Destination
Puerto Vallarta
The story
The tamal rojo de puerco is central Mexico's default red-chile tamale: fluffy corn masa filled with shredded pork in a deep-red guajillo-ancho chile sauce, wrapped in a corn husk and steamed for 90 minutes until the masa is set and the filling has bled into it. Served with atole or hot chocolate for breakfast, or with a spoon of extra red sauce on top for a heavier meal. Every mercado in Mexico City, Puebla, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí and Guadalajara has a tamalera selling this and its close relatives (verde de pollo, dulce de piña, mole) from a big steamer pot from 6am to whenever they run out.
Method
Cover the corn husks with boiling water in a large bowl. Weigh down with a plate. Soak 30 minutes until pliable.
Combine pork, onion, garlic, bay, oregano, salt and water in a pot. Simmer 90 minutes until fork-tender. Lift out and shred. Strain and reserve 1.2 litres of broth.
Toast guajillos and anchos on a dry pan 20 seconds a side. Soak in hot water 15 minutes.
Char the tomatoes, onion half and garlic on a dry pan 6 minutes. Toast cumin and oregano 30 seconds.
Drain the chiles. Blend chiles, chipotles, charred vegetables, spices, salt and 300ml of stock to smooth. Strain.
Warm the lard in a pan. Tip in the sauce (careful — spits). Cook 12 minutes until darkened and glossy. Fold in the shredded pork with just enough sauce to coat generously — reserve the rest for serving. Keep warm.
Beat the softened lard 3 minutes until fluffy. Add masa harina, baking powder and salt; mix. Slowly pour in warm broth while stirring. Beat 8 minutes until light and spreadable — a pinch dropped in cold water should float.
For each tamal: pat a soaked husk dry. Spread 3 tbsp masa in an 8 x 10cm rectangle on the wide end. Spoon 1.5 tbsp of pork filling down the centre. Fold the sides of the husk over the filling, then fold the pointed end up. Repeat until you have 30 tamales. Stand seam-side out in a large steamer. Steam 90 minutes, topping up water as needed. Rest 15 minutes covered. Serve unwrapped, with extra sauce, crema, queso, onion and coriander on top.
Tips
- Whip the masa well. Eight minutes of beating is not too much. The float test — a pinch in cold water should float — is the reliable check.
- Save the pork poaching broth. It's what makes the masa taste of pork. Never use plain water.
- Bloom the chile sauce in fat. The 12-minute fry after blending is what wakes up the chiles. Skip it and the sauce tastes raw and vegetal.
- Pack the steamer. Tamales cook better packed against each other. Fill empty space with foil balls if needed.
- Freeze extras. Steamed tamales freeze wrapped for 3 months. Reheat directly from frozen in a steamer for 20 minutes.
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