stemmed and seeded)
1 head of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
4 venison shanks (or around 2 pounds of boneless stew meat)
1 large white onion, small dice
4 carrots, large dice
6 celery stalks, large dice
2 tablespoons dried Mexican Oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
5 cups canned hominy (drained) or 4 cups dried hominy (pre-cooked)
3 quarts venison or chicken stock
salt to taste
TOPPINGS FOR SERVING
lime
chopped cabbage or lettuce
tostadas or tortilla chips
cilantro
radishes
avocado
rice
hot sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
Rehydrate the chilis. Bring enough water to cover the chilis to a simmer on the stove or in the microwave. Place the chilis in a bowl and pour the water over the chilis. Place another small plate on top of the chilis to keep them submerged. Cover the entire bowl with another larger plate or plastic wrap. Let them hydrate for 20 minutes.
Preheat the slow cooker. While the chilis are hydrating, pre-heat. your slow cooker for 20 minutes.
Add the rehydrated chilis to a blender or food processor. Pour in enough of the warm water to make a thin paste and puree the chilis. Set them in the refrigerator for later.
Place the venison in the slow cooker, followed by the remaining ingredients, minus the hominy and chili puree.
Cover the cooker and cook on the low setting until the meat is fork-tender. This can take around 10 hours with venison depending on which cut of meat you are using.
Around 1 to 2 hours before serving, pour the chili puree and hominy in with the rest of the ingredients and let cook for 1 more hour. If you're in a time crunch and need to cook everything at once, you can add these in with the other ingredients in step 4.
Serving: Serve this up with any of the listed ingredients above. This recipe is great for serving directly from the slow cooker while it's being kept warm.
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