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Today’s Easy Pork Tamales are a flavourful comfort dish hailing from the Michoacana region of Mexico. They feature a rich corn dough surrounding melt-in-your-mouth, slow cooked pork shoulder filling, all smothered in an easy homemade chili sauce.

Pork Tamales Recipe

Today, I’m so excited to share with you my friend Katy’s family recipe for homemade pork tamales (singular, tamal – not tamale).

If you’ve never had tamales before, basically it is a corn dough that is filled with a variety of fillings and then steamed (typically in corn husks). It’s kind of like a very large dumpling, if I had to try to find something to compare it to, but the corn dough lends it a very unique texture.

This recipe for pork tamales features a tender, slow-cooked pork shoulder seasoned simply (but boldly) in onions, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin before being simmered for at least 2 hours. This slow cooking results in fall-apart pork that is well-seasoned, succulent and rich.

The meat is then enveloped in a vibrant and mildly spicy chili sauce before being packed into fluffy, buttery and rich masa corn dough pockets for steaming.

Katy’s family is from the Michoacana region of Mexico. The traditional tamales from that region, and the kind her great-grandmother used to make, are made with a mild homemade Ancho chili sauce, however after four generations of living in America, her family has expanded their chili selection to use a combination of different varieties, as reflected in the recipe below. (To make this recipe closer to the traditional Michoacana style, you can use ancho chilies only.)

These traditional pork tamales have a complex, yet comforting, flavour profile and a wonderful contrast of textures.

While they are pretty straight-forward and easy to make, the process of making them is pretty time consuming. It’s a great recipe to involve the kids in making, or have a friend over and double the recipe so you can each take a batch home to enjoy!

helpful tips for making pork tamales

Katy was generous enough to share some tips with us so that you can have the best tamal-making experience possible!

• Tamales-making day is usually a big group effort. If you want to make a batch bigger than in this recipe, you’re either going to need some helpers, or you can cook the filling and sauce one day, and then make the masa, fill, and cook the next day. 
• Used corn husks can’t be reused, but if you soak too many and have leftovers that don’t get filled, you can dry them and save them for next time. 
• Most grocery stores have Ancho chilies and maybe another mild variety like Chiles California. If you want to try out other varieties, look for a Mexican grocery store. (Try searching for “supermarcado”.)
• Generally, the smaller and redder a dried chili is, the spicier it will be (but not always). If anyone in your family can’t handle spice, use a maximum of 1-2 spicy chilies and stick to mostly the large darker ones like California or Pasilla. The more liquid you add to the sauce (as long as it’s not the chili steeping water), the milder it will become. But at a certain point, you can’t make it any less spicy. 
• This recipe for chili sauce makes more than you will need for the tamales. Store the extra in a jar in the fridge and use it as a sauce for any Mexican dish.
• Always wear gloves when handing dried chilies. I also like to wear gloves when I mix my masa by hand. 
• To eat, peel open the corn husk. Use a fork to eat the masa and pork filling. Discard the husk.

Ingredients for Traditional Pork Tamales

Pork Filling Ingredients:

• Pork shoulder
• White onions
• Garlic cloves
• Water
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cumin

Chili Sauce Ingredients:

• Mild dried chilies
• Hot dried chilies, optional
• White onion
• Garlic cloves
• Water
• Salt, to taste

Masa Ingredients:

• Masa harina
• Chili sauce
• Lard
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Water

For Tamale Assembly:

• Corn husks

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Sharp Kitchen Knife
• Cutting Board
• Medium Saucepan
• Large bowls (at least 3)
• Blender
• Wooden Spoon or Spatula
• Dough Scraper, optional
• Steamer

How to Make Pork Tamales

Place cornhusks in warm water and soak for at least 1 hour before use. (4-8 hours is better). If you are folding the tamales the same day as making the filling, just put them in the water right before starting to cook the filling.

Cut pork into 3-4” chunks and place in a large stockpot. Add water to cover about ⅔ of the pork. Add onion, garlic, and seasonings. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to medium-low and braise until meat is cooked through, at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, deseed your dried peppers and place into a medium saucepan with onion, garlic, and salt. Cover with water. Cook in a covered pan on medium-high heat until the chilies are soft.

Transfer chilies, onions, garlic,  and a small amount of chili water to a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth. Add more water from the pot to thin it without losing heat, or add plain water to thin the sauce and tone down the heat.

Once the meat is cooked, remove it from the pan and place it into a large bowl to shred. Pour just enough hot sauce into the bowl to coat the shredded pork.

In another large bowl, mix all the masa ingredients together until it forms a uniform dough. Continue adding water a little at a time until the dough reached the correct consistency. You should be able to spread it easily across your hand without it feeling wet or being so dry that it crumbles.

Remove corn husks from the water and set up your folding station. Use a spatula (I prefer a dough scraper) to spread a thin layer of masa on the bumpy side of a corn husk. Spoon from meat filling into the middle, and roll into a tube. Fold the pointy end of the husk over the side and place it, open side up, in a steam pot with 2” of water.

Pack the pot with tamales so that they can’t fall over. If you have more than that, you can add a second layer to the pan. Just make sure there is some airflow in the bottom layer so that the steam can reach the second layer.

Cover the pot and cook on hight until the water is boiling. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 1 hour. Do not remove the lid during this time.

To check doneness, remove one larger tamale and attempt to unwrap. If it opens smoothly and the masa stays mostly together, it is cooked. If the masa is still stuck the the husk, return to pot and continue cooking until they are cooked through.

Pin this Easy Recipe for Homemade Pork Tamales:

Grab your free printable recipe card for our pork tamales recipe:

I hope your family loves this easy pork tamales recipe as much as mine does!

For more ways to enjoy pork, check out our full pork recipe collection here: