Tamales de Puerco (Red Pork Tamales)

This authentic red pork tamales recipe comes from Jalisco, Mexico. The tamales are filled with pork shoulder and a spicy tomato sauce.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 2 hr
• Total Time: 2 hr 30 mins
• Calories: 344 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• water to cover
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• salt to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound Roma tomatoes
• corn husks
• 4 dried chile de arbol peppers
• 4 small guajillo chile peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 0.5 onion
• 1.5 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed
• 1.25 cups lard
• 4.5 cups fresh corn masa dough

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add tamales with the open side up and cook until filling is heated through and separates from the husk, about 1 hour. Let tamales rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Step 2

Cut pork into 3 chunks and place in a large saucepan. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil; skim foam from surface. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Remove pork and let cool. Strain broth and reserve.

Step 3

Bring a pot of water to a boil while pork is cooking. Add tomatoes, arbol chiles, and guajillo chiles, and boil until chiles are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking water, and allow to cool.

Step 4

Place corn husks in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain, place on a work surface, and cover with a clean, damp towel.

Step 5

Combine tomatoes, 1/2 cup cooking water, chiles de arbol, guajillo chiles, and cornstarch in a blender; blend until smooth. Strain tomato sauce through a fine-mesh sieve.

Step 6

Shred cooled pork with 2 forks.

Step 7

Select 1 wide corn husk or 2 small ones. Spread about 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the the corn husk, filling it up to 2 inches from the bottom and 1/4 inch from the top. Add 1 tablespoon of the tomato sauce and pork down the center of the masa mixture. Fold sides of husk together, 1 over the other. Fold the bottom of the husk over the seam of the 2 folded sides. Repeat with remaining husks.

Step 8

Beat lard with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy. Combine masa, 1 cup reserved pork broth, 1 tablespoon salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl and mix until smooth. Add masa mixture to lard and mix until it has a smooth cookie dough consistency. Test if the masa is ready by dropping a small ball of masa into a glass of cold water; if it floats, it's ready, if not, keep beating for a little longer.