Best Traditional Tamales Pork Recipes

TRADITIONAL TAMALES (PORK)

Steps:

• In a 5 qt Dutch oven, bring pork, water, onion, garlic and 1 1/2 salt to boil.
• Simmer covered, about 2 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender.
• Remove meat from broth and allow both meat and broth to cool. (Chilling the broth will allow you to easily remove the fat if you desire to do so).
• Shred the meat using 2 forks, discarding fat.
• Strain the broth and reserve 6 cups.
• In a large sauce pan, heat the red chili sauce and add meat; simmer, covered for 10 minutes.
• To make masa beat shortening on medium speed in a large bowl for 1 minute.
• In a separate bowl, stir together masa harina, baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt.
• Alternately add masa harina mixture and broth to shortening, beating well after each addition. (Add just enough broth to make a thick, creamy paste).
• In the mean time, soak corn husks in warm water for at least 20 minutes; rinse to remove any corn silk and drain well.
• To assemble each tamale, spread 2 tablespoons of the masa mixture on the center of the corn husk (each husk should be 8 inches long and 6 inches wide at the top. If husks are small, overlap 2 small ones to form one. If it is large, tear a strip from the side).
• Place about 1 tablespoon meat and sauce mixture in the middle of the masa.
• Fold in sides of husk and fold up the bottom.
• Place a mound of extra husks or a foil ball in the center of a steamer basket placed in a Dutch oven.
• Lean the tamales in the basket, open side up.
• Add water to Dutch oven just below the basket.
• Bring water to boil and reduce heat.
• Cover and steam 40 minutes, adding water when necessary.
• To freeze these for future meals, leave them in the husks and place them in freezer bags. To reheat, thaw and wrap in a wet paper towel and reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes for one or two or re-steam them just until hot.

TRADITIONAL PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• Pork Butt:
• Place pork butt in large Dutch oven or medium-size stock pot. Add garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves and salt. Add enough cold water to cover by at least 3 inches. Bring just to a boil on high heat, quickly reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer, partly covered, skimming any froth from the top during the first 15 to 20 minutes of cooking. A piece this size should be well-cooked but not dried out in 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from stock and let cool to room temperature. When cool, pull meat into fine shreds.
• Strain and degrease the stock. It will be easier to remove fat when thoroughly chilled.
• Can be kept, tightly covered, 2 days in the refrigerator, if de-greased at once, up to 1 week if you leave the top layer of fat on it until ready to use. The stock also freezes well.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded pork with the red chile sauce.
• Masa:
• Place 10 pounds of masa in a large plastic mixing bowl. Mix 1/4 cup water with baking powder in a cup held over the bowl with the dry masa until it fizzes, then pour mixture evenly over masa. Add 1/4 cup salt and work masa with hands to mix evenly. Melt 4 cups vegetable shortening in a large saucepan and allow to cool. Pour evenly over masa and knead masa with hands again. When it starts to feel thick and compact (like fudge) it¿s ready. Pat down in bowl and set aside.
• Chile Sauce:
• In a large saucepan, boil chiles and tomatoes together for about 10 minutes or until softened. Drain the chiles and tomatoes and reserve the water (stock.) Set stock aside. Rinse seeds out of boiled chiles at sink. Grind garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and whole cumin with mortar and pestle. Put chiles, tomatoes, 3 additional tablespoons salt and ground ingredients together in blender and blend well. Add 2 cups of the reserved water (stock.)
• In a heavy, medium-size saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat until rippling. Add flour, stirring constantly until golden. Add strained chile puree to the pan and reduce the heat to low. It will splatter, so be careful. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the raw taste is gone and the flavor of the chiles has mellowed, about 10 minutes.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded pork with the chile sauce.
• To assemble the tamales, soak dried corn husks in warm water for about 1 hour until soft. Spread masa mixture evenly onto husk using a wooden spoon. Fill with about 2 tablespoons pork mixture and top with 1 green olive, 1 slice of potato and 1 carrot stick. Fold and tie ends with pieces of corn husk. Steam for 1 and 1/2 hours.
• To steam: To make a steamer, place a metal rack (such as a cooling rack) in the bottom of a large stock pot or canner. Water level should be below the rack. Lay extra corn husks over rack. Stand the tamales on the folded edge in the steamer (the open edge with be facing upward). First fill the bottom of the steamer, then start stacking tamales on top of one another. Place any extra husks on top of tamales, cover with pot lid and steam for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Replenish boiling water if necessary during steaming, time. The tamales are done when the husk peels away easily from the filling.

TíA CHITA'S TRADITIONAL MEXICAN PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• There are a few steps to making tamales and it is usually an all-day affair.
• Cooking the meat: Chop the pork butt into 3-inch cubes; reserve the bone.
• Add the oil to a large pot or Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat (we use a Dutch oven because it seems to cook faster). Add the pork butt to the pot. Sear the sides slightly until just golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add the peppercorns, bay leaves, onion, 3 cloves of the garlic and 1 tablespoon salt. Add 2 to 4 cups of water, or enough to cover the pork butt, then add the reserved bone. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and bring it to a boil. Cook on medium heat until very tender, about 2 hours.
• Preparing the corn husks: Separate the corn husks and take off all the little hairs and dust from them. Allow them to soak in hot water while the pork is cooking (or soak overnight).
• Carefully remove the pork from the broth with tongs to a plate or cutting board. Pour the leftover broth through a colander into a large bowl so that all the onion and other ingredients stay behind. Set the strained broth aside for later (about 4 cups).
• Shred the meat with 2 forks into small bite-size pieces. (You want it small enough that you aren't getting large pieces or chunks into the tamal.) Transfer to a medium saucepan.
• Preparing the chile: Cut the stems from the ancho chiles, open them and remove all the seeds and veins. Put them in a 3-quart saucepan, cover with water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, remove from the heat, set aside, cover and let steam for 5 minutes.
• To a blender, add the softened chiles, ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt and blend. Press in the remaining clove of garlic and slowly add 2/3 cup of the reserved pork broth. Continue to blend until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the chile mixture for the masa, then pour the remaining red chile sauce over the shredded pork and mix together to combine. Keep warm over low heat.
• Preparing the masa: Melt the lard in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Pour the melted lard into a large bowl. Add the masa harina to the bowl of lard, then add the baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, reserved 1/4 cup of the red chile sauce and 1/2 cup of the reserved pork broth. Knead well. Add more pork broth as needed until the dough is moistened and fluffy.
• Assembling the tamales: Drain the husks and pat them dry with a clean towel. Spread the kneaded masa onto the smooth side of the corn husks with a spoon in the center of the husks (2 to 3 tablespoons of masa per husk). Add the meat to the center of the masa, 1 to 2 tablespoons per husk. Fold over the husks in half vertically so that the masa wraps around the filling completely. Fold the pointy side up at the end to hold the tamale in place.
• Cooking the tamales: Arrange the tamales open-side up around the inside of a steamer basket that fits into a large (10-quart) pot, packing the tamales together. If there's extra space in the steamer basket, place a mason jar or small heatproof ceramic bowl upside down in the center, arranging the tamales around it. Arrange a layer of husks around the sides of the steamer basket and up over the top of the tamales and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Fill the large pot with 1 to 2 inches of water. (Note: You can put a penny at the bottom of the pot so you can hear it rolling when you need more water.) Bring the water to a rolling simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium low, set the steamer basket inside of the pot and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the tamales to steam for 1 to 2 hours or until the masa pulls away from the husks. Let sit to cool down for 5 to 10 minutes. Use tongs to remove the tamales afterwards and set on a jelly roll pan to cool down.

TRADITIONAL PORK TAMALES WITH MOLE SAUCE RECIPE - (4.2/5)

Steps:

• * Note: Prepared masa with shortening added, for tamales, can be purchased at Latino markets. For the Pork: Cut off the top half of the head of garlic so that the cloves are exposed. Quarter the onion. Cut the pork into 3-inch cubes. Place the pork in a large pot with the bone, if there is one, along with the cut head of garlic and the onion. Add salt to taste and enough water to cover. Bring the water to boil and simmer the pork, covered, for at least 4 hours. Refrigerate the pork overnight, covered. The next day, remove the fat, gristle and the bone, and shred and save the cooked pork. Strain and save the broth to make the mole sauce. For the Filling: Simmer the California and New Mexico chiles in water for 10 minutes to soften them. (Beware the fumes from the cooking chiles.) Cool the chiles. Remove and discard the stems, seeds and veins. Toast the pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds in a skillet over medium heat until golden, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the papery skin from the tomatillos and simmer the tomatillos in the reserved pork broth until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the tomatillos and set aside, reserving the broth. Cook the onion in the oil over medium heat until tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Set it aside. In a blender, combine the seeded chiles, toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds, tomatillos, onion, garlic, salt to taste, cumin and 2/3 cup reserved pork broth. Blend together, then pour the mixture through a sieve, saving the liquid. Return the solids to the blender, along with another 2/3 cup pork broth, and blend again. Pour the mixture through the sieve again, discarding the solids and placing the sauce in a saucepan. Simmer the mole sauce for 30 minutes. Combine the sauce with the reserved shredded pork and set it aside to cool. The filling should not be runny. For the Masa: In the bowl of mixer, combine the masa with the baking powder, about 3 tablespoons of pork broth and the melted lard to "lighten" the masa. Beat together, then test the consistency by breaking off a small piece of masa and trying to float it in water. It is not absolutely necessary that it float, but a light, spongy consistency of the masa is critical to good tamales. The masa can't be beaten too much. For Assembly: Soak the hojas in hot water to soften, about 20 minutes. Sort out the smaller pieces and discard. Drain the large hojas just before filling. Take a large hoja and dry it with a paper towel. Hold the hoja in one hand and spread about 2 tablespoons of masa over the hoja with the back of a spoon, or lay the hoja flat on a table to spread the masa. Place about 2 tablespoons of the pork-mole filling on the masa. Fold over the hoja from the side. Now fold over the opposite side to seal the masa. Fold up the bottom of the hoja. The tamale is ready for steaming. Repeat the process with the remaining tamales. (The tamales may be frozen at this point for steaming later.) If necessary the folded tamale may be tied with a strip of hoja to hold it together. Stand the tamales open-end up in a steamer. You may need to steam them in two batches. Steam the tamales until the masa is cooked and firm, 35 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the remaining tamales. This recipe yields 36 tamales. Each tamale: 205 calories; 159 mg sodium; 28 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams protein; 3.09 grams fiber.

TRADITIONAL PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• To prepare the meat: Place the meat in a glass dish.
• In a small bowl mix together salt, cumin, paprika and nutmeg.
• Rub the spice mixture all over the meat and marinate for about 4-6 hours. If you can marinate overnight, even better.
• In a Dutch oven on medium, heat the olive oil and sear the meat until slightly brown on all sides. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves and chicken stock.
• Cover and cook for about 2-3 hours hours on low or until fork tender. Turn the meat and baste it every 20 minutes or so. Add the cilantro.
• Place meat on a large cutting board and allow it to cool slightly. Shred using two forks. Place in a bowl. Add the olives and the raisins and mix well.
• Save the broth and strain it, you will need it to add to the masa. Add the strained solids back to the meat mixture and toss out the bay leaves.
• To make the dough: In a small bowl mix chili powder, salt, and olive oil and set aside.
• Place the masa in a large bowl and add the baking powder. Mix well.
• Add the cooled broth from the cooked meat to the masa and then the chili powder mixture.
• To assemble: DO NOT OVERFILL, or you will not be able to properly close up the tamales.
• Pat dry the corn husks as you use them.
• Place a corn husk in your hand with the tapered end facing you.
• With your hand, pinch off a chunk of dough and put it in the center of the husk. Flatten it out a little bit.
• Take approximately a tablespoon of the filling and place it on top along the length of the dough.
• Cover the filling with another chunk of dough.
• Fold both sides of the husk inward so they overlap. Take each end and flip inwards towards the center. You will end up with somewhat of a rectangle.
• Tie using kitchen twine, as though you were tying a parcel.
• Steam for about 35 minutes.
• To make sure tamales are ready, take one out, cut the twine and unwrap. Tamales are ready if the corn husk peels away easily.