Have you ever wanted to make your own homemade tamales from scratch? Follow this authentic Mexican tamales recipe to make tender tamales filled with juicy shredded pork in a savory red sauce. You won’t be disappointed!
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Instructions
Soak The Corn Husks
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Once water is boiling, remove water from heat.
In the meantime, separate, wash and clean the corn husks. Once water is removed from heat, add the corn husks to the boiled water and push them down into the water to soak.
Cover pot and let corn husks soak for 2 hours, changing the water with more boiled water once the water cools down to room temperature.
Cook The Pork
Cut the pork off the bone and cut it into large chunks and remove any large fat pieces.
Add the pork to a large soup pot along with the salt, bay leaves, garlic, onion, cumin powder and pepper. Pour enough water in to cover the pork with one inch of water above.
Bring it to a boil and skim off the scum from the top of broth. Stir and continue skimming the top until there is barely any scum left.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the pork simmer for 50 minutes, until pork is fork tender. Stir occasionally and add more water, if needed.
Remove the pot from the heat and take out the onion, bay leaves and garlic and discard. Then remove the pork and let it cool on a plate.
Pour the broth through a fine mesh sieve. Rinse the sieve, place it on the pan, pouring the broth back into the pot through the sieve one more time. Set broth aside to cool.
Once the pork has cooled, shred it into small pieces and set aside.
Make The Red Sauce
Preheat the oven to 400°F and prepare a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Add the tomatoes, onion and jalapeños and drizzle with oil and season with salt. Toss to coat.
Roast for 20 minutes, stirring half way through, until the veggies start to brown around the edges. Remove the pan from the oven and let the veggies cool for 10 minutes.
Add roasted vegetables to a blender along with the garlic and tomato bouillon. Blend until smooth and add more salt to taste, as needed.
Pour the sauce into a medium-size pot and add the shredded pork. Stir and let it simmer over low medium heat for 10 minutes. Then set aside to cool while you prepare the masa.
Make The Masa
Add the lard to a large mixing bowl and whip the lard by hand for 5-6 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Or use a hand mixer for about 3 minutes. Add the salt and baking powder and whip again until combined.
Add 4 cups of the maseca and 4 cups of the pork broth and stir by hand to combine. Stir and knead by hand for 10-15 minutes, adding maseca and broth as needed. If the masa is too wet, add more maseca and if it’s too dry, add more broth.
Don’t skimp on this step, it’s important to take your time and really put some elbow grease into this. Whipping and kneading it will make the dough have that signature soft and buttery consistency once cooked. Once you get a light and fluffy consistency, it’s ready.
Assemble The Tamales
Fill your tamale pot (or a large pot with steamer basket) with water up to the bottom of the steamer tray. Crumble a large piece of aluminum foil and place it in the center of the pot.
Remove 10 corn husks from the water they have been soaking in and squeeze any excess moisture from them. Make sure that they are all about 6-8 inches wide at the bottom. Don’t discard the tiny ones as you can use them for ties.
Lay one corn husk, rough side up on a plate or in your hand and add about two tablespoons of masa to the bottom half.
Spread it out smooth on one half only and add 1-2 tablespoons of the pork filling to the center of the masa.
Fold the sides into the center of the tamale and fold it in half. Tear off a piece of a small corn husk and tie it around the center of the tamale to seal it. You can also tie them with bakers twine.
Arrange tamales in the pot, with the open ends facing upwards. Repeat the process of making the tamales until all of the filling is used up.
Steam The Tamales
Once they are ready to cook, tuck in 5 to 6 corn husks along the sides of the tamales and fold them into the center to cover the tamales. This will keep excess water from falling into the open tamales.
Place the lid on the pan and bring water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to low.
Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until you can see that the masa starts to pull away from the sides of the corn husks at the top. (Check often and add more water as needed. Pour the water down the side of the pot, making sure to not get any water in the open top of the tamales and making sure to not overfill the pot. You only want an inch or two of water in the bottom of the pot at a time. If you overfill or pour the water directly over the tamales, they will turn out soggy and uncooked.)
Once you think they are done, take one tamale out and let it cool for 5-6 minutes, then try to remove the tamale from the husk. If they are ready, the tamale should come out easily and the masa should pull away from the sides. If not ready, let tamales cool for an additional 10 to 15 minutes and try again.
Once cooked, remove the pan from the heat and let them cool for 10 minutes. Then remove tamales from the pan and let them cool for 10 more minutes before serving as desired.
Notes
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.Freeze: Individually wrap each cooked and cooled tamale in plastic wrap and then foil. Place wrapped tamales in a disposable freezer bag or air tight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer to fridge to thaw overnight before reheating.Reheat: Peel off the husk and wrap in a slightly damp paper towel. Microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, turning halfway through.Serving Size: The number of tamales varies depending on corn husk size, amount of masa, and filling used.Test Batch: I recommend making a test batch of 3 to 4 tamales and cooking them before making any more. Doing so will allow you to taste and see if the filling or masa harina needs more salt, or if the masa is too dry and needs more lard. Caution: Avoid soggy, improperly cooked tamales. Take special care when adding additional water. Pour water just inside the pot, slightly behind the extra corn husks layered over the top. Don’t overfill the bottom of the pan or pour water over/into the tamales.Kneading the Dough: Take your time here. It takes 10 to 15 minutes for proper whipping and thorough kneading will produce a soft, buttery consistency once cooked.Extra Masa Dough: Use it to make traditional, corn tortillas or simply discard it.