Mexican Red Pork for Tamales

The secret to great tamales lies in its filling! If your filling is too bland, the masa will overpower it. On the flip side, if your filling is too salty, even the masa won't be able to hide it. For red pork tamales, it's all about choosing the right cut and seasoning it to perfection. Traditional pork tamales rely on pork shoulder, or pork butt, as it's rich in flavor and tender enough to shred easily after slow cooking.

This post shares my family's recipe for red pork tamale filling. We typically make tamales on December 23rd at a tamalada, an all-day gathering where we get together to make tamales. By the end of the day, we'd have hundreds of tamales to take home, freeze, and/or give to other family members. My grandma helped to make the masa, while my tía made the guisado de puerco (this recipe), and finally, my Mom and I would spread the masa on the corn husks, fill the tamales, and arrange them in the steamer for cooking… And somewhere in between, we'd sneakily steal some of this red pork to make tacos or gorditas while the tamales finished cooking, so keep that in mind when making this tamale filling recipe, and make some extra! ;)

Note: The recipe yields ~6 cups of pork filling. If making tamales, update the Servings box, and the recipe ingredients will update automatically.

How to Cook Pork for Tamales

To prepare the red pork tamale filling, cut pork shoulder into small cubes and boil in salted water for 1.5 hours, or until tender enough to shred. (See my pork carnitas recipe for how to slow cook them.)

Red Sauce for Pork Tamales

While the pork may be tender, the real magic happens when it is mixed with a bold red chile sauce. To make this sauce, deseed dried guajillo peppers and ancho chiles, and boil them for about 5 minutes. In a blender, add the boiled peppers, salt, cumin, and some of the pork broth, blending until smooth.

How to Prepare Pork Meat for Tamales

In a large pan, add the red sauce and the pulled pork for tamales. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.

Ta-dah! Your Mexican red pork is ready to fill tamales, tacos, gorditas, or to serve as a main dish.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Flavorful - The velvety, red chile sauce makes this pork tamale filling incredibly flavorful! You can add more guajillo peppers to make it spicier, making this an adjustable recipe too.
• Versatile - While Mexican pork in red sauce is typically used in tamales, it can also be used in tacos, gorditas, or on tostadas. As mentioned in the introduction, we'd often make extra filling, so we could munch on this in between cooking breaks.

Recommended Tools

• Large Pot - Use a large pot to boil the pork carnitas. If you're making this recipe in bulk, consider using a tall steamer.
• Blender - This recipe requires a blender to make the tasty, red chile sauce as smooth as possible.

Pork Tamale Filling Ingredients

• Pork Shoulder - When slow-cooked, pork shoulder is juicy and shreds easily, making it the perfect tamale filling.
• Ancho Chile - Known as chile de color in Spanish, ancho chile peppers are dried poblano peppers with a mild spice level, and rich, smoky-sweet flavor. They are perfect for sauces, marinades, and stews, and add complexity to dishes like tamales, mole, or enchiladas.
• Guajillo Peppers - These are dried mirasol chiles with a mild to medium spice level, but a bright, tangy flavor. They are also a popular option for adobo, pozole, and chile-based sauces.
•  is a dried version of red poblano peppers with a mild spice level.
• Cumin - A warm, earthy spice, cumin is an essential in Mexican cuisine, enhancing dishes, such as this pork filling for tamales.

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