Instant Pot Pork Tamales

Authentic Pork Tamales made from scratch are a flavorful and delicious Mexican recipe.

These step by step instructions using your Instant Pot are so easy!

Why this recipe works:

Don’t be intimidated! A lot of people never make their own tamales because they’ve heard the process is long and complicated. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but they’re actually very easy to make and taste amazing!

This might sound crazy, but much like making homemade pasta, it’s really not that complicated and tamales are so satisfying to make.

With this particular recipe, the shredded pork is infused with a ton of flavor. Then, because the liquid from the meat is added to the masa, that is also infused with all of that great flavor!

What are the ingredients?

Tamales are made with a masa dough and are usually filled with a variety of fillings that can range from meat to cheese to, well, anything you want.

I’ve had plenty of tamales where the masa dough was bland, dry, and flavorless. One of my main goals with this recipe was to make the masa dough as tasty as the filling that it held. Some recipes just mix masa with water to form the dough. Not me. This masa is delicious!

And because I cooked the pork roast in the Instant Pot with chili peppers, the meat is infused with just the right amount of heat and flavor.

How to make Instant Pot Pork Tamales:

Even though this is a multi-step recipe with a lot going on, you’ll find that everything is really easy to make.

• The first thing you’re going to need to do is soak the corn husks. Some people recommend using boiling water and some people say you need to soak them for at least 24 hours. I didn’t find either of these to be true. Just put the corn husks in a large pot, add hot tap water, weigh them down with a plate so they stay submerged, and soak for at least an hour. Keep the corn husks wet until you’re ready to wrap the tamale.
• Next step is to make the pork filling. This involves two steps: cooking the pork roast in the Instant Pot and then making salsa roja to mix with the cooked shredded pork. Now, I understand that me telling you to make the salsa roja is adding another recipe to the mix, but it’s worth it. If you really don’t want to, you can leave out the salsa roja or even use store bought salsa. I won’t tell anyone.
• The next step is to make the masa filing. This is done in a stand mixer because it needs to mix on high speed for about 10 minutes. Here’s the tasty part – I use the cooking liquid left over from the pork roast. It not only adds a ton of flavor the masa but also fat which is needed to make these tamales moist instead of dry.
• Finally, you’ll assemble your tamales by spreading masa dough on the corn husk, adding shredded pork mixed with salsa roja, folding and tying them up, then steaming in the Instant Pot. I have detailed instructions on how to roll them in the recipe below. It’s actually quite fun.

Why are they wrapped in corn husks?

Tamales are wrapped in corn husks for a couple reasons.

• First, the masa dough is very wet. The corn husk allows you to add filling, roll the masa dough around the filling, and make a tight little cylinder to hold the tamale.
• Because the corn husks can absorb water and also allow steam to pass through, they actually make a great wrap for the tamale.
• In a nutshell, the corn husks allow the tamale to cook while holding it’s shape.

Are you supposed to eat the corn husk?

Nope. Think of the corn husk as the wrapping paper or a disposable plate. You definitely don’t want to eat the corn husks.

Can you reheat them?

Absolutely!

If they were frozen, be sure to thaw the tamales completely. A good day in the refrigerator should do the trick.

There are a couple different ways to reheat your homemade tamales.

1. You can steam the tamales again. They’re still wrapped in the corn husk, so the steam will heat the tamales without taking away any of their moisture. You can do this in the Instant Pot on low pressure for 5 minutes or you can do it on the stove top in a pot with a rack, a lid, and a bit of water. You can also steam frozen tamales this way, but it will take more time.
2. You can microwave the tamales to reheat them. Keep them in their husks, cover them with a wet paper towel, and heat on 50% power until heated through, about 4 minutes.