🫔 Tamales Rojos

Name: Tamales Rojos
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mexico
Ingredients: 500 g masa harina (nixtamalised corn); 600 ml warm pork stock; 120 g lard; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp baking powder; 500 g pork shoulder; 6 dried guajillo chilies; 2 garlic cloves; 18 dried corn husks

Origin: Mexico

460kcal

per serving · 200 g

230kcal

per 100 g

16 gProtein8 g / 100 g

24 gFat12 g / 100 g

46 gCarbs23 g / 100 g

Tamales rojos are red pork tamales: corn masa beaten with lard, filled with pork simmered in a sauce of dried guajillo chilies, and steamed in corn husks. The masa is rich and tender, and the filling is brick-red, mildly hot and earthy. They are among the most traditional tamales for Christmas, New Year and Día de la Candelaria.

Diets

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not vegetarianbecause of: pork, lard

Not veganbecause of: pork, lard

Contains porkbecause of: pork, lard

Not keto23 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.

What it is made of

masa corn doughporkguajillo chililardcorn husk

Recipe

6 servings150 min

Ingredients

500 g masa harina (nixtamalised corn)
600 ml warm pork stock
120 g lard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
500 g pork shoulder
6 dried guajillo chilies
2 garlic cloves
18 dried corn husks

Method

Simmer the pork with salt and garlic for about 1.5 hours; keep the stock and shred the meat.
Toast, seed and soak the guajillos, then blend with a little stock into a smooth red sauce and simmer the pork in it for 10 minutes.
Beat the lard until fluffy, then beat in masa harina, salt, baking powder and warm stock.
Spread masa on soaked husks, add the red pork, and fold.
Steam upright for 60–75 minutes until the masa releases from the husk.

How to make it lighter

Use less lard in the masa for a lighter dough: fat is the main source of calories here.
Choose lean pork and skim the fat from the stock before using it.
One tamal with a crunchy cabbage or radish salad makes a smaller, filling meal.

History

Tamales go back to pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, while lard and pork entered Mexican cooking after the Spanish conquest. Red pork tamales with guajillo sauce are now a classic across central and northern Mexico and are often made in large batches by families for the holidays.

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Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →