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!
Ooh another one of my favorites are tamales in banana leaves! The banana leaves give the tamales an incredible flavor!
Tamales are perfect for the holidays along with this Mexican Christmas punch and bunuelos!
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.
Also don’t forget to join the Latin American Foodies Facebook group where you can share photos and recipes of your favorite Latin American foods!
Thank you!
Other Recipes You May Like
- Tamales de rajas con pollo
- Puerto Rican Eggnog (Eggless Coquito Recipe)
- 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.
Robin says
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!
Kellie Bell says
I love to freeze mine
Keri Cruz says
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.
Carissa says
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.
Sasha @ Eat Love Eat says
I would absolutely love to make tamales! I love Mexican food so much and especially love making it at home! These look divine!
mikaela | wyldflour says
My hubby is from New Mexico and making tamales is one of my favorite things!!
Damaris says
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.
Carissa says
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!
Debbie says
Yes! You put chili sauce in yourmasa mixture too. It makes all the difference in the world.
Carissa says
It really does! And I love the color it gives!
Amanda says
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!!
Carissa says
Hi Amanda, It makes about 40-50 tamales depending on how big you make them.
Michele s says
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?
Carissa says
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 🙂
jessica says
Are these spicy
Carissa says
Hi Jessica, I don’t find these spicy at all but they may be mildly spicy to those who are sensitive to spice.
SHEILLA BUCHANAN says
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
Carissa says
Did you fry and salt the sauce after blending? It shouldn’t be bitter unless the chilies were toasted too long.
Sheilla buchanan says
Ah I think that might be the problem I did toast them too long! Thank you for the quick answer
Carissa says
You’re welcome!
William Smith says
Wow! Real tasty recipe. Loved it with a little salsa. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe with us.
Debbie Dahdah says
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
Carissa says
Yes making them over two days is so much easier. I really hope you enjoy them!
michelle says
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?
Carissa says
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!!
Ada says
If you want authentic queso fresco and poblanos is the way to go
Nathalie says
Hi, what chile sauce do you use? Thanks!
Ona says
My favorite recipe for tamales. I used this recipe every time I make tamales.
Kristina Grant says
If I want to make half spicy half not how would I go about doing this? My mom is VERY sensitive to any spice.
Georgia says
In the middle of making the sauce! How much salt should I season with while it’s cooking with oil??
Lisa Costello says
Followed your recipe to a T. PERFECT!!
Carissa says
Thank you Lisa! I’m glad you liked them!
Sabrina says
making these this weekend for the family, can I use ancho Chili’s instead of guajillo (I can seem to find then anywhere) thanks
Carissa says
Hi Sabrina! Yes you can. Let me know how it turns out please!
Karen says
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
Carissa says
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.
Ron Ott says
How do i make the tamales Spicy?
Carissa says
Just add a few chile de arbol
Sandra says
If you can’t find guajillo peppers or morita peppers what can I useto substitute
Ada says
You can use Calif or New Mexico Chiles
Denise Crosby says
I live in Maine and they have yet to come up to speed on ‘good’ Mexican food… Where might I get those particular peppers? Or can I substitute them? If so with what? I haven’t had a good tamales in years I look forward to making some.
Carissa says
Hi Denise, you can find these peppers at any Mexican market. If you don’t have one close to you you could always order from Amazon. I really hope you enjoy the tamales!
Tina says
Thanks for the great instructions!! The tamales turned out fantastic!! I even used some of the fat from the broth for extra flavor in the dough.
Carissa says
Yay!!! You’re very welcome, I’m so happy you liked them. And that’s a very good tip thank you!
Ernest says
These look like my Mom’s I hope they are as good as they look the recipe looks good, I am going to try this method. I have made them several times. thanks, I found your site on Pinterest and sent this to my facebook,
Chef Ernesto`
ruth says
Hi
Going to make tamales but would like to know when you say pork broth is that the broth from the pork that I am cooking or broth from the store. Frist tme making tamales.
Thank you
RUTH
Carissa says
Yes it’s the broth from the pork you cook not store bought. I hope you enjoy them!
Natalie says
THESE WERE DELICIOUS! I made everything in my instant pots to save some time. I did the pork for one and a half hrs high pressure with natural release and the sauce for 20 mins. Both i reduced the water by half and didn’t add any when I blended the sauce. I added a teaspoon of chicken bouillon to the sauce because my daughter said it was bitter. i also did as was suggestedin the comments and subbed some of the lard with the fat skimmed off the broth. When i cooked the tamales i also did it in my instant pot for 20 mins then natural release then took them out and let them set. Thank tou for the recipe
Regan says
First time I ever made tamales, the instructions make it very easy and the pictures are so helpful! This is a new tradition with my daughters.
Carissa says
I’m glad you all enjoyed them and started a new tradition!
Ginny says
Cant wait to try this, hopefully I can do this next Christmas. Your instructions were great. Thank you
Carissa says
Thank you Ginny, I hope you enjoy them!
Amanda says
Would it be possible to cook the meat in an insta pot while preparing other parts? Only so it’s not drawn out over 2 days?
Rosa tran says
I Love the recipe. Its flavorful and very authentic. The only thing I did was add some cumin to the masa.
krista says
going to make these this weekend, mothers day project with the kids. I am wondering how to toast the chilies, do I cut them open and remove seeds and the top, or just toast them whole with the seeds still inside and blend it all together?
Carissa says
yes, take the stems off and open them and take out the seeds. Then toast. I hope you enjoy them!
krista says
I’m so sad mine turned out epic fail, I followed recipe to a T, only differnce was I put in instant pot for an hour. my tamales came out rubbery and. no flavor. I dont know what happened I’m so sad. any ideas on what I did wrong so sad ,really wanted to surprise everyone with fresh tamales for mothers day
Michele says
Long time cook, 1st for tamales. Im curious, it says to strain the chili sauce into the hot oil. Does that mean you strain all the liquid out before putting the paste into the oil?
Carissa says
I strain the sauce and discard the paste.
Ada says
usually you throw out what’s in the strainer because it’s seeds and chile skin
Ruthann says
Love pork Tamales! my niece & I used to make them every year. I’ve made them by myself a few times. I also love green chile & cheese ones, your recipe is awesome! as soon as the weather cools down, tamales it is!
phyllis davis says
These are the kind of tamales I grew up eating. when getting tamales in most places they are total masa, big and dry. I will have to hire a helper to help me do this recipe. This is the way tamales are made
Michelle Waters says
This recipe was wonderful ! Thank you!! My new family recipe!
Carissa says
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Denna says
Voy a tratar tu receta mañana, es parecida a una que había echo anteriormente pero me gusta como describisteis los pasos a seguir so I will give it a try
thank you
Carissa says
De nada Denna! I hope you liked them as much as we do!
Tara Monrose says
i cannot find dried morita peppers, can I use Chipotle peppers instead?
Carissa says
I’ve never tried it with chipotle peppers. I think it would be fine though. If you try it let me know how it turns out.
Maria ramos says
I have used this recipe for two years now with a few additions. I’ve added Chipotle peppers to my sauce. The kind in the jar. About two heaping tablespoons. Plus come cumin because i love the flavor and spice! Comes out delicious! This is pretty much how my mom made them as well. Here’s a tip that i didn’t see any where. Make sure to feel the husk and spread the mass on the smoothe side. Prevent them from sticking.
Heather says
Great recipe. authentic, and easy to follow. I just always have a problem with the masa not being cooked completely so need to cook much longer.
Ashly Bravo says
Three words:
Ah may zing!!
Your directions were great and thanks for the tip on how to break them up between days. My picky husband loved them, my 13 year old devoured them and my 4 year old had tamales for the first time and loved it! It was a hit. I’m saving this recipe and making them over and over again. I used née Mexico Chile and even made a batch with green sauce in the masa for chicken tamales and cheese tamales. The masa was sooo good. Best I’ve ever had!
Thanks again!
Carissa says
I’m so happy to hear that your family enjoyed them!
Nora says
Wanted to ask you what u think I did wrong…my masa on the tamales got runny when cooked. Did I put too much broth in it ??
They wouldn’t fall off the hush
Carissa says
Hmmm, I’m not sure. Did you cook them long enough? I never have any problems with this ratio of broth to masa.
Tonia thurman says
I made these and they turned out perfect. I had to improvise since I didnt have a tamale steamer. Niw that I know they are not too difficult to make, I just bought a tamale steamer.
Jackie says
I had never made tamales before. This recipe is fabulous! Great directions. Was nice to break it up over a few day. I cooked my pork in a crockpot! For my first time making them, I was surprised at the compliments I had received. thanks for sharing!
Carissa says
You’re welcome Jackie! I’m so glad you found the directions easy to follow and that they turned out great.
Dorothy says
Question, do you discard onion garlic and bay leaves after pork is cooked?
Carissa says
yes
Donna says
Sounds like a lot of work, but worth it in the end. Breaking it up over a couple of days sounds easier