This Green Pozole Recipe is a comforting Mexican stew filled with hominy, tomatillos, and shredded pheasant meat.

The amazingly delicious broth is made from chicken broth, tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeños, cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Traditionally, making a green pozole recipe can be an all-day affair. But my wild game version is easy to make and ready in just one hour and lives up to the dish’s wildly popular reputation.

Celebrate Stew Season

With only one week left of winter, I just had to squeeze in another recipe to celebrate soup and stew season. Although, I do live in North Dakota, and we have been known to experience some pretty epic blizzards during the last week of April!

When temperatures drop, many people will instinctually reach for a wild rice soup or homemade vegetable soup, but it would be a mistake to miss out on this nicely spiced stew that is enormously popular in both Mexico and our house in Fargo, North Dakota. I love it because it keeps well in the fridge, so don't be afraid to make a big vat of it to feed yourself and the family all week.

If you are looking for more great soup and stew recipes, be sure and check out my extremely popular Stuffed Cabbage Soup or Easy Venison Ravioli Soup.

What Is Pozole?

Pozole is a traditional Mexican stew, made with hominy (corn) and a protein like pork or chicken, in a flavorful, rich broth made with tomatillos and peppers. Although this dish originated in Mexico, it's now extremely popular in the American Southwest.

There are a multitude of different ways to experiment with a pozole. My wife loves the fresh flavors so much, I created a Fish Pozole so we could enjoy it during the Season of Lent.

This pheasant stew is usually accompanied by an assortment of toppings like sliced radishes, lime wedges, shredded cabbage, diced onions, fresh cilantro (each served in its own bowl) along with warm tortillas. Verde means green in Spanish and green pozole, not surprisingly, is lighter and more refreshing than a red pozole.

What Is Hominy?

Hominy is basically corn kernels, yellow or white maize, that have been processed so they lose their outer layer, making them easier to digest. Dried hominy kernels are soaked in an alkali solution of lye or slaked lime. The corn kernels then puff up when they are boiled.

Hominy kernels become about three times the size of raw sweet corn kernels after they are cooked. They can be eaten like corn or used to fortify a variety of soups and stews like this Green Pozole.

Pheasant Stew Ingredients

Pheasant legs and thighs
Hominy
Chicken Broth
Tomatillos
Onion
Garlic
Jalapeños
Cilantro
Lime
Seasonings including kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, and Mexican oregano

How To Cook Pheasant Legs

1. Season the pheasant legs and thighs with 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt.

Pheasant Legs seasoned with salt and pepper

2. Set instant pot or other pressure cooker to sauté setting. Add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the pheasant, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until meat is nicely browned.

3. Add 2 cups of the chicken broth with ½ teaspoon each black pepper, cumin, and Mexican oregano to the pressure cooker and mix well. Now secure lid on the pressure cooker and pressure cook for 30 minutes. Then allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes.

4. Reserve all the liquid and transfer it to a bowl to use later. Then allow the pheasant meat and bones to rest and cool for at least 15 minutes.

How To Cook Green Pozole with Pheasant Meat

1. Meanwhile, add one cup of water to a blender. Then add tomatillos, yellow onion, garlic, one of the jalapeños, and one bunch of cilantro. Blend until smooth, scraping down sides if necessary.

2. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil and add tomatillo puree and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce turns a deep green, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the reserved liquid used to cook the pheasant, the remaining 4 cups of chicken broth, the hominy with liquid, and another ½ teaspoon each of kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, and Mexican oregano and stir well to combine. Cover and bring the stew to a simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes.

4. The pheasant meat should be cool at this point, making it easy to pull off the bones using your fingers or tongs. Discard the bones and tendons and transfer the meat to a bowl and save for later. Stir the shredded pheasant meat into the stew.

5. Taste the green pozole and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Ladle the stew into individual bowls and serve immediately with the garnishes so people can add whatever toppings they want.

More Pheasant Meat Recipes

If you are looking for more great ways to use pheasant in your diet, be sure and check out my:

Come Pheasant Hunting In North Dakota

If you are headed our way to hunt pheasants in North Dakota, check out the Top 5 Places in North Dakota to Hunt Pheasants. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.

If you want to do a DIY public land hunt here in North Dakota, I highly suggest you take the time to read this article from Project Upland on "Tactics to Increase Public Land Hunting Success" written by Kyle Hedges.

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If you make this Green Pozole Pheasant Stew Recipe, tag @wildgameandfish so I can share it on my Instagram stories.

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Upland birds and small game recipes like this Green Pozole with pheasant, hominy, red onion, radish, jalapeno, lime, and cilantro

Green Pozole Recipe with Pheasant Meat (Mexican Stew)

This Green Pozole Recipe is a comforting Mexican stew filled with hominy, tomatillos, and shredded pheasant meat.

4.95 from 17 votes

Print Rate

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Cinco de Mayo, dinner, Insta Pot, pheasant, pheasant recipe, soup, upland bird

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1

Servings: people

Author: Jeff Benda

Ingredients

6 pheasant legs and thighs (from 3 birds)
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
3 Tablespoons olive oil
6 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 pound tomatillos, husked and halved
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 jalapeños, seeded and halved
2 whole bunches of fresh cilantro leaves and stems
2 15-ounce cans hominy
½ teaspoon chili powder
2 limes, cut into quarters
6 medium radishes, sliced thin
1 red onion, sliced thin
corn or flour tortillas, warmed

Instructions

Gather your ingredients.
Season the pheasant legs and thighs with 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt.
Set instant pot or other pressure cooker to sauté setting. Add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the pheasant, and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, until meat is nicely browned.
Add 2 cups of the chicken broth with ½ teaspoon each black pepper, cumin, and Mexican oregano to the pressure cooker and mix well. Now secure lid on the pressure cooker and pressure cook for 30 minutes. Then allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes.
Use this time to slice and chop your vegetables.
Transfer pheasant meat to a large plate and allow the pheasant meat and bones to rest and cool for at least 15 minutes. Reserve all the liquid and transfer it to a bowl to use later.
Meanwhile, add one cup of water to a blender. Then add tomatillos, yellow onion, garlic, one of the jalapeños, and one bunch of the cilantro. Blend until smooth, using a spatula to scrape down sides if necessary.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil and add tomatillo puree and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce turns a deep green, about 5 minutes.
Add the reserved liquid used to cook the pheasant, the remaining 4 cups of chicken broth, the hominy with liquid, and another ½ teaspoon each of kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, Mexican oregano, and chili powder, and stir well to combine. Cover and bring the stew to a simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
The pheasant meat should be cool at this point, making it easy to pull off the bones using your fingers or tongs. Discard the bones and tendons. Stir the shredded pheasant meat into the stew with a squeeze of fresh lime juice from one of the lime quarters.
Taste the green pozole and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Ladle the stew into individual bowls and serve immediately with the remaining lime wedges, radish, red onion, and cilantro on the side so people can add whatever toppings they want.