Tamales de Puerco (Red Pork Tamales)

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Description

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

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed
  • ½ onion
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt to taste
  • water to cover
  • corn husks
  • 1 pound Roma tomatoes
  • 4 dried chile de arbol peppers
  • 4 small guajillo chile peppers, stemmed and seeded
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 ¼ cups lard
  • 4 ½ cups fresh corn masa dough
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

Instructions

  1. Cut pork into 3 chunks and place in a large saucepan. Add onion
  2. garlic
  3. bay leaves
  4. and salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil; skim foam from surface. Reduce heat
  5. cover
  6. and simmer for 1 hour. Remove pork and let cool. Strain broth and reserve.
  7. Bring a pot of water to a boil while pork is cooking. Add tomatoes
  8. arbol chiles
  9. and guajillo chiles
  10. and boil until chiles are soft
  11. about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon
  12. reserving cooking water
  13. and allow to cool.
  14. Place corn husks in a bowl
  15. cover with boiling water
  16. and soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain
  17. place on a work surface
  18. and cover with a clean
  19. damp towel.
  20. Combine tomatoes
  21. 1/2 cup cooking water
  22. chiles de arbol
  23. guajillo chiles
  24. and cornstarch in a blender; blend until smooth. Strain tomato sauce through a fine-mesh sieve.
  25. Beat lard with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy. Combine masa
  26. 1 cup reserved pork broth
  27. 1 tablespoon salt
  28. 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
  29. it’s ready
  30. if not
  31. keep beating for a little longer.
  32. Shred cooled pork with 2 forks.
  33. Select 1 wide corn husk or 2 small ones. Spread about 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the the corn husk
  34. 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
  35. 1 over the other. Fold the bottom of the husk over the seam of the 2 folded sides. Repeat with remaining husks.
  36. 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
  37. about 1 hour. Let tamales rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins

Servings: 15

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