Red Chile Pork Tamales (Tamales Rojos de Puerco)
Pork shoulder simmered down in a smooth guajillo chile sauce, wrapped in light, fluffy lard-beaten masa and steamed upright in corn husks, the central Mexican way.
The word comes from the Nahuatl tamalli, by way of the Spanish tamal; English speakers turned the plural tamales into a new singular, "tamale" (Wikipedia, citing the Real Academia Española:). How old tamales are is DISPUTED: one book Wikipedia cites puts their origin in Mesoamerica as early as 8000 to 5000 BC, while archaeologists Karl Taube, William Saturno and David Stuart point to pictures in the San Bartolo murals of Guatemala from around 100 AD. Bernardino de Sahagún's Florentine Codex, written after the Spanish conquest, describes tamales sold in Aztec markets with fillings from turkey and fish to frog, axolotl, beans and squash seeds, seasoned with chiles (Wikipedia).
Today making tamales is a group job. Historian Pilar Zazueta of the University of Texas told the Austin Chronicle that tamale making "works best as a collective endeavor", which is why the tamalada, a family assembly line, belongs to the holidays (Emily Beyda, December 27, 2019:). Rick Bayless describes these red chile pork tamales as central Mexico style, light and fluffy rather than pudding-like.
🇲🇽 The original
Pork shoulder simmered down in a smooth guajillo chile sauce, wrapped in light, fluffy lard-beaten masa and steamed upright in corn husks, the central Mexican way.
🇺🇸 The American version
In the Mississippi Delta, tamales became smaller, spicier rolls of cornmeal and seasoned meat simmered in a pot of chile-spiked liquid: hot tamales. See the Mississippi Delta Hot Tamales recipe.
🗳️ Mexican tamales or Mississippi Delta hot tamales? Vote: Mexican tamales vs Delta hot tamales →
Why it works the kitchen science
Beaten lard
Whipping the fat with baking powder before the masa goes in traps air, and the float test checks it, so the tamales steam up light instead of dense.
Sauce that cooks down
Simmering raw pork right in the strained chile purée seasons the meat all the way through and reduces the sauce until it clings, so the filling stays moist without leaking into the masa.
Step by step
- Step 1
Cover the husks with very hot water, weight them with a plate so they stay under, and soak about 2 hours while you make the filling, until pliable.
- Step 2
Blend the chiles, garlic, pepper, cumin and 3 cups of the water about 1 minute, until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh strainer into a 4-quart saucepan. Add the pork, the other 3 cups water and the 1 tsp salt and simmer uncovered over medium heat 60 to 75 minutes, stirring often, until the pork is fork tender and the liquid is a thick sauce. Break the pork into small pieces with a fork, salt to taste and cool to room temperature.
- Step 3
In a stand mixer, beat the lard with the baking powder and 2 tsp salt on medium-high about 1 minute, until light. Beat in the masa in three additions. On medium-low, pour in 1 cup broth slowly, then add more until the batter is like soft cake batter that holds its shape on a spoon. Beat 1 minute more. Drop 1/2 tsp into a cup of cold water: it should float. If it sinks, beat 1 to 2 minutes more and test again.
- Step 4
Set up the steamer: 2 inches of water below the rack, a coin in the water if you like, and the rack lined with leftover husks. Pick out 24 of the biggest husks, at least 6 inches across at the wide end, and pat them dry (overlap two small ones if needed).
- Step 5
Lay a husk with the tapered end toward you. Spread about 1/4 cup masa into a 4-inch square, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border at the tapered end and 3/4 inch on the other sides. Spoon about 1 1/2 tbsp filling down the center, bring the long sides together so the masa wraps the filling, roll it closed, fold up the empty tapered end and tie it loosely.
- Step 6
Stand the tamales on their folded ends, open ends up. Fill gaps with crumpled foil, cover with leftover husks and the lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to a steady, gentle boil and steam about 1 1/4 hours, adding boiling water whenever the level drops.
- Step 7
Lift one out and unwrap it: it is done when the husk peels away easily from the masa. If it sticks, steam 10 minutes more and test again. Turn off the heat and let the tamales rest in the pot 15 minutes to firm up.
Red Chile Pork Tamales (Tamales Rojos de Puerco)
Serves 8 (3 tamales each) · 24 tamales · 4 hr total
Husks
- 1 (8 oz) package dried corn husks
- 24 pieces of kitchen string, about 8 inches long, or thin strips torn from extra husks
Red chile pork filling
- 16 medium dried guajillo chiles (about 4 oz), stemmed, seeded and torn into pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, preferably freshly ground
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 6 cups water, divided
- 1 1/2 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Masa
- 10 oz (1 1/4 cups) rich pork lard or vegetable shortening, softened but not runny
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 lb (4 cups) fresh coarse-ground masa for tamales, or 3 1/2 cups masa harina for tamales mixed with 2 1/4 cups hot water and cooled
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Method
- Cover the husks with very hot water, weight them with a plate so they stay under, and soak about 2 hours while you make the filling, until pliable.
- Blend the chiles, garlic, pepper, cumin and 3 cups of the water about 1 minute, until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh strainer into a 4-quart saucepan. Add the pork, the other 3 cups water and the 1 tsp salt and simmer uncovered over medium heat 60 to 75 minutes, stirring often, until the pork is fork tender and the liquid is a thick sauce. Break the pork into small pieces with a fork, salt to taste and cool to room temperature.
- In a stand mixer, beat the lard with the baking powder and 2 tsp salt on medium-high about 1 minute, until light. Beat in the masa in three additions. On medium-low, pour in 1 cup broth slowly, then add more until the batter is like soft cake batter that holds its shape on a spoon. Beat 1 minute more. Drop 1/2 tsp into a cup of cold water: it should float. If it sinks, beat 1 to 2 minutes more and test again.
- Set up the steamer: 2 inches of water below the rack, a coin in the water if you like, and the rack lined with leftover husks. Pick out 24 of the biggest husks, at least 6 inches across at the wide end, and pat them dry (overlap two small ones if needed).
- Lay a husk with the tapered end toward you. Spread about 1/4 cup masa into a 4-inch square, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border at the tapered end and 3/4 inch on the other sides. Spoon about 1 1/2 tbsp filling down the center, bring the long sides together so the masa wraps the filling, roll it closed, fold up the empty tapered end and tie it loosely.
- Stand the tamales on their folded ends, open ends up. Fill gaps with crumpled foil, cover with leftover husks and the lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to a steady, gentle boil and steam about 1 1/4 hours, adding boiling water whenever the level drops.
- Lift one out and unwrap it: it is done when the husk peels away easily from the masa. If it sticks, steam 10 minutes more and test again. Turn off the heat and let the tamales rest in the pot 15 minutes to firm up.
Adapted from Rick Bayless, "Red Chile Pork Tamales Steamed in Corn Husks (Tamales de Puerco en Chile Guajillo en Totomostle)", an updated version of a recipe from his "Mexico: One Plate at a Time". Amounts, the 1 to 1 1/4 hour simmer, the float test and the 1 1/4 hour steam are his. The 15 minute rest is his; "test one and steam 10 minutes more" is from his green chile chicken tamales. Serving count is ours. Rick Bayless. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Do the filling a day ahead and chill it; cold filling is easier to spoon and the tamal day goes faster.
- Bayless says restaurant cooks sometimes chill the beaten masa overnight and beat it again with a little more broth the next day for moister tamales (green chile chicken tamales page).
- For the best texture, Bayless cools steamed tamales completely and steams them again about 15 minutes before serving (Basic Tamal Dough page).
- A standing tamal needs room to swell; do not tie or pack them tightly.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Tamales are more than 7,000 years old. Disputed: Wikipedia cites Daniel Hoyer's 2008 book for 8000 to 5000 BC, but the San Bartolo murals that Taube, Saturno and Stuart point to date from around 100 AD, and the oldest confirmed tamale eaters Wikipedia names lived at Teotihuacan (c. 250 BC to 750 AD).
- "Tamale" is the English word, "tamal" the Spanish. Documented: Wikipedia calls the English singular a back-formation from tamales.
- The masa must pass the float test. Disputed: Bayless and Pati Jinich use it as the sign of a light tamal; America's Test Kitchen's tamale recipe skips it and relies on baking powder and a food processor, and the Oaxacan recipe and Table Magazine's New Mexico family recipe do not mention it.
- Lard is better than shortening. Disputed: Bayless allows shortening; ATK found shortening tasted artificial and used lard with butter.
- Christmas is tamal season. Documented as a social tradition: Zazueta ties it to how much work tamales take and how well a family assembly line fits a holiday (Austin Chronicle).
Every other tamale
Green Chicken Tamales (Tamales Verdes de Pollo)
Shredded chicken in a tangy tomatillo and serrano salsa verde, tucked into masa beaten fluffy with lard and chicken broth and steamed in corn husks.
Oaxacan Black Mole Tamales in Banana Leaves
Smooth lard-beaten masa, shredded pork and chicken and a spoonful of glossy mole negro, folded into square banana-leaf packets and steamed for an hour and a half.
Pink Sweet Tamales (Tamales de Dulce)
Sweet masa beaten with whipped lard and sugar, tinted pale pink and studded with raisins, steamed in corn husks and eaten with hot atole or champurrado.
Rajas con Queso Tamales (Poblano and Cheese)
Strips of roasted poblano chile and melting cheese tucked into lard-beaten masa and steamed in corn husks, the vegetarian tamal at every tamalada.
Uchepos (Michoacán Fresh Corn Tamales)
Sweet fresh corn blended with milk, butter and piloncillo, wrapped in fresh green husks from the same ears and steamed until just set, served with crema, cheese and salsa.
Venezuelan Hallacas
Venezuela's Christmas tamal: achiote-gold corn dough around a beef and pork stew with olives, raisins, capers, peppers and chicken, wrapped in banana leaves like a gift and boiled.
San Antonio Christmas Tamales
Long, thin San Antonio tamales with more filling than masa: lean pork simmered with raisins, then cooked in a tomato, green chile and oregano sauce, rolled in husks like cigars for the Christmas tamalada.
Mississippi Delta Hot Tamales
Small, spicy beef tamales with a gritty cornmeal dough, tied in bundles and simmered upright in a pot of seasoned water, then served with the juice thickened into a sauce.
New Mexico Red Chile Pork Tamales
Slow-roasted pork shoulder in a New Mexico red chile sauce, with a little of the same sauce beaten into the masa, rolled in corn husks, steamed and served under more red chile.
1918 Tamale Pie
The World War I version of America's tamale casserole: seasoned ground beef, onion and tomatoes baked between two layers of plain cornmeal mush, with no wrapper, no steamer and, in 1918, no chile.
Skillet Tamale Pie
Chili-spiced ground sirloin, black beans, tomatoes and cheddar under a quick cornbread batter, baked right in the skillet in about 15 minutes.
Meatballs of the World
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Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
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Danish Frikadeller
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Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
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Lion's Head Meatballs
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Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.