Tamales de Puerco (Pork Tamales)

Tamales are a beloved traditional dish in Mexican cuisine, often enjoyed during festive occasions. This recipe for Pork Tamales in Banana Leaves offers a blend of rich, flavorful pork filling wrapped in soft masa and steamed to perfection. When crafted with care, these tamales will bring the heartwarming taste of Mexican heritage to your table.

Ingredients:

Masa:
🌽 3 cups masa harina
🧂 1 tsp baking powder
🥓 1.5 cups pork lard, melted and cooled
💧 1.5 cups warm water (or more if needed)
Sauce:
🌶 4 guajillo peppers
🌶 1 ancho pepper
🌶 2 dried chipotle peppers
🧄 5 cloves garlic
🧅 1 small onion
🧂 2 tsp salt
Filling:
🐖 1 lb pork, cut into small pieces
🧅 1 tbsp onion powder
🧄 1 tbsp garlic powder
🥄 1 tsp cumin powder
🌶 1 tsp black pepper
🧂 2 tsp salt
🍃 Banana leaves for wrapping

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Sauce:
   • Place guajillo, ancho, and chipotle peppers, garlic, onion, and salt in a pot and cover with water.
   • Boil on medium heat until peppers are tender, about 20 minutes.
   • Blend the mixture, adding just enough liquid to blend smoothly, and reserve extra liquid.
2. Prepare the Filling:
   • Season pork pieces with onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, and salt in a bowl.
   • Strain the blended sauce over the pork, add reserved liquid to rinse the blender, strain it over the pork too, and mix thoroughly.
3. Prepare the Banana Leaves:
   • Clean banana leaves with paper towels, dry them, and cut into large squares, removing any tough stems.
   • Soften leaves by passing them over flame or soaking in boiling water for 3 minutes.
4. Make the Masa:
   • Mix masa harina and baking powder in a bowl.
   • Add melted lard and mix well. Gradually add warm water and mix until you have a slightly sticky masa that doesn’t adhere to fingers.
5. Assemble the Tamales:
   • Place 3 spoonfuls of masa in the center of a banana leaf square on the smooth side.
   • Press masa into a rectangle, leaving space to fold.
   • Add 2 spoonfuls of pork mixture over masa.
   • Fold leaf over to wrap tamal and secure with kitchen twine.
6. Steam the Tamales:
   • Add water below the steamer rack.
   • Arrange tamales in steamer and cover with wet paper towels or cloth.
   • Steam with lid on high heat until boiling, then lower to steam for 2 hours.
     Optional: If banana leaves are unavailable, use foil with a strip of banana leaf in the center and follow the same folding procedure.

Additional Information:

• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
• Equipment: Blender, Bowl, Pot, Steamer, Kitchen Twine
• Servings: Makes approximately 12 tamales

Cooking Tips:

• Ensure masa consistency is just right; too dry or wet affects tamale texture.
• Avoid overfilling to prevent tamales from breaking during steaming.

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Tamales de Puerco (Pork Tamales)

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