Best Pork Picadillo Tamales Recipes

PORK PICADILLO TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook, breaking up clumps with spoon. Stir in chile, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, pepper flakes and allspice. Cook about 6 minutes or until pork is no longer pink. Add onion; cook and stir 5 minutes longer.
• Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in brown sugar, tomato paste, vinegar, olives and capers. Season well with salt and pepper. Add water; reduce heat so mixture simmers. Simmer 15 minutes (sauce will thicken).
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 450°F. In 3-quart saucepan, heat chicken broth to boiling. With whisk, slowly stir in polenta. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until polenta thickens. Stir in butter and honey. Season well with salt and pepper.
• Pour pork mixture into ungreased 12x8-inch (2-quart) glass or ceramic baking dish. Spread polenta mixture over pork mixture. Sprinkle cheese over top.
• Bake 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese melts and bubbles.

TAMALES DE PUERCO (RED PORK TAMALES)

Steps:

• Cut pork into 3 chunks and place in a large saucepan. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil; skim foam from surface. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Remove pork and let cool. Strain broth and reserve.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil while pork is cooking. Add tomatoes, arbol chiles, and guajillo chiles, and boil until chiles are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking water, and allow to cool.
• Place corn husks in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain, place on a work surface, and cover with a clean, damp towel.
• Combine tomatoes, 1/2 cup cooking water, chiles de arbol, guajillo chiles, and cornstarch in a blender; blend until smooth. Strain tomato sauce through a fine-mesh sieve.
• Beat lard with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy. Combine masa, 1 cup reserved pork broth, 1 tablespoon salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl and mix until smooth. Add masa mixture to lard and mix until it has a smooth cookie dough consistency. Test if the masa is ready by dropping a small ball of masa into a glass of cold water; if it floats, it's ready, if not, keep beating for a little longer.
• Shred cooled pork with 2 forks.
• Select 1 wide corn husk or 2 small ones. Spread about 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the the corn husk, filling it up to 2 inches from the bottom and 1/4 inch from the top. Add 1 tablespoon of the tomato sauce and pork down the center of the masa mixture. Fold sides of husk together, 1 over the other. Fold the bottom of the husk over the seam of the 2 folded sides. Repeat with remaining husks.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add tamales with the open side up and cook until filling is heated through and separates from the husk, about 1 hour. Let tamales rest for 15 minutes before serving.