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!
14-18corn husksavailable in the Hispanic foods section of the grocery store
small bowlwarm waterto dip your fingers in when assembling tamales
Instructions
Prior to starting:
Soak the corn husks in warm water. This should be done for at least an hour but they can be soaked overnight. To do this, I added them to a large pot, added water, and weighed them down with a heavy lid.
To make the pork filling:
Using an Instant Pot on Saute mode, heat the oil. Cover both sides of the pork roast with the salt. Sear the pork roast on both sides in the Instant Pot until browned, about 5 minutes on each side.
Add the garlic, chile pods, oregano and water to the Instant Pot. Seal the lid and set it to high pressure for 60 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release when done cooking.
Remove roast and transfer to a large bowl. Transfer all of the cooking liquid to a large measuring cup, pouring through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down on the chiles and garlic to extract as much liquid out of them as possible.
Once cool enough to handle, shred the meat and discard any large chunks of fat, if desired. Combine with salsa roja.
To make the masa filling:
Combine masa flour, baking powder and salt in bowl of stand mixer. Attach paddle and stir on low to combine.
Add enough chicken broth to the cooking liquid to total 3 1/2 cups. Add that to the masa flour. Add remaining 1/2 oil. Using the paddle attachment, whip masa mixture on medium high speed for about 10 minutes, scraping at least once half way through mixing.
How to make the tamales:
Keep in mind as you assemble the tamales that they will need to fit in your Instant Pot vertically on the steamer rack. The length of each tamale should be no more than about 6 inches.
Place wet corn husk on your work surface so that the pointy end is facing you (like a capital letter V). Place a generous scoop of masa dough on the corn husk. Wet fingers to prevent sticking and spread masa dough into a thin layer the shape of a square. You want the bottom of that square to be about 3-4 inches from the bottom of the point and you'll want the dough to extend all the way to the edges. The top of the square should stop about an inch from the top of the corn husk.
Spoon the pork filling in a vertical line down the center of that masa square. You'll want to leave a little room at the top and bottom so that you can seal the tamale. Pack in as much filling as you can but keep in mind that you'll need to be able to wrap the sides completely around.
Holding onto the corn husk, grab the right and left sides and bring them together until the sides meet. Once the edge of the masa are touching, pull the left side of the corn husk away and wrap the right side over. Then take that left side and wrap it over the right side. With the seam side down and the point still facing you, fold the bottom tip up towards the seam.
Take an extra corn husk and shred it into long pieces. Use these to tie the tamales to hold that folded tip in place.
Place the steamer rack into your Instant pot. Fill the base with enough water to come to the bottom of the rack, at least 1 cup but more if room will allow.
Place the tamales in the Instant Pot vertically, open side up. You may need to push them down a bit to get the lid to fit correctly. Close lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
Serve immediately with salsa, Crema, or any other fixings. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe for Salsa Roja: https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/salsa-roja/If you prefer to use store bought, look for something that does not have a lot of liquid (i.e. do not use something like Pico de Gallo). Rather, look for something made with chiles and tomatoes.