How Many Tamales Per Pound of Pork?

These easy step-by-step instructions will teach you how to make tamales at home! This authentic Mexican tamales recipe has chunks of pork cooked in a tasty red chile sauce and wrapped in a soft, fluffy masa dough.

I grew up making tamales every year with my family for Christmas, New Year’s, and other special occasions. One of the most famous traditional Mexican dishes, and each family and region in Mexico makes it in their own special way.

My mom was kind enough to show me how to make her recipe, and I carefully wrote down each step so that I could pass it on to my daughter and future generations.

Love them as much as I do! This is how I learned to make them as a child.

Tamales are a traditional Mexican dish made using a nixtamalized corn dough called “masa. The masa is spread out on a banana leaf or corn husk, and then different sweet or savory foods are added inside, such as meats, cheeses, peppers, fruits, or other foods. The tamales are then steamed until they’re fully cooked. They are wrapped in the same corn husk or banana leaf.

Tamales and their fillings vary from region to region. One of the most popular kinds is tamales rojos, which are red chile pork tamales. That’s what I made here.

Making tamales can be time-consuming. Although not difficult, it involves many steps that can take up a whole day.

Because of this, a lot of families have “tamaladas,” or events where family and friends come together to help make tamales. Many times, this event is more than just cooking. It’s a cultural tradition that brings families together, tells stories, and keeps alive important food traditions for many Mexican and Mexican-American families.

How to Make Tamales

Prep the corn husks. Corn husks are dry, so you need to soak them in hot water for about an hour or so to make them soft enough to fold. Soaking them makes them easier to work with when it comes time for assembly.

Make the red chile sauce. Before you mix them with garlic powder, salt, and ground cumin, rehydrate some guajillo and ancho chiles in hot water to make them soft.

Three to five árbol chiles should be added to this sauce if you want to make it hotter. (This sauce mixture is very similar to my chile colorado. ).

Cook the pork. Cut the pork into large 4-inch chunks and season it generously with kosher salt. Grill the pork on all sides in a big Dutch oven or pot. Then add the mixed chile sauce and cook on low heat for 2 1/2 hours, or until the pork is so tender it falls apart. It should shred very easily.

Make the masa. Mix the masa harina, spices, and oil or lard together. Use your hands or a stand mixer to really work the it into a dough. I prefer using my hands so I can feel the texture of the masa while I’m mixing it.

Then add in the broth and mix once more until fully combined and fluffy.

• Follow these steps to make masa with oil:

  1.75 cups of canola or avocado oil
  7 cups of broth or water

• You’ll need 2 cups of lard and 8 cups of broth or water to make masa with lard.

*Instructions for how to make both types of masa are included in the recipe card below.

Dry the corn husks. Take the corn husks out of the water and pat them dry with paper towels when you’re ready to put the puzzle together. Grab a husk that’s a fairly good size and sits comfortably in the palm of your hand.

You should put the rough, ridged side of the corn husk facing outward. You will spread the masa on the smoother, shinier side.

Spread the masa. Grab a heaping spoonful of masa and place it in the middle of the corn husk. As best you can, use the back of your spoon to spread the masa over the wide bottom half and a little of the top half.

You want the masa to be just on top of the corn husk, but not so thin that it’s see-through and breaks. If it’s too hard to hold the corn husk and spread the masa at the same time, put the corn husk on a flat surface and spread the masa that way.

It’s kind of like an art to spread the masa, so don’t give up! Keep trying, and you’ll get better over time!

Fill. Place a spoonful of the filling in a line down the center of the dough. You only need a little bit, about 1-2 tablespoons. Try not to overstuff it, or the filling will ooze out when you fold it.

Fold. Fold the long edges of the corn husk together like a book, then again once more.

The pointy end of the husk should be folded up so that only one side is open. The tamales are cooked with the open side facing up, so the filling won’t fall out.

Cook: You’ll need a steamer pot to steam and cook the tamales once they’ve been filled and folded. If you have a large pot with a strainer, that will work. As long as the steamer insert sits above the water, that’s all you need.

• To steam, put water in the pot’s bottom, put the strainer in, and then stand the tamales in the pot with the open side facing up. It will be hard to fit the last 10 or so tamales, but do your best. Turn down the heat to a simmer and steam for 2 1/2 hours.
• Four hours of high pressure cooking is all it takes in an Instant Pot. After 15 minutes, let the pressure drop on its own. Then, open the steam release valve to get rid of any extra pressure. To learn more about how to make tamales in an Instant Pot, click here.

• Soak the corn husks. Warm the corn husks for at least an hour before putting the tamales together. This makes them easier to work with and less likely to tear when you fold and fill them.
• Put the masa on the corn husk’s right side. You should put the rough, ridged side of the corn husk facing outward. You will spread the masa on the side that is mostly smooth. This makes the tamales easier to unwrap.
• Spread the masa evenly. A thin, even layer of masa should be spread out on the corn husks. Too much masa can make the tamales doughy and heavy.
• Don’t overfill. You might want to put in a lot of filling, but if you do, the tamales could leak or burst open while they’re cooking. A small amount of filling is usually sufficient.
• Check for doneness. When the masa is easy to peel off the husk, the tamales are ready. This takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours for tamales made with lard. 5 hours of steaming. For tamales made with oil, this usually takes about 2. 5 hours of steaming. How long it takes will depend on how many tamales you make.
• Let them rest. Place the tamales on a baking sheet or serving tray and let them rest for 10 minutes after cooking. This makes them firmer and simpler to take out of the package.

• Steamer pot. This 16-quart pot can hold all of the tamales in this recipe, which is between 45 and 50. My family always makes bigger batches, so I have two of these pots.
• Stand mixer. It might be easier to use a stand mixer to make masa than to mix by hand, especially for the lard version.
• Large mixing bowls. These help you arrange and set out all of your ready-to-use ingredients so that putting them together goes smoothly.

The red chile pork and masa dough can be made up to 3 days in advance.

Store them separately in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

Storing, Freezing, and Reheating

In a container that keeps air out, tamales can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

They can be reheated using 3 different methods:

• Steamer: Steam them for 15 minutes in a steamer pot.
• Oven: Heat them in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes.
• Cover them with a damp paper towel and heat them in the microwave for one to two minutes at a time on high.

• ₢8 and a half cups of masa harina 4 lb bag of Maseca).
• ▢ 1 ¾ tablespoons fine salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 and a half cups of avocado or canola oil (see Notes for how to make masa with lard*).
• ▢ 7 cups broth (chicken, beef, vegetable, or extra if needed)
• ▢ 50 corn husks (about ½-¾ pound bag)
• ▢ Hot water, as needed

• Prep the corn husks. Add the corn husks to a large bowl or pot. Cover the corn husks with enough hot water to cover them all. Wrap them in foil or plastic wrap and put them in the bowl. Soak them for an hour to make them soft. Meanwhile, make the filling and masa dough.
• Make the chile sauce. In a medium pot, put the guajillo chiles, green chilies, and enough water to cover them all. Bring to a boil over high heat. Take the pot off the heat, cover it, and let the chiles soak for 10 minutes. This will make them soft.
• With a slotted spoon, move the softened peppers to a big blender. Put in ½ cup of fresh water, garlic powder, 1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt, and ground cumin. Also add 1 cup of the water that the chilies were soaked in. Blend until completely smooth. Put the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl if it’s not smooth. This will get rid of any chunks.
• Cook the pork. In a big Dutch oven or pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the last 1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt to the pork, and then add the meat in two batches. Sear each side of the meat until it turns brown.
• Add all the seared meat back to the pot. Slowly add the mixed red chili sauce and mix in the bay leaf. Slowly raise the heat, cover, and let it cook for two and a half hours, until the meat is so soft that it falls apart.
• Make the masa dough. (See Notes for how to make masa with lard. ) Put the masa harina, salt, and baking powder in a very large bowl or pot. Stir together to combine.
• Add the oil and mix it together using your hands. Use your fingers to work the dough until everything is well mixed and incorporated. When you press the dough together, it should barely hold its shape. It should feel a little crumbly, like wet sand.
• Mix the dough for three to five minutes after adding the broth, until it is pretty wet and fully saturated. The dough should be soft and spreadable like thick hummus. If the dough is too dry, add more broth. If it’s too wet, add more masa harina.
• Finish prepping the corn husks. Take the corn husks out of the water and dry them with a towel. Lay them flat onto a baking sheet for easy access.
• Spread the masa onto corn husks. Choose a corn husk and mark which side is smooth and which side has ridges. Start with the smooth side facing up. Place it in your hand or on a plate. Spread a big spoonful of masa out in the middle of the corn husk. Use the back of the spoon to spread it out in a thin layer, making a big square shape. Leave the top third of the corn husk empty. (See post above for step-by-step photos).
• Add the filling. Line up spoonfuls of the filling down the middle of the dough. You only need a little bit, about 1-2 tablespoons. If you stuff it too much, the filling will leak out when you fold it.
• Fold. The corn husk should have long edges that are folded together like a book. Fold it again. Fold the sharp edge up so that only one side of the corn husk is showing. Put the dough aside and keep putting the tamales together until you’re done.
• Prepare the steamer pot. Fill the bottom of a large steamer pot with water. Put a penny or coin in the pot and then put the steamer insert on top of it. Put the tamales in the pot so that the open end is facing up. Put them up against the pot’s side to keep them from falling over.
• Steam. Lock the lid on tight and set the steamer over high heat. Bring the water to a boil. Flip the coin around in the pot to hear it boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for two and a half hours, or until the masa is fully cooked. (See notes on cooking time if making masa with lard. ).
• Check for doneness. Remove 1 tamal from the steamer pot. Let it sit for 10 minutes. It’s done when the husk comes off easily from the masa. The masa should be steamed for 15 more minutes if it is still sticky or gooey. Then check it again.
• Serve. Take the tamales out of the pot and let them cool for 10 minutes. This will help them get firmer and make them easier to open.

• Recipe makes 45 to 50 tamales, which can fit in a 16-quart steamer pot or bigger. It’s a bit of a squeeze, but they fit.
• For lard-based masa, you’ll need 2 cups of lard, 8 ¾ cups of masa harina, 1 tablespoon of fine salt, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and 8 cups of broth. Use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer to beat the lard in a large bowl for one minute, until it is whipped and fluffy. Mix the masa harina, salt, and baking powder together in a different bowl. Put it in the bowl with the lard and mix them together. While mixing, slowly add in the broth. Blend the dough some more until it’s fluffy and smooth, like thick hummus.
• Cooking time for tamales made with lard: 90 minutes.
• Put the red chile pork and masa together up to three days ahead of time. Keep it in the fridge in a container that won’t let air in until you’re ready to use it.

That post came out in December 2019 and was updated in December 2023 with better instructions, a slightly changed recipe, and more useful tips.

STOP Before You Make Tamales, WATCH This Video so YOU CAN HAVE THE BEST MASA, Perfect EVERY TIME!