Best 8 Authentic Tamale Sauce Recipes

RED CHILI SAUCE (TO BE USED WITH TRADITIONAL TAMALES)

Steps:

• Remove stems and seeds from dried chili peppers.
• Place peppers in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• Roast in 350°F oven for 2 to 5 minutes or until you smell a sweet roasted aroma, checking often to avoid burning.
• Remove from oven and soak in enough hot water to cover for about 30 minutes or until cool.
• Put peppers and 2 1/2 cups of the soaking water into a blender (save the remaining soaking water).
• Add garlic, cumin and salt.
• Cover and blend until smooth.
• In a 2-quart sauce pan, stir flour into oil or melted shortening over med heat until browned.
• Carefully stir in blended chili mixture.
• Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. (If sauce gets too thick, stir in up to 1 cup of the remaining soaking water until you reach the desired thickness) Use this sauce for traditional tamales, recipe #15286.
• Note: When working with chilies, use rubber gloves to protect your skin, and avoid contact with your eyes. Wash hands throughly with soap and water to remove all of the chili oils.

HOMEMADE GREEN CHILE TAMALE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400℉.
• Remove seeds and membranes from peppers, cut into large chunks. (Note: please use gloves when cutting up peppers.) Cut onion into chunks. Place peppers, onion and garlic cloves into sauce pan. Cover with water and bring to a low boil on medium heat. Cook for about 15 minutes, until soft.
• Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Remove outer husk from tomatillos and wash well to remove any sticky residue. Cut each tomatillo in half, horizontally.
• Place tomatillos, cut side down, on sprayed baking sheet. Spray tops with cooking spray and sprinkle with sea salt.
• Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes, until soft. Use caution when removing because the tomatillos can burst into liquid. Set aside.
• Once peppers are softened, allow to cool about 10 minutes. Do not discard liquid. Using a slotted spoon, remove pepper mixture to blender to process only half at a time. Add a little bit of liquid from peppers to blender, just enough to allow the blender to process (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup). Process peppers and tomatillos fully. Discard remaining liquid. Return to pan.
• Add remaining seasonings and heat on medium for 15 minutes. Makes one quart (62 tablespoons).

RED TAMALE SAUCE RECIPE (+VIDEO)

Steps:

• Carefully split the peppers and remove seeds and membranes. Cut peppers into 1-2 inch pieces. Arbol peppers are small so no need to cut those.
• Using a firm bristle brush, wash peppers.
• Place peppers, tomatoes and garlic in pan with 2 cups chicken stock (or enough to cover). Heat on medium and bring to boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes until soft.
• Remove all vegetables and remaining spices to blender and blend until smooth. Note: If water has turned too dark, you may want to strain the vegetables to the blender then discard the liquid and replace with fresh chicken stock. Return all to the same pan.
• Simmer for 15 minutes to thicken slightly. Add more spices or salt to taste, if desired.

TíA CHITA'S TRADITIONAL MEXICAN PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• There are a few steps to making tamales and it is usually an all-day affair.
• Cooking the meat: Chop the pork butt into 3-inch cubes; reserve the bone.
• Add the oil to a large pot or Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat (we use a Dutch oven because it seems to cook faster). Add the pork butt to the pot. Sear the sides slightly until just golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add the peppercorns, bay leaves, onion, 3 cloves of the garlic and 1 tablespoon salt. Add 2 to 4 cups of water, or enough to cover the pork butt, then add the reserved bone. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and bring it to a boil. Cook on medium heat until very tender, about 2 hours.
• Preparing the corn husks: Separate the corn husks and take off all the little hairs and dust from them. Allow them to soak in hot water while the pork is cooking (or soak overnight).
• Carefully remove the pork from the broth with tongs to a plate or cutting board. Pour the leftover broth through a colander into a large bowl so that all the onion and other ingredients stay behind. Set the strained broth aside for later (about 4 cups).
• Shred the meat with 2 forks into small bite-size pieces. (You want it small enough that you aren't getting large pieces or chunks into the tamal.) Transfer to a medium saucepan.
• Preparing the chile: Cut the stems from the ancho chiles, open them and remove all the seeds and veins. Put them in a 3-quart saucepan, cover with water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, remove from the heat, set aside, cover and let steam for 5 minutes.
• To a blender, add the softened chiles, ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt and blend. Press in the remaining clove of garlic and slowly add 2/3 cup of the reserved pork broth. Continue to blend until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the chile mixture for the masa, then pour the remaining red chile sauce over the shredded pork and mix together to combine. Keep warm over low heat.
• Preparing the masa: Melt the lard in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Pour the melted lard into a large bowl. Add the masa harina to the bowl of lard, then add the baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, reserved 1/4 cup of the red chile sauce and 1/2 cup of the reserved pork broth. Knead well. Add more pork broth as needed until the dough is moistened and fluffy.
• Assembling the tamales: Drain the husks and pat them dry with a clean towel. Spread the kneaded masa onto the smooth side of the corn husks with a spoon in the center of the husks (2 to 3 tablespoons of masa per husk). Add the meat to the center of the masa, 1 to 2 tablespoons per husk. Fold over the husks in half vertically so that the masa wraps around the filling completely. Fold the pointy side up at the end to hold the tamale in place.
• Cooking the tamales: Arrange the tamales open-side up around the inside of a steamer basket that fits into a large (10-quart) pot, packing the tamales together. If there's extra space in the steamer basket, place a mason jar or small heatproof ceramic bowl upside down in the center, arranging the tamales around it. Arrange a layer of husks around the sides of the steamer basket and up over the top of the tamales and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Fill the large pot with 1 to 2 inches of water. (Note: You can put a penny at the bottom of the pot so you can hear it rolling when you need more water.) Bring the water to a rolling simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium low, set the steamer basket inside of the pot and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the tamales to steam for 1 to 2 hours or until the masa pulls away from the husks. Let sit to cool down for 5 to 10 minutes. Use tongs to remove the tamales afterwards and set on a jelly roll pan to cool down.

TAMALE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place a skillet over medium heat, and add the butter. As soon as it has melted, sprinkle over the flour. Whisk until a paste has formed and stir for 1-2 minutes more.
• Begin adding the beef broth a splash at a time, whisking well after each addition, until it resembles a pudding-like consistency. Once this consistency has been achieved, begin streaming in the broth, whisking all the while. Allow the mixture to simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the adobo sauce, taco seasoning and American cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and remove from the heat.
• Top your tamales with the Tex-Mex Tamale Sauce, serve and enjoy.

TRADITIONAL PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• Pork Butt:
• Place pork butt in large Dutch oven or medium-size stock pot. Add garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves and salt. Add enough cold water to cover by at least 3 inches. Bring just to a boil on high heat, quickly reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer, partly covered, skimming any froth from the top during the first 15 to 20 minutes of cooking. A piece this size should be well-cooked but not dried out in 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from stock and let cool to room temperature. When cool, pull meat into fine shreds.
• Strain and degrease the stock. It will be easier to remove fat when thoroughly chilled.
• Can be kept, tightly covered, 2 days in the refrigerator, if de-greased at once, up to 1 week if you leave the top layer of fat on it until ready to use. The stock also freezes well.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded pork with the red chile sauce.
• Masa:
• Place 10 pounds of masa in a large plastic mixing bowl. Mix 1/4 cup water with baking powder in a cup held over the bowl with the dry masa until it fizzes, then pour mixture evenly over masa. Add 1/4 cup salt and work masa with hands to mix evenly. Melt 4 cups vegetable shortening in a large saucepan and allow to cool. Pour evenly over masa and knead masa with hands again. When it starts to feel thick and compact (like fudge) it¿s ready. Pat down in bowl and set aside.
• Chile Sauce:
• In a large saucepan, boil chiles and tomatoes together for about 10 minutes or until softened. Drain the chiles and tomatoes and reserve the water (stock.) Set stock aside. Rinse seeds out of boiled chiles at sink. Grind garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and whole cumin with mortar and pestle. Put chiles, tomatoes, 3 additional tablespoons salt and ground ingredients together in blender and blend well. Add 2 cups of the reserved water (stock.)
• In a heavy, medium-size saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat until rippling. Add flour, stirring constantly until golden. Add strained chile puree to the pan and reduce the heat to low. It will splatter, so be careful. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the raw taste is gone and the flavor of the chiles has mellowed, about 10 minutes.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded pork with the chile sauce.
• To assemble the tamales, soak dried corn husks in warm water for about 1 hour until soft. Spread masa mixture evenly onto husk using a wooden spoon. Fill with about 2 tablespoons pork mixture and top with 1 green olive, 1 slice of potato and 1 carrot stick. Fold and tie ends with pieces of corn husk. Steam for 1 and 1/2 hours.
• To steam: To make a steamer, place a metal rack (such as a cooling rack) in the bottom of a large stock pot or canner. Water level should be below the rack. Lay extra corn husks over rack. Stand the tamales on the folded edge in the steamer (the open edge with be facing upward). First fill the bottom of the steamer, then start stacking tamales on top of one another. Place any extra husks on top of tamales, cover with pot lid and steam for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Replenish boiling water if necessary during steaming, time. The tamales are done when the husk peels away easily from the filling.

REAL HOMEMADE TAMALES

Steps:

• Place pork into a Dutch oven with onion and garlic, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 hours.
• Use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from the chile pods. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Transfer the chiles and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture, stir in salt, and set aside. Shred the cooked meat and mix in one cup of the chile sauce.
• Soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water. In a large bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more broth as necessary to form a spongy dough.
• Spread the dough out over the corn husks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Place one tablespoon of the meat filling into the center. Fold the sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer. Steam for 1 hour.
• Remove tamales from husks and drizzle remaining chile sauce over. Top with sour cream. For a creamy sauce, mix sour cream into the chile sauce.

TRADITIONAL TAMALES (PORK)

Steps:

• In a 5 qt Dutch oven, bring pork, water, onion, garlic and 1 1/2 salt to boil.
• Simmer covered, about 2 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender.
• Remove meat from broth and allow both meat and broth to cool. (Chilling the broth will allow you to easily remove the fat if you desire to do so).
• Shred the meat using 2 forks, discarding fat.
• Strain the broth and reserve 6 cups.
• In a large sauce pan, heat the red chili sauce and add meat; simmer, covered for 10 minutes.
• To make masa beat shortening on medium speed in a large bowl for 1 minute.
• In a separate bowl, stir together masa harina, baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt.
• Alternately add masa harina mixture and broth to shortening, beating well after each addition. (Add just enough broth to make a thick, creamy paste).
• In the mean time, soak corn husks in warm water for at least 20 minutes; rinse to remove any corn silk and drain well.
• To assemble each tamale, spread 2 tablespoons of the masa mixture on the center of the corn husk (each husk should be 8 inches long and 6 inches wide at the top. If husks are small, overlap 2 small ones to form one. If it is large, tear a strip from the side).
• Place about 1 tablespoon meat and sauce mixture in the middle of the masa.
• Fold in sides of husk and fold up the bottom.
• Place a mound of extra husks or a foil ball in the center of a steamer basket placed in a Dutch oven.
• Lean the tamales in the basket, open side up.
• Add water to Dutch oven just below the basket.
• Bring water to boil and reduce heat.
• Cover and steam 40 minutes, adding water when necessary.
• To freeze these for future meals, leave them in the husks and place them in freezer bags. To reheat, thaw and wrap in a wet paper towel and reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes for one or two or re-steam them just until hot.