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instant pot pozole
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Instant Pot Pozole

A traditional Mexican soup that usually takes hours to execute, this Instant Pot Pozole cuts down the cooking time so you can have a comforting bowl ready for dinner in half the time.
Course Soup
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword blanco pozole, instant pot pozole
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 34 minutes
Instant Pot Pressure Build Time 15 minutes
Total Time 59 minutes
Servings 8 cups
Calories 115kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 smoked ham hock (around 2 - 2 ½ pounds) 
  • 1 quart water or cooking stock/broth (4 cups)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or bacon grease
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 1 head garlic (or 8-10 garlic cloves)
  • 1 29-ounce can hominy (don’t drain)
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • ½ teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • salt, to taste* (I recommend adding 1 ½ teaspoons at the very end if using water)

Instructions

  • Roughly chop the onion and peel the garlic. Add onion and garlic to a food processor and Pulse a few times, until the onion and garlic are finely minced. 
  • Add olive oil or bacon grease and the chopped onion and garlic to the Instant Pot. Saute onion and garlic for 7 minutes by setting the Instant Pot to Saute (normal). 
  • Add ham hock and water (or stock/broth). Pressure cook for 20 minutes at High Pressure (normal).
  • If possible, let natural release, which will take 15-20 minutes; otherwise, it’s okay to do a manual release shortly after cooking has finished. 
  • Remove ham hock. Add hominy and liquid and Saute for 7 minutes; this will help the soup reduce. Stir occasionally. 
  • Shred ham hock while hominy cooks and immediately add it back into the pozole. 
  • Taste as it cooks and adjust with additional seasonings if desired.
  • Serve with shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, lime wedges, etc.

Notes

I suggest leaving the addition of salt until the very end. How much salt you add depends on a few things: 1) the liquid, and whether or not you used stock/broth instead of water and 2) the smoked ham hock.

Nutrition

Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg