Pork tamales along with other types of tamales are very popular during the holidays. They are incredibly flavorful and go great with many Mexican sides. Give them a try this holiday season!
Pork tamales may seem difficult to make but they aren’t. The key is to spread the process out over a couple of days. I promise this makes everything a whole lot easier.
My favorite are the pork tamales but I love all tamales. Making tamales yourself is definitely the way to go.
Many times when you buy them they will only have a tiny bit of meat inside and a lot of masa. I think that’s a huge rip off!
My recipe includes plenty of meat filling and it makes dozens of tamales. I have included some photos that should make things easier if you have never made tamales before.
I love making tamales for the holidays. I look forward to them all year! However they are a lot of work.
Therefore many people choose to have a tamale making party. This is a great option as you can get it done faster this way.
Unfortunately for me it’s just my husband and I making them. But that’s ok! I break it down into steps and it’s not bad at all once you get the hang of it.
How to Make Pork Tamales
Day 1: Make the meat and chile sauce
Put the meat, onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt and water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer on low for 4 hours or until the meat is tender and falling apart.
While meat is cooking toast the chiles on both sides in a skillet over medium heat. This will take less than a minute.
Be careful not to burn the chilies or they will take on a bitter taste.
Also toast the onion and garlic.
Transfer chiles, onion and garlic to a pot with about 6-7 cups of warm water and simmer on medium low for about 10 min or until chiles are soft.
Transfer the chiles, onion and garlic to a blender with 5 cups of the water and blend for 1 min. Do this in two batches.
Add 1 1/2 tbsp of oil to a pot over medium heat. When oil is hot strain the chile sauce into the pot.
Simmer over medium low heat for about 15 min. Salt to taste. Reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce for the masa.
When the meat is done remove it from stockpot and shred with two forks making sure to discard any fat. Or use your hands when the meat is cool.
When the broth is cool strain it and store it in the refrigerator.
Mix together the shredded meat and the chile sauce. Don’t forget to reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce which we will use for the masa.
Store the meat and the rest of the sauce in the refrigerator when cool.
Day 2: Make the tamales
Put the corn husks in a large pot with hot water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off and let the husks soak for at least one hour.
Take the broth out from the refrigerator and skim off the fat
In a large bowl mix together the Maseca, baking powder and salt. Then add 5 cups of the broth and the 1/2 cup of reserved sauce and mix well either with a spatula or your hands.
In another bowl beat the 2 cups of lard with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes.
Add the Maseca and broth mixture to the lard and continue to beat for about 3 minutes more.
After the husks have soaked shake off the excess water. Take 1 husk and spread a heaping tablespoon of masa over it. Then add a heaping tablespoon of the pork filling on it.
Fold the sides of the husk then fold the bottom part of the husk up. You can tie the tamales with long stringy pieces of the husks to make them more secure but this is optional.
Repeat the above steps until all the masa and pork filling are gone. Fill a tamale steamer with enough water so that it wont run out while steaming but not too much that it gets the tamales wet. The water shouldn’t come through the holes of the steamer insert.
Put all of the pork tamales in the steamer standing up. Bring the water in the steamer to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 1 hour.
If the masa is mushy and is still sticking to the husks steam for an additional 15-20 min.
The tamales should look something like the photo below when done.
Pork Tamales
These delicious pork tamales are sure to please everyone during your holiday festivities. My favorite thing about tamales is that there’s always plenty of leftovers the next day!
Serve these tamales with my delicious mexican rice and some champurrado to make it a complete meal! I truly hope you enjoy them! If you liked this recipe please leave a rating below. Thank you!
Other Recipes You May Like
- Tamales de rajas con pollo
- Puerto Rican Eggnog (Eggless Coquito Recipe)
- Bunuelos
- Easy Mole Recipe
- Mexican Pinto Beans
Pork Tamales
Ingredients
For the meat
- 5 pounds pork butt cut up into pieces
- 1 white onion quartered
- 8 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 16 cups of water
- 3 teaspoons of salt
For the sauce
- 25 dried guajillo peppers
- 5 dried morita peppers
- 1/2 white onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 6 cups of water
- 1 1/2 tablespoon oil
- salt to taste
For the masa
- 5 cups of Maseca for tamales
- 5 cups of pork broth
- 1/2 cup of chile sauce
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 3 tsp salt
- 2 cups of lard
- corn husks
Instructions
For the meat
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Add the pork, onion, garlic, bay leaves, water and salt to a large stock pot and bring to a boil.
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Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 4-5 hours or until meat is tender and falls apart easily.
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Remove meat from pot and transfer to a large bowl and shred with two forks. Or when cool use your hands to shred.
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Strain the broth and when cool place in the refrigerator.
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Skim the fat off from the broth.
For the sauce
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Toast chiles in a skillet over medium heat. (about 25 seconds)
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Toast garlic and onion.
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Transfer chiles, garlic and onion to a pot with about 6-7 cups of warm water and bring to a simmer over medium low heat. Simmer for about 10 min or until chiles are soft.
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Transfer contents to a blender with about 5 cups of the water from the chiles.
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Blend for 1 minute (Do this in 2 batches).
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Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a pot over medium heat and when hot strain the chile sauce into the pot. stir, cover and cook over medium low for about 15 min. Season well with salt.
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Reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce for the masa
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Add the shredded pork to the chile sauce and stir well.
For the masa
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Soak the corn husks in hot water for 1 hour
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In a large bowl add the Maseca, baking powder and salt in a bowl and mix well.
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Add the broth and chile sauce to the Maseca and mix well making sure the dough is moist.
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In another bowl beat the lard with a mixer until it is fluffy. (a couple minutes)
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Add the masa to the lard and continue to beat for 3 min
Assembling the tamales
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Spread a heaping tbsp of masa over the corn husks.
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Add a heaping tbsp of the pork onto the masa.
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Fold each side of the husk and then fold the bottom part of the husk up
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Fill the steamer with water then put the steamer insert in and add the tamales standing up.
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Bring the water in the steamer to a boil and lower it to medium low.
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Cover and cook for 1 hour.
These look delicious and I cannot wait to try them! I was wondering if you could freeze the tamales and if so, how would you? Thanks!
I love to freeze mine
I followed the directions as closely as possible and they came out amazing! I have gotten so many compliments on the flavor of the masa. I’ve made this recipe twice now. It took my tamales a little longer to cook, but I just kept checking on them until they were done. Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe. And to the other person who commented about freezing, I freeze tamales all the time. I use a food saver to get all the air out and do about 3 per package. They will stay in the freezer for year.
Hi Keri! I’m so glad you liked them and thanks so much for coming back and commenting. I definitely need one of those food saver things, I’m sure it works way better than my method of wrapping in foil and then placing in a freezer bag.
I would absolutely love to make tamales! I love Mexican food so much and especially love making it at home! These look divine!
My hubby is from New Mexico and making tamales is one of my favorite things!!
This is by far the best pork tamales recipe I have ever made. I am so glad you share it with all of us. The only modification I did was to reduce the amount of lard to 1-1/2 and add 1/2 c. Olive oil.
Thank you Damaris, I’m so glad you liked them!! And thanks for sharing how you reduced the amount of lard. I know many people prefer to cut back on the lard!
Yes! You put chili sauce in yourmasa mixture too. It makes all the difference in the world.
It really does! And I love the color it gives!
About how many tamales does your recipe make? I need to make 24 dozen. Your recipe makes this adventure lo K manageable. Pictures help so much!!
Hi Amanda, It makes about 40-50 tamales depending on how big you make them.
I want to try this recipe but I will be sharing them with some friends that do not like too much spice. Do the morita chiles make these really spicey?
Hi Michele, I do not find these tamales spicy but just to be sure you can omit the morita chiles. I like the hint of smokiness the morita chiles give. However They are by no means a necessity for this recipe. I hope this helps 🙂
Are these spicy
Hi Jessica, I don’t find these spicy at all but they may be mildly spicy to those who are sensitive to spice.
I AM MAKING THESE NOW I JUST FINISHED THE SAUCE BUT IT TASTES VERY BITTER AND I`M AFRAID TO ADD TO MY PORK..DOES IT NORMALY HAVE A BITTER TASTE OR DID I DO IT WRONG? FOLLOWED DIRECTIONS COMPLETELY
Did you fry and salt the sauce after blending? It shouldn’t be bitter unless the chilies were toasted too long.
Ah I think that might be the problem I did toast them too long! Thank you for the quick answer
You’re welcome!
Wow! Real tasty recipe. Loved it with a little salsa. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe with us.
I am making tamales for the first time. I love the homemade ones. They are really exspensive if thay are any goid. And I can see why with all the prep. Can’t wait to make them. I am doing it in the 2 day process. Will write back when I am finished
Yes making them over two days is so much easier. I really hope you enjoy them!
hELLO, I HAVE TO SAY THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST RECIPE FOR TAMALES. THIS IS MY 3 RD TIME MAKING THEM, THIS TIME ALL BY MYSELF. LOL sPREADING IT OUT TO IT BEING A 3 DAY PROCESS INSTEAD OF 2 DAYS. LOL HAVING LITTLE ONES MAKES IT A TAD MORE CHALLENGING. BUT ITS WORTH IT…. I WANT TO TRY DIFFERENT ONES WAS THINKING THE CHEESE AND jalapeños … curious on what type of cheese is best to use?
Thank you so much Michelle, your comment has made my day! Little ones definitely make it more challenging! I’ve never made tamales with cheese before though I’ve also been wanting to. I was thinking of using a block of monterrey jack cheese when I do. If you make them before I do I would love to hear how they turn out.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hi, what chile sauce do you use? Thanks!
My favorite recipe for tamales. I used this recipe every time I make tamales.
If I want to make half spicy half not how would I go about doing this? My mom is VERY sensitive to any spice.
In the middle of making the sauce! How much salt should I season with while it’s cooking with oil??
Followed your recipe to a T. PERFECT!!
Thank you Lisa! I’m glad you liked them!
making these this weekend for the family, can I use ancho Chili’s instead of guajillo (I can seem to find then anywhere) thanks
Hi Sabrina! Yes you can. Let me know how it turns out please!
Hi! I want to make these tamales using parchment paper instead of husks. Is there any prep for paper? Also, I live in the country and I have everything but the chiles. Can I use bell pepper and chili powder as a replacement?
Thanks
I’ve never used parchment paper for tamales so I’m not sure. The chiles are an important part of this recipe so I wouldn’t make the recipe without them. I know that Amazon sells them.
How do i make the tamales Spicy?
Just add a few chile de arbol