Tamales Rojos de Puerco (Crimson Pork Tamales) Recipe

Puerco rojo is likely one of the hottest tamale fillings all through Mexico, and it’s straightforward to see why: The saucy pork and pink chile combination has a daring, fruity, smoky, and spicy taste that you simply’ll respect at first chunk. The pink chile filling is so concentrated in taste that it would at first style too robust if scooped up and devoured by the spoonful; however when it’s unfold into a skinny layer and cradled snugly in a wealthy and pillowy masa (corn dough) to type a tamal, its intense taste is balanced by the wealthy corn dough.

I grew up consuming tamales rojos de puerco—pink pork tamales. For household gatherings and celebrations, my mother and aunts would usually get the masa and fillings prepared and invite all the youngsters to the kitchen desk to hop in and assist wrap the tamales. They had been so good that we’d deliberately make quite a bit in order that there can be leftovers to get pleasure from for breakfast the subsequent day with household. The tamales rojos de puerco recipe I’m sharing right here relies on my household’s model that I grew up consuming. It contains a thick, fragrant pink chile mole (sauce) made with charred tomatoes and tomatillos blended with sesame seeds and peanuts for a wealthy and creamy sauce that coats tender shredded pork. It’s tucked inside a pleasantly spongy savory masa, formed, and steamed to make the tamales rojos de puerco.

I’ve included my recipe for making the masa and shaping the tamales right here, however I like to recommend studying my guides on how to make tamales for extra suggestions for making the masa and shaping the tamales. Right here I’ll give attention to the pink chile pork filling that makes this model of tamales so particular.There are two key parts to getting the filling proper—the pork braise and the pink chile sauce, or mole— and I take no shortcuts in making both. This ensures that the crammed tamales have pronounced taste in each chunk. Right here’s how.

Ideas for a Succulent Shredded Pork for Filling Tamales

Select pork shoulder and don’t rush the braise. Pork shoulder is the usual minimize cooked in tamales rojos de puerco filling. It is powerful and flavorful connective tissue is right for cooking slowly at a low temperature till it’s tender sufficient to tug into spoonable shreds. 

Braising the collagen-rich and fatty pork shoulder slowly at a mild simmer breaks down its connective tissue to make sure the pork shreds simply into bite-sized items. This may take a number of hours, however don’t rush it. As soon as finely shredded, the pork can readily take in the pink chile sauce to make a cohesive filling combination that holds its form properly when spooned down the middle of every tamal.

Simmer the pork with aromatics to construct a flavorful broth. Simmering the pork with water, onion, carrot, garlic, and bay leaves leads to not simply tender cooked pork, however a flavorful pork broth as properly. Constructing a flavorful broth is vital because the broth is used to skinny the pink chile sauce. I additionally advocate utilizing the pork broth to make the tamal dough. You’ll have extra broth than you want for this recipe, however don’t beneath any circumstances throw out the flavorful broth that you simply simply took hours to develop! Any unused broth might be refrigerated or frozen to make use of on your subsequent batch of tamales or use it in a pork-based soup or stew.

The best way to Make the Thick and Flavorful Crimson Chile Sauce for Your Tamales

Use a mix of chiles. Utilizing a mix of California, guajillo, and chipotle chiles provides layers of smoky and fruity taste to the sauce.You’ll be able to learn extra about every chiles’ distinct taste in our chile guide. Take the time to briefly toast the chiles within the oven till fragrant and simply charred to deepen their taste. Briefly soaking them in water softens the dried skins—a step that ensures the mole will mix till clean, avoiding any undesirable flaky bits of chile pores and skin. 

Char the tomatoes and tomatillos and toast the nuts and seeds for deep taste. Broiling the tomatoes and tomatillos till properly charred builds smoky savory depth of taste within the ultimate sauce, whereas roasted peanuts and toasted sesame seeds add a wealthy and nutty spine. I like to recommend shopping for untoasted sesame seeds and toasting your personal in a dry skillet. It takes only a couple minutes to toast. Then again, store-bought already roasted peanuts work properly right here—no must roast or toast your personal. 

Mix the sauce till clean and thick. The pink chile sauce on this recipe is concentrated and bursting with taste. It additionally has a thick, paste-like texture, which ensures that the filling doesn’t bleed out of the tamales as soon as steamed. To make a sauce that’s thick sufficient, begin by mixing only a small quantity of the reserved pork broth into the sauce. If the combination doesn’t initially mix simply, scrape down the edges of the blender jar and take a look at reblending. 

Overseason the filling (just a bit). As soon as the shredded pork is coated with the velvety pink sauce, go forward and sneak a style. The filling could seem overly seasoned and spiced at first chunk, however that is really on goal. A closely seasoned filling balances the gentle masa that can wrap across the filling. When you chunk right into a recent steamed tamal crammed with this pink pork, you’ll absolutely respect the filling’s punchy taste.