Delicate, flavorful Handmade Authentic Tamales filled with red chili pork or poblano jack cheese deliver the taste of Mexico in your kitchen.
This essential step by step guide will make you crave fresh tamales everyday. There are so many filling possibilities from traditional red chili pork to vegetarian poblano jack or even bean and cheese. Get creative.
Looking at the amount of steps in this recipe may seem daunting, but these Handmade Authentic Tamales can be made in steps. I like to make the red chili pork the day before, so all that’s left is the masa and assembly. Plus, this recipe makes quiet a few tamales, so it’s a really great way to meal prep for later. You can store the tamales for up to six months in the freezer.
When you are ready to plate these beautiful tamales, top with your favorite ingredients. My topping of choice is this Salsa Verde, which is super easy to make with your blender. Other suggestions are chopped radish and cilantro, avocado or pico de gallo.
Ingredients
- Masa – Instant corn masa found in the Mexican aisle of grocery. I used Maseca brand. The bag will indicate used for tamales.
- Lard – Use your rendered lard or purchase at the grocery next to the masa.
- Pork – Use either shoulder, picnic or Boston butt, which is intended for slow cooking and shreds easily.
- Corn Husks – Sold in packages in the Mexican aisle of the grocery. They are used to wrap and steam the masa and meat, making the tamales.
- Guajillo Chili – Dried, sold in package in Mexican aisle of grocery. Has a deep, fruity, smoky flavor with mild heat.
- Chiles de Arbol – Known as bird beak chili, adds the heat.
- Cumin – A warm, earthy spice that gives depth of flavor.
- Chipotle Powder – Smoke dried jalapeno peppers ground into powder.
- Garlic – Pick hard, firm to the touch garlic.
- Tomato Bouillon – Knorr tomato chicken bouillon cubes.
- Onion – Pick firm yellow onions.
Preparation
- Prepare the shredded pork first. Combine chili powder, chipotle powder, cumin and salt. Rub mixture over pork roast.
- Heat lard in a dutch oven or large heavy pot. Sear pork roast over medium high heat on each side creating a browned crust.
- Add water, tomato bouillon cubes, onion and garlic to the pot. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until fork tender about 3 hours.
- Remove pork roast from pot, shred, reserve cooking liquid.
- Make the sauce by toasting guajillo and arbol chilies in dry pan over medium heat until warmed, being careful not to burn. Remove from pan and soak in 2-3 cups hot water or broth for 10 minutes.
- Place soaked chilies, garlic cloves, and cumin in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Heat lard in a medium pan over medium heat, add sauce from blender and about 3 cups reserved cooking liquid, cook until darkened (about 10 minutes). Combine shredded pork in a large bowl with sauce.
- Start soaking your corn husks in hot water. Either spread out in a large pan or in the sink.
- Prepare the masa by hand mixing masa, baking powder, salt, chipotle powder, chili powder and cumin, then add lard and butter. Slowly add cooking liquid until dough forms. Dough should be a thinner, wetter consistency. Using your hand, mix the dough, repeatedly, until very smooth.
- Assemble the tamales by taking a soaked corn husk, wide side towards you, and spreading a thin layer of masa, edge to edge, about 3/4 of the way up the corn husk.
- Place about 1/4 cup shredded pork in bottom middle portion of the corn husk. Fold sides in and top over. Tie with a strip of corn husk.
- Set up your tamale steamer with water to just under steaming rack and place a piece of foil over steaming rack. Set tamales in steamer open side up.
- Place tamale steamer over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and steam for about 45 minutes.
Handmade Authentic Tamales
Tender, flavorful Handmade Authentic Tamales filled with red chili shredded pork or vegetarian poblano cheese.
Ingredients
Red Chili Pork Filling
- 3 lb. pork butt / picnic / shoulder roast
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. chipotle powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp. lard
- 1/2 yellow onion rough sliced
- 4 cloves garlic rough chopped
- 2 cubes Knorr tomato chicken bouillon smashed
- 6 cups water
Red Chili Sauce
- 8 guajillo chili peppers dried
- 4 chili de arbol pepper dried
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp. lard
- 2-3 cups reserved cooking liquid from pork
Masa
- 3 1/2 cups masa
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup lard
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1 tbsp. chipotle powder
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- reserved cooking liquid from pork
Poblano Jack Filling
- 8 poblano peppers prepared (see notes)
- 8 Monterrey Jack cheese sticks cut in half
Other
- 1 package corn husks separated and soaked in warm water
Instructions
Red Chili Pork Filling
- Combine chili powder, chipotle powder, cumin and salt. Rub all over pork roast.
- Heat lard in a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear all sides of seasoned pork roast.
- Add remaining ingredients to pot, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until fork tender about 3 hours.
- Remove pork roast from pot, place on large dish and shred. Reserve all of the cooking liquid from pot to use in recipe.
Red Chili Sauce
- Place a dry sauté pan over medium high heat. Add dried guajillo and chili de arbol peppers. Toast until fragrant, just a couple minutes, being very careful not to burn. If burnt, they will taste horribly bitter and you will have to re-do.
- Remove chilies to a bowl and cover with 2-3 cups reserved cooking liquid. Soak for about 10 minutes until softened.
- Put soaked chilies, cooking liquid, garlic and cumin in blender and blend until smooth.
- Melt lard in a pan over medium high heat. Pour blended sauce in hot pan with lard and simmer until darkened about 15 minutes.
- Combine red chili sauce with shredded pork in a large bowl. Add a little more cooking liquid, if needed to make saucy.
Masa
- Combine masa, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Cream lard and butter together, them mix in with masa.
- Slowly add reserved cooking liquid until dough forms. You want a pretty wet dough because it needs to easily spread on the corn husks. Then, mix, mix, mix, with your hand until very smooth. You want all the masa granules gone. It really takes a lot of mixing.
Poblano Jack Filling
- Prepare poblano peppers by placing on a sheet pan, broiling until charred, removing from oven, placing in a covered dish to steam for a few minutes, then removing from dish and peeling off the skin and removing the stem and seeds. Cut each pepper in half.
- Place one half of each Monterey Jack cheese stick on one half of prepared poblano.
Assembling the Tamales
- Prepare your tamale steamer or large over sized pot with steamer rack in the bottom. Fill about 1/4 of pot with water, to just under steamer rack. Add a sheet of foil over steamer rack to protect from water.
- Prepare your work area by setting a stack of soaked corn husks, a stack of torn pieces from the corn husks (used to tie finished tamal), your bowl of red chili pork or poblano jack filling and the bowl of prepared masa.
- Place a corn husk in your hand with wide end towards you. Spread a scoop of masa over corn husk, reaching to edges, but only 3/4 of the way up towards smaller end. You want a thin layer. This masa will expand when steamed. If the masa is not spreading easily and not sticking to the corn husk, you may need to add more cooking liquid.
- Once, you have a nice, thin layer of masa, add about a 1/4 cup of red chili pork to the center
- OR if using the poblano jack filling, place one half poblano with one half Monterrey Jack cheese stick in the center.
- Fold the sides in and the bottom up. Tie with a strip of corn husk. Not too tight, just enough to secure. Set open end up in steamer pot. Continue with remaining ingredients until it's all used up.
- Place steamer pot on burner. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and steam for about 45 minutes. Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes. This allows the masa to firm up. They are now ready to eat, just don't eat the corn husk!
- You can store tamales in Ziplock bags in the freezer for about 6 months.
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