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A wonderful Mexican one-pot meal is Posole (the New Mexico spelling, or Pozole, which means ‘Hominy’). Instant Pot Posole – Pork Stew is full of chunks of tender, fall apart pork, poblano peppers, hominy, and a rich broth made with ground red chile pepper, garlic, herbs & spices. Pressure cooker Pozole is delicious!
Instant Pot Posole – Pork Stew
It has always fascinated me how every culture on Earth has a soup or stew that can define it. When I think of Potato Leek Soup, I think of Wales, where my grandpa was from. China has Hot and Sour, Borscht from Russia, Matzo Ball Soup is Jewish, and on and on.
Maybe there isn’t always just one soup that we associate with a culture, and maybe a variation of one soup is shared by more than one culture (e.g., Chicken Soup).
When I think of soup or stew from Mexico (and New Mexico), I think of Posole. There are several variations of this stew, which usually has a fair amount of broth.
There are three main types of Pozole: Blanco, Verde, and Rojo (white, green, red). This Instant Pot Posole – Pork Stew is the Rojo, or red variety, which is from the ground New Mexico chile peppers.
You can use plain old chili powder if you don’t have the NM variety, and it will still be excellent.
Instant Pot Pozole – Pork Stew features Pork shoulder (aka pork butt) as the meat of choice. As it cooks in the pressure cooker, it becomes fall apart tender. So good!
I amped this Posole up a little more with the addition of beer, and some poblano chile peppers. They add a nice depth of flavor.
Canned hominy is the perfect choice to finish off the list of starring ingredients. The hominy has a nice chewy bite and cooks along with the pork and peppers.
Gather everything you will need and have it there by your Instant Pot® so you can enjoy the process of cooking this Instant Pot Pozole – Pork Stew!
What Size Instant Pot for Pozole?
I made this recipe in my 8-Quart Instant Pot® Electric Pressure Cooker. If you have a 6 quart model, reduce the recipe by half or by a third.
Instant Pot Chili
Instant Pot Drunken Beans (Frijoles Borrachos)
Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Sandy’s Instant Pot Beef Stew
If you make this delicious pressure cooker Posole, please leave a comment with a star rating below. I’d like to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Pork Stew
Equipment
- 8-quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Pork Shoulder / Pork Butt, Cut in 2" chunks
- 2 teaspoons Salt (to season pork)
- 2 teaspoons Pepper (to season pork)
- 3 Tablespoons Peanut Oil (or canola, sunflower)
- 2 Onions, chopped
- 1 large Bay Leaf (or 2 smaller ones)
- 1 Cinnamon Stick, optional
- 6 cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 Tablespoon Chili Powder (New Mexico Red, or just regular red)
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano (or regular is fine)
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 1 Tablespoon Adobo Powder (such as Goya)
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (or ½ tsp table salt)
- 3 Poblano Chile Peppers, cut in large dice
- 1 12-ounce Bottle of Beer, (I use a Mexican dark beer, or a lager)
- 1 Chipotle in Adobo*, and 2 Tbsp of the adobo sauce from the can (use more if you like it spicier)
- 1 (25 oz) can Hominy, drained & rinsed
- 5 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
Instructions
I use my 8 quart pressure cooker for this recipe. You can cut it in half for the 6 quart
- Gather and Prepare all of your ingredients. Cut up the pork, chop the onions and chile peppers, mince or press the garlic, measure the spices, etc. This will make the process much smoother for you!
- Salt and pepper the pork chunks. Set aside.
- Turn the pot on to the Sauté function (Med/Normal heat). When the display reads Hot, add the peanut oil. Then add half of the pork. Let it brown on first side, then stir it around to brown on all sides. Remove to a bowl. Do this with second half also.
- Add the onions, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick (if using) to the pot and stir. Let the onions cook until just turning translucent, stirring occasionally, and scraping the brown bits (fond) off the bottom of the pot. You might need a splash of broth or water to help loosen it up.
- Add garlic and all of the spices. Stir well.
- Add the Poblano chile peppers, beer, chipotle in adobo, hominy, pork chunks, and broth. Stir well.
- Put the lid on the pot and lock in place. Turn the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Turn off the Sauté function and press the Manual (Pressure Cook) button. Then use the +/- to choose 30 minutes.
- When cooking cycle has ended, let the pot sit undisturbed for 25 minutes while it naturally releases pressure. Then manually release the remaining pressure by turning the steam release knob to the Venting position.
- When the pin in the lid has dropped, open the lid. Use a large spoon to skim off some of the fat. Discard bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Then stir and serve.
- Garnish with cabbage, radish, sour cream, avocado, green onion, cilantro, Cotija cheese, tortillas, or whatever you like!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Browning meat before steaming or boiling is always of benefit. It improves the texture, consistency, and flavor. Also, the printed recipe calls for an 1/8th of a teaspoon of cinnamon and the the comments mention a stick, which I agree would be too much…
I used to have the recipe use a cinnamon stick but changed the recipe.
I loved the recipe! I made it exactly as stated in my 6 qt instant pot and there was plenty of room.
Did the same exact measurements that was given for the 8 quart or did you cut everything in half? If you did, did you cut the time in half?
John the cook time stays the same.
I don’t see where you specify at what pressure I should set it at. Did I miss it? I’m making it now and I hope I didn’t choose wrong by using high pressure.
High pressure is correct. I will specify low pressure when needed. Since there are pots that don’t have low pressure, I try not to use it.
Hi Sandy, I do not yet own an Insta pot, I’ve been wanting one but had no idea what to cook in it or which one to buy. I’m so glad I found you and this parole recipe, I grew up eating this & menudo, yummy. I have looked at reviews and found my first recipe!!!! Thank you for your recipes I’m off to buy my Insta pot and all the ingredients.
I will come back and comment when I can , Deanna.
Yay! Please let me know!
This looks delicious! Could I use the same process just more time in a crock po? Not moved up to the instant pot yet.
I think so.
Bought my 8 qt Instant Pot just before Xmas, finally got around to using it about a month ago. This was the 3rd meal I’ve made using it and all were pretty darn tasty!! Pot Roast, 3 Bean Chorizo Chili and now Pozole.
Having never had pozole before, I have nothing to compare it to. But I can say this stuff was AWESOME!! I will definitely be making this again! I used pork shoulder that was trimmed and cut into ~2″ cubes. The meat came out PERFECT, fork tender but not falling apart. I thought the cinnamon stick added a nice layer of flavor to the meal without overpowering it. Between the cinnamon, the poblanos, the spices and the chipotle peppers, this had a nice little bit of heat with an abundance of flavor.
After feeding my roommates, who also gave it thumbs up, I took the leftovers to work and fed it to our inmate workers, the majority of whom were Hispanic. Granted, they’ve been eating inmate food for a while so anything home cooked is a treat for them. They all agreed that it was damn good!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! It was nice to not only put my Instant Pot to use but to experience a food that I’ve never had before. I’m sure it won’t be the last!!
Hi Bob, how awesome is that?! I love how you shared with others, and those inmates, who I’m sure appreciated your kindness. Thank you for sharing your story, and I am very happy to know this recipe worked well for you!
Thank you! I can hardly wait to make this! I have to tweak it a bit, low sodium diet requirement. This will be fun though. Thanks again!
I made this tonight and it is delicious!!! I will be bookmarking this recipe. This is by far the best posole recipe I have tried! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much, Dee! I’m very glad you liked it.
Hello,
Any suggestions on using a leftover pork should in this recipe? Adjustments for cooking times?
Thank you!
I would cook for half the time, and don’t cut the pork in small pieces. Leave the chunks large, if possible.
Thank you for putting free recipes out for us to try. I have never used an instant pot before. I loved the fact that I thought of something I might like to try to make for my first instantpot meal and there was your recipe with all the ingredients and information on how to prepare. I am looking forward to trying this out. I grew up eating pozole and learned to make my own from scratch. It can take several hours. This seams like a much quicker way to create a delicious family meal.