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Cardamom Yogurt with Roasted Peaches
Pork & Green Chile Tamales
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Making classic Mexican tamales can be an all-day project. The Instant Pot cuts the timing in half—streamlining the process by cooking the meat quickly and in the same pot that steams the finished tamales.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 100 minutes |
| Servings |
12-16 tamales
|
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound pork shoulder boneless, cut into
4-inch cubes - kosher salt
- pepper freshly ground
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 4 ounces green chiles diced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves finely chopped
- 4 cups corn masa mix masa harina for tamales
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 cups Water
- 2/3 cup solid vegetable shortening melted
- 16 in large corn husks soakedwater to cover for 1 hour
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Select Sauté on the Instant Pot and warm the oil. In batches, sear the pork until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a plate.
- Add the onions to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the cumin and garlic powder, return the pork to the pot, add the broth and chiles, and give everything a good stir.
- Lock the lid in place and turn the valve to Sealing. Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button to reset the program, then press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and set the cook time for 1 hour at high pressure.
- Let the steam release naturally for about 10 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting to release any residual steam.
- Carefully remove the lid and, using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork mixture to a bowl. Using 2 forks, shred the pork.
- Add the cilantro, season with salt and pepper, stir well and let cool to room temperature. Using pot holders, lift out the inner pot, rinse well, and return the inner pot to the Instant Pot housing.
- In a large bowl, mix the corn masa mix, salt, and baking powder, then stir in 3 cups of the water until blended.
- Stir in the vegetable shortening, then knead the masa against the side of the bowl until incorporated.
- Remove the husks from the water and pat dry. Place the husks on a work surface with the narrow ends facing you.
- One at a time, spread about
3 tablespoons of the masa mixture onto the widest part of a husk and top the masa with about 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture. Fold in the sides of the husk to enclose the filling, then fold up the bottom narrow flap of husk over the center and secure with a narrow strip of the husk. Repeat until all the filling is used. - Pour the remaining 1 cup water into the Instant Pot and insert the steam rack.
- Arrange the tamales on the rack, standing them upright. Lock the lid in place and turn the valve to Sealing.
- Press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and set the cook time for 40 minutes at high pressure. Let the steam release naturally for about 10 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting to release any residual steam.
- Carefully remove the lid and transfer the tamales to a plate. Let stand for 15–30 minutes to set up before serving.
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Was easy and wonderful……..could make street tacos if you in a hurry to eat
I bought frozen tamales. How long do I heat them in my Instant Pot from frozen?
I ran across a tamale recipe online and the gal said she pressure cooks her tamales for 18 minutes. There is a very big difference in the cooking time in this recipe. It’s a little scary.
Hi Libra,
I cannot provide details to the recipe you came across but recipes in the Instant Pot are tried and tested.
These turned out so amazing! Thank you!
Huge hit!
This recipe says to use only one cup water when steaming the tamales. So that’s what I did, and the pot boiled dry. Then I checked the instruction booklet which says to always use at least 18 ounces (more than two cups) water. I’m surprised that an officially endorsed recipe would tell me to disregard what’s in the instruction booklet. I’m also perplexed because 18 ounces nearly submerges the steamer insert.
Mine became a watery mess. Any advice?
Did anyone feel they turned out a bit chewy or rubbery? I bought already made masa from Vallarta and it was very bland.
I think I figured out the problem. Dan, I had the same thing happen to me. The water was gone by the time it was done cooking. And I acctually added 2 cups of water, not one.
How to reheat frozen uncooked?
We arrange the tamales in the pot but it kept saying burnt food but nothing was burning so it tookway longer to cook very upsetting!!!
Worked awesome!! Making it this way all the time!! Tamales can now be made any time of the year!!
Tamales are typically steamed. input two cups of water, set stream for 1 hour with natural release. worked for me.
The Kids gave me an Insta Pot for Xmas! It is the 8qt model. I doubled the recipe for the pork but bought my masa already prepared. I have made it from scratch before and it’s pretty easy. My pork was also spiced with some pickled jalapeno peppers and extra cumin…I just had to. Mine is the 8qt so I used 2 cups of water in the pot for cooking. Oh, I am a 64 year old man.
My meat mix after shredding was fairly moist and that seemed right.
Do not be discouraged after cooking as the masa will not look cooked, they must set after cooking. Dennis
As always, it looks like the official instant pot recipe is wrong. The internet consensus is 20min and natural release to steam tamales. Don’t believe me that their recipes tend to be wrong? Try making rice the way the recipe book that comes with the pot says, yuck! (For perfect instant pot white rice, do a 1:1 water to rice recipe and cook for 3 min on high then natural release; brown rice needs 22min also with a 1:1 ratio; you’re welcome 🙂 ).
Hi there! I bought tamales at Trader Joe’s. Used the steam function for 2 minutes. 1 cup of water and natural release. Perfect!
so how much water? this thing is a joke
I used 1 cup of water for the steaming, as it instructs in the recipe. I used the pressure cook/high pressure settings for 40 min and it wasn’t even 20 min into cooking before the pot started beeping. When I checked it it said “food burn” so i opened it to check on my food. There was no more water in there and the bottom of my bowl was burnt 🙁
I would recommend using AT LEAST 2 cups. When you tamales on the stove in a tamal pot, you generally pour the water until it fills to just below the steaming rack. I really recommend doing the same with your instant pot. 1 cup just isn’t enough.
If you have issues with the food burn error try, filling the bottom with water just to the basket insert (amount will vary depending on the size of your Instant Pot) and layering the basket with lightly moistened corn husks. This gives a better base for the tamales to sit on and you have enough water not to burn out the bottom of your pot. Also try substituting some of the water used for the masa with juices from the pork. Makes for a more flavorful end product. Enjoy!
We just made pork tamales and sweet tamales before reading this recipe. We set the manual for 20 minutes and when it wen off we let the “LO” for 1 hour and 45 additional minutes. The tamales are perfect. I guess the additional 1 hour and 45 minutes can be cut, but not sure yet to what extent.