Red Pork Tamales + VIDEO

Published: Dec 18, 2020 · Updated: Nov 7, 2024 by Maggie Unzueta

Red Pork Tamales (or Tamales de Puerco en Chile Rojo) is traditional Mexican food at its best. So tasty. So incredibly delicious. They are worth the effort to make.

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Pot of pork tamales with the open side up.

Red Pork Tamales – I can’t count how many times I’ve sat in my grandmother’s kitchen making them. I don’t have enough fingers and toes. Lol.

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All of us crowded in her tiny kitchen smearing and filling and folding. There are hours of stories that will forever be with me.

This is where I tell you that my family is from Durango, Mexico, and every family, every town has their own version, their own recipe. Adapt this recipe to make it your own.

Pork shoulder with the fatty layer side up on a green cutting board.

This is pork shoulder, but you can also use pork butt.

If this is your first time making Red Pork Tamales, use boneless pork butt. It’s a cut that’s a lot easier to work with.

Word to the Wise: Whatever cut you decide to use. Make sure you trim off any excess fat.

Table of Contents

1 More Mexican Tamales Recipes:
2 Pro Tamale Making Tip:
3 Advice for Beginners:
4 HOW LONG DO TAMALES LAST?
5 HOW TO REHEAT TAMALES:
- - 5.0.1 Hungry for More?
6 Red Pork Tamales + VIDEO

More Mexican Tamales Recipes:

Chicken Mole Tamales
Beef Tamales
Jalapeno and Cheese Tamales
Chicken Salsa Verde Tamales

Hand pointing to the fatty layer of the pork shoulder.

Some of you might be thinking it’s a lot of work to remove the skin.

See the fatty outer layer? If you have a good, sharp knife, it’s not so bad.

Hand holding the pork shoulder showing the bone in the center of the meat.

Why to use pork shoulder over pork butt? The bone is going to give our meat tons of flavor.

That and pork shoulder was on sale. Lol. No bones about it.

Place all the pork pieces in the pot.

Use the biggest pot you have in your kitchen like a 12-quart stockpot.

Or, borrow one from your neighbor if necessary. It’s a great way to make new friends! Promise them Tamales de Puerco.

Just in case you are feeding some non-meaters, here are some Vegetarian Tamales:

Northern Style Bean Tamales
Vegetable Tamales
Mushroom Tamales
Tamales Dulces

Hand holding orange measuring spoon filled with salt over the raw pork.

You can’t take out salt. Add 1 ½ tablespoons of salt to the pot.

You can always adjust the salt content later.

Onion and garlic cloves in the pot of raw pork.

Then, add a whole garlic bulb and an onion to the pot.

Water pouring into the pot of pork, garlic, and onion.

You need plenty of water. It’s going to make a pork broth that we will use for later in the recipe.

Cook for 2 hours.

Great Idea: You can also make this in the slow cooker ahead of time the day before.

Cooked pork lasts up to 5 days in the fridge.

Hand over white plate submerging the corn husks in a large red container

Separate the corn husks. They tend to stick together.
Remove any debris and hairs.
Use warm water to cover the husks.

You also need something heavy so they can be fully submerged. Rocks, bowling bowls, or in my case, a heavy plate.

Pro Tamale Making Tip:

Soak the corn husks overnight. That way they are ready to go in the morning.

Cooked pork pieces in a glass pyrex plate over a granite countertop.

Once your pork is fully cooked, remove the meat and save the broth. It’s porking awesome!

Two fork shredded cooked pork in a glass plate.

Shred the pork meat with two forks. Fork this pork! Fork it real good! lol.

Place the shredded pork in a large pot and make the sauce.

To make the red chile sauce is very easy. Ancho you glad it’s so easy. 😉

We need ancho chile and guajillo chile.

Take the stems off and cut in half.
Then remove the seeds.

If you don’t live near a Mexican market, you can always buy ancho chile and guajillo chile on Amazon.

Place all the chiles in a pot.
Add water and bring to a boil.
Immediately turn off the heat.
5 minutes later, the chiles will be fully reconstituted.

The chiles will be pliable to use.

Rehydrated chile ancho on a Mexican clay plate.

Discard the water. I’ve started to stop using the chile water to make sauces. In Mexico, dried chiles are very dusty.

One time, I even found a bug in the chile. Yuck!

Whole cumin in a an orange teaspoon over the top of the blender.

Whole cumin is an important ingredient in Northern Mexican dishes.

If you have ground cumin, that’s fine too. You can’t substitute it either.

Remember the pork broth?

It’s liquid gold. You don’t have to dig in a mine for this stuff, but it is MINE to enjoy!

I will even use the onions and garlic from the broth itself. All of that will add flavor to the tamales de puerco.

Blend until smooth. You might need to do this is stages. We are using several chiles and lots of broth.

Pouring red chile sauce through the strainer.

Strain through a strainer to remove any remaining chile pieces or pieces from the pork broth. Next, reserve ½ cup of the red chile for the masa.

Note: If you have a really good blender that blends everything clean, you might not need to strain. If you see any particles of the chile in the sauce, then by all means, strain!

Pouring red chile sauce into the pot with shredded pork.

Add the rest of the red chile sauce to the shredded pork. Coat the meat well with the sauce.

If you want it saucier, here’s you chance to add some pork broth.
Cook for about 20-30 minutes.

Let it cool before you start assembling your tamales.

Masa mixed with red chile sauce takes on an orange color.

Advice for Beginners:

If this is your first time making Red Pork Tamales, buy prepared masa. It will save you tons of time.

You can also make your own Masa for Tamales or use a healthier version of masa with oil.

The final step is to add the red chile sauce to the masa and mix well.

I do this by hand, but you can also do this with a mixer. Your masa will look orange-y. Orange you glad you’re making tamales! Haha!

Corn husks, pork, and masa ready to assemble red pork tamales, or tamales de puerco rojos.

To assemble the Red Pork Tamales, start by shaking off some of the excess water from the corn husk.

Shake it off swiftly! (Insert Taylor Swiftly)

Cup with the palm of your non-spreading hand.
Spread the masa evenly on the corn husk stopping halfway to the top and all the way down the bottom.

There’s a natural curve to the corn husk.

Pork in the center of the masa on a corn husk.

The thrill of the fill.

Add the pork filling to the center of the masa.
Be careful not to add too much of the sauce, or it can spill.

You can add more sauce if you like. To each their own.

Hand holding a corn husk with one side of the husk folded in.

To start with, fold one side of the corn husk in.

Hand holding a corn husk with both sides folded in.

Fold the other side of the corn husk in.

Hand holding a folded tamal and ready to cook.

Lastly, fold in the pointy top to the center of the corn husk.

Caution: Carefully place the uncooked Pork Tamales in a container standing up while you assemble. You want the open side up, or the filling might fall out.

Add water to the bottom of the steamer and place all the tamales inside.
Again, they should be open side up.
Cover with a more husks and place the lid.
Steam for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours.

Make these tamales in half the time using an instant pot. See my recipes for Instant Pot Pork Tamales and Instant Pot Chicken Tamales for more details.

Red Pork Tamales on a decorative gold plate.

After 60 minutes of cooking, carefully move the tamales aside to create an opening and add more hot water.

The tamales are ready when the tamal pulls away from the corn husk easily.

If the tamales are not ready after 1 ½ hours, see if there is water in the pot. Add water if necessary, and steam for another ½ hour.

Red Pork Tamales on decorative golden plate surrounded by forks and cilantro, and a single tamal on a white plate with a cilantro leaf on top.

HOW LONG DO TAMALES LAST?

Place tamales in a large plastic, sealable bag. Remove as much air as possible.
They last up to 5 days in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer.

HOW TO REHEAT TAMALES:

Steam refrigerated tamales in a steam (same as before) with the opening up. 15 minutes. For frozen tamales, 20-25 minutes.

Also try Green Pork Tamales, Birria Tamales, and Strawberry Tamales.

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More Mexican Pork Recipes

About Maggie Unzueta

Maggie Unzueta is the face behind In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been publishing Mexican recipes and creating delicious recipes since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.

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