Pork Tamales. Authentic Recipe + Video

Those pork tamales are the ultimate Mexican holiday food! Fluffy, soft, and incredibly moist and flavorful. Filled with pork simmered in a delicious and aromatic red sauce, those tamales are perfect to share and enjoy with your friends and family.

Follow our easy step-by-step recipe and VIDEO! and you’ll be making those tamales in no time like a pro!

What are pork tamales?

Pork tamales are a Mexican traditional recipe very popular throughout the country. The dish is one of the multiple variants for tamales, and takes its name from the filling: A scrumptious pork stew made with chilies and spices.

In Mexico you’ll find this dish with various names, such as tamales de puerco, tamales rojos, tamales de puerco en salsa roja, or tamales de chile rojo to name a few. And even though you’ll find those types of tamales all year round, this recipe is a favorite during certain holidays, such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Candlemas.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• MEAT: For red pork tamales the obvious choice is pork meat. We suggest using a cut not too lean as you need some fat to get the flavor from. You can also combine lean and fat cuts like shoulder+loin.
• MASA HARINA: It can be found at any Latino American store or also online. There are various brands, the most famous are Masa Real, Minsa, Naturello, Maseca.
• PORK LARD: The pork tamales succulent taste comes from pork lard, that’s the truth. But if you can’t or want to use it, just replace it with oil (any kind of oil you prefer), shortening, or even butter. Just be aware that the taste will be according to which type of fat you used.
• CHILIES: If you can’t find Guajillo and Ancho chilies where you live, you can replace those with ½ cup of paprika and one medium red bell pepper. Blend everything together with the spices to make the sauce.
• SPICES: You can play around with spices and adjust them to your taste. You can also replace the ones you don’t like with some others, like marjoram, thyme, etc.
• CORN HUSKS: Dried corn husks give a nice flavor and aroma to pork tamales, you can find those in Amazon or Latino American supermarkets.

The Step By Step Recipe

Start soaking the corn husks by placing them into a large bowl and covering them with warm water. Leave them to soak while you continue with the recipe.

NOTE: If you’re using parchment paper, cut some 8×6 inch (20x15cm) rectangles and set them aside.

Cook the meat

Place the meat into a pot and cover with plenty of water. Add garlic, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook until the meat is very tender and you’ll end with about 4 cups of the cooking water.

Place the meat into a bowl and shred it using two forks when the meat is still hot or let it cool and use your hands. Set aside.

Prepare the Red Sauce for Tamales

Clean the chilies, if you don’t want the sauce to be too spicy cut them and discard the seeds and veins. Place them into a bowl and cover with hot water for at least 20 minutes.

Place the chilies in a blender, add tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and salt. Add 2 cups of the meat cooking water and blend for 4 minutes on high until you’ll end with a smooth sauce.

Reserve one and a half cups of the sauce and set aside.

Prepare the filling

In a medium pan heat the pork lard over medium heat. Add the sauce and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the meat, mix well and simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has ticked. Adjust with salt and let it cool.

Preparare the tamales dough

Place the Masa Harina in a large bowl. Add the sauce you reserved before and start mixing adding some cooking water until you achieve a smooth dough that won’t stick to your hands (watch the video). Taste the dough and adjust with salt if necessary.

Melt the pork lard and let it cool slightly. Add it to the dough and knead until fully incorporated.

Make the red pork tamales

Drain the corn husks and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. Make some strips by tearing 2-3 husks (see video), those are needed to tie the tamales.

Place 2 spoonfuls of tamales dough in the middle of a husk and spread it a little bit (not too much! we’re not making flat tamales here).

Using the same spoon, make a small hole in the middle and spoon in the chili pork mixture.

Carefully fold the husk to cover completely the filling and end with some sort of burrito.

With the corn husk strips you made before, tie both sides of the tamal and then tie loosely in the middle.

How To Cook Tamales

Prepare a large stockpot with a steamer basket. I personally use one of those folding petal baskets. Fill the pot with water just before it touches the basket and place the red pork tamales in layers.

Bring the water to a boil, cover the pot and cook tamales for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, checking occasionally and adding more water when is needed.

You’ll notice that after an hour and about 10 minutes, pork tamales have a very soft consistency, you might think they’re still raw but you can check up if they’re ready by taking a little bit of the tamal with a fork and letting it cool a bit, then taste it.

Recipe Notes

• No Flat Tamales: This recipe is for “fat” cylindric tamales, not the flat version you might have seen everywhere. If you want to make flat tamales just make sure to cook them about 15-20 minutes less than our recipe calls.
• Store: Pork tamales leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 days or you can also freeze them for up to 3 months and then defrost them before consuming.
• Reheat: To reheat them you can unwrap them and pop them into the microwave for a couple of minutes or fry them with a little bit of oil on a frying pan. Another option is simply reheating them in a steamer with the husks on.
• Masa Harina or Corn Masa: I use masa harina because I can’t find fresh corn masa here, but the recipe can be adapted and use fresh corn masa instead. Just make sure to add less liquid to the dough.

How To Eat

The traditional way for eating pork tamales is just with a hot drink on the side. The most popular is Atole or Champurrado, but also café de olla (Mexican coffee) is a common option. Those below are our favorite atole recipes, check them up and choose your favorite to pair with those tamales rojos:

• Oatmeal atole.
• Corn atole.
• Atole de mazapán.

Watch How To Make Tamales

If you enjoyed this pork tamales recipe, take a look to:

• Tamales with cheese and roasted peppers.
• Sweet corn tamales.
• Pineapple tamales.
• Sweet pumpkin tamales.

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