Shredded pork gets cooked in a bright, aromatic chili powder sauce instead of the ancho and guajillo sauce typically used for pork tamales in Mexico. Stuff corn masa with the juicy pork filling, wrap in corn husks and steam to tender perfection.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr 55 min |
| Prep: | 2 hr 25 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 24 tamales |
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3-inch pieces
- Kosher salt
- 1 onion, quartered
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 black peppercorns
- 24 dried corn husks
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/3 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 cups masa harina (instant corn flour)
- 1 1/3 cups lard
Instructions
- Make the filling: Put the pork in a deep saucepan and cover with cold water (about 6 cups). Add 2 teaspoons salt, the onion, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and peppercorns; cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the pork is tender, 1 hour, 30 minutes to 2 hours. Transfer the pork to a plate and shred. Strain and reserve the cooking liquid; keep warm.
- Meanwhile, soak the corn husks in a bowl of hot water, using a plate to keep them submerged, until pliable, 1 hour.
- Combine the pork, cumin, 1/3 cup chili powder, the garlic, flour, sugar, vegetable oil and 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid in a large skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the dough: Mix the masa harina, lard, 2 teaspoons salt, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and 2 2/3 cups of the reserved cooking liquid in a bowl until combined.
- Drain the husks and pat dry. Starting 1/2 inch from the wide end, spread about 3 tablespoons of the dough down a husk, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the pork filling down the center of the dough, then fold in the sides of the husk, wrapping the dough around the filling. Fold up the narrow end of the husk. Repeat with the remaining husks, dough and filling.
- Set a steamer basket in a large pot filled with 1 to 2 inches of water. Arrange the tamales standing up in the steamer, folded-side down. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, cover and steam until the dough is firm, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the steamer and let cool slightly before unwrapping.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 24 servings |
| Calories | 756 |
| Total Fat | 27 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 110 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 11 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 44 mg |
| Sodium | 493 mg |
Reviews
Turned out very crumbly 🙁
Absolutely delicious. I have made these several times and wanted to let others know how good they are. I follow the recipe verbatim — except I multiply by 4 to make plenty to share with our adult kids and to freeze. Not hard at all and our entire family loves them!
The recipe for the filling is great, but the masa recipe is not. The dough turns out dry and tasteless. I used a different masa dough recipe and kept the filling from this one.
I’ve grown up with Tamales. My grandma and my mom made them… It got to the point I got sick of them…. Everyone would be excited about my grandma making tamales, and I would go over just to socialize… But THIS recipe… Damn… Its sooo yummy. My family’s recipe was always so bland!!! And i needed to drown my tamale in chili to make it taste good! But this was perfect!!! I used a beef roast instead of pork, and obviously beef stock. I used my instapot to cook the beef roast, then switched it over to a pan to make the sauce, and then I cooked the tamales in the instapot… I’ve never done it before and it was a DREAM. It was so easy. I put two cups of water in it. I dont have a steamer basket so I crumpled up tin foil at the bottom, and put that little metal tray that comes with the insta pot in it. Just so the tamales werent touching water. I put it in for 40 minutes, a 20 minute natural release, and let it set for 20 minutes… They came out perfect!!
It was very delicious. I added some pureed chilies in Adobe sauce for extra spice.
Súper easy! I use this as a guide for quantities, if that makes sense, and we wrap our tamales in banana leaves instead of husks. I add a chopped poblano, smoked sea salt and adobo to the meat broth. We use coconut oil to replace lard and we finely chop cilantro to add to the pork skillet step. I make my own chili powder that is HOT so 1/3 cup, definitely not. The main flavors needed are cumin, coriander, garlic, oregano, ancho, cayenne and paprika. Sometimes (if the kids and husband pick too much meat out for snacking, ha ha!) I crumble queso fresco (or any mild white cheese) and combine it with the meat before wrapping. The steamed banana leaf gives a different flavor than corn and I think they hold their moisture better as well. Buen provecho ~
First time making tamales. Easy and delicious.
I have a wonderful chicken tamale recipe but my boys requested that I add pork tamales so I tried this recipe. I followed it exactly so that I could tweak it later and it needs NO tweaking! I was alarmed at the 1/3 CUP of chili powder but people, BELIEVE me, it was fine!! LOL! This recipe is a keeper!!
Thank you for all the help this is my first time making them and I want to doing for New Year’s and actually very easy to follow the instructions and get it the right way I thank you again very much
This was the first time I had made tamales on a couple occasions. They were delicious! Everyone loved em. The only problem I have is that every time I make em they go like hot cakes. I usually make 100 at a time. I have a huge family. My mom is Latina and this is one dish she never learned how to make. She was impressed. This is gonna be an annual tradition with my family. Love, love..love em! Gracias!!!!