Pibil Pork Tamales~Preparing a Chile Infused Masa

Pibil pork tamales with a chile infused masa . Besides my Mom’s traditional chile colorado tamales and tamales de frijol, this recipe for Pibil Pork tamales is right up there in flavor and another of my favorites! I was asked by a friend if I could prepare some “not so spicy” pork tamales for her husband who is from Puerto Rico. Pork is used in many  delicious and popular Puerto Rican dishes, but chile peppers are not traditionally used . The pibil is infused with dried chile guajillos, which are mostly on the milder side. The added citrus and spices in the pork add great traditional Mexican flavors and I wanted him to enjoy a more authentic flavored tamal. I say this often when blogging about tamales. It can seem a bit overwhelming, the whole process of making tamales at home takes time and planning. Take your time, step by step and break it up into a couple of days. Before you know it, you will be enjoying a plate of hot tamales from your own kitchen. Buen Provecho! 

Chile Infused Masa For Tamales

Add color and flavor to your next batch of tamales by infusing the masa with a red chile sauce.

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Course: Masa

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Total Time: 37 minutes minutes

Servings: 43 Tamales

Ingredients

• 10 chile guajillo stems and seeds removed
• 5 cups masa harina
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• Salt to taste
• 4 cups room temperature chicken, pork, beef or vegetable broth
• 1 3/4 cups pork lard or vegetable shortening chilled

You Will Also Need

• 50 dried corn husk *soak the corn husk in very hot water for few hours before using for tamales
• 6 cup Pork Pibil Filling * Click onto picture of “Shredded Pibil Pork”  for complete recipe

Instructions

• Transfer the chile guajillos to a sauce pan. Cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. Let steep for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain the chiles and transfer to the blender. Add 1 cup of fresh water, blend on high until smooth. Strain chile sauce with a wire mesh strainer.  Stir together the warm broth  with chile sauce.
•  Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt, set aside. Gradually add the chile sauce/broth liquid to the dry ingredients until dough forms. Mix in the lard and work the masa with your hands for at least 7-10 minutes. Taste masa for salt, cover and let set for at least 30 minutes.
• Set up corn husk, masa and filling to assemble tamales. Shake off excess water from husk. You want the husk to be uniform in size, about 5 inches in diameter. Spread a generous amount of masa on bottom half of husk(3 tablespoons).  Leave a little space on each side of husk with no masa. Fill with 3 tablespoons of filling, fold in sides, then top down. Continue filling until done.
• Prepare large steamer pot or tamalera. Fill bottom with water so it just comes up to the steamer insert. Arrange the tamales, open side up, in pot. Cover tamales with extra cork husk, layer them on top to cover or use foil paper.
• Bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat, and continue steaming for 1 1/2 hours. You will add hot water as needed. I set my timer for every 45 minutes and add more hot water.  Never let it run out of water. Remove from heat and let stand for 30 minutes before serving. They will firm up as they cool. This masa recipe yields 40 to 43 large tamales .
• Serve tamales with your favorite salsa verde or tomato salsa recipes. Cool the tamales completely before storing in an airtight container or plastic storage bag.

Notes

If freezing, wrap or store in freezer bags, 6 per bag. Don’t forget to label and date the bags.This will make it easier when it comes to defrosting. To reheat, add to a covered casserole dish and heat in microwave or in the oven. I like to reheat my defrosted tamales on a medium heat comal or griddle pan until the corn husk start to char slightly. There is nothing like that wonderful aroma to take me right back home and right into my Mom’s cocina.

 

The prep and cook time listed is strictly for preparing the masa, not for preparing and cooking the tamales.

Tried this recipe?Mention @pinaenlacocina or tag #pinaenlacocina!

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