I’ve always been a huge fan of Pozole Roja, but have never actually tried making Pozole Verde.

And since its not raining in California (SHOCKING), I figured, I may as well make a batch and use the smoker to add some extra flavor as well!

Using my pellet smoker cranked up the its highest setting I roasted tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeno and onion.

Roasting until everything had a nice char, flipping occasionally for about 15 minutes did the trick.

Using my Traeger Pro 34 to roast these ingredients, you’ll want to be quick especially during the winter. Unless maybe if you have a thermal cover?

I lost about 100 degrees during each rotation. Granted I took photos too, so the cover was open longer than it needed.

But just a word to the wise when smoking during the winter. Be quick when opening the cover!

After letting the ingredients steam in a bag, I blended everything using the salsa setting on my BlendTec.

The base to the pozole verde has just the right amount of heat and a hint of smoke from roasting in the smoker.

Let this simmer in a large stock pot with hominy, chicken broth and chicken for about 4 hours to let the flavors marry together.

My favorite part about pozole verde, or even pozole roja, is the garnishes. Radishes, cabbage, tortilla, cheese and some hot sauce is what i love to add on best!

If you have other garnishes you use for pozole, let me hear them because I’d love to try them out!

Smoked Chicken Pozole Verde

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 16 servings

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 poblano peppers
• 2 jalapenos
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 stalk green onion
• 1 lb tomatillo
• 96 oz chicken stock
• 96 oz hominy
• 1 1/2 lb chicken meat
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 bay leaves

FOR GARNISH

• 1 red cabbage shredded
• 2 bunches radish sliced
• 1 whole limes cut into wedges
• 1 cup cojita cheese crumbled
• 2 medium avocados sliced

Instructions

• With a wood pellet grill (or any offset grill) preheated to around 450-500F, roast poblano, jalapeno, onions and tomatillo until blackened and charred. Remove and place in a plastic bag for about 15 minutes to let steam.
• Scrape as much of the blackened skin from the peppers as possible and place, leaving the tomatillos whole. Place in a blender or food processor and blend with 2 cloves garlic until smooth.
• In a large stockpot, add hominy, chicken stock, pozole base and chicken and bring to a boil. Add salt oregano and bay leaves. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 4 hours.
• Remove chicken and shred. Place back into pot and let simmer for another hour. When ready to eat, serve with lime, cabbage, cojita cheese, radishes and your favorite garnishes. Enjoy!