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This pork with Red Chili Sauce is my favorite filling for tamales, burritos, tacos and more. It's made with a pork roast, spices, and a homemade red chili sauce.
While living in Mexico with my husband as a young married couple, I had that opportunity to learn to make some authentic Mexican dishes including Mexican rice, Pork Chile Verde, and homemade tamales! I have a seriously love for GOOD Mexican food!
My experiences with the people, food, and culture of Puebla, Mexico instilled in me a deep love of all things Mexican and you'll notice that the Mexican cuisine on my site gets more love and attention than all of the other types of cuisine!
Don't miss my full tutorial and step by step tips for how to use this pork and make homemade tamales!
For the Pork:
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Add pork, onion, bay leaf, garlic, oregano, cumin and salt and pepper to slow cooker. Cover the pork with water and cook on LOW for 8 hours or overnight.
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Drain the pork broth into a container and shred the cooked pork.
For the Mexican red chili sauce:
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Use rubber gloves to remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles while rinsing them under cold water. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of reserved broth. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat.
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Transfer the chiles and broth to a blender. Add oregano, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic and blend until smooth. Set aside.
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In the same saucepan you used to cook the chiles, add oil and cook over medium heat. Add flour and salt and stir for 1 minute. Strain the chili sauce from the blender and add it to the saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
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Add red chili sauce to the meat, and stir to combine.
Serve with:
- Homemade Tamales
- Inside a burrito
- As a taco
- On a salad
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Shredded Pork with Red Chili Sauce
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 1 1/2 pounds pork loin, shoulder or butt
- 1 large onion, , chopped
- 1 bay leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Red Chili Sauce:
- 4 dried california chile pods
- 2 cups reserved pork broth
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon oil, (vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the pork:
- Add pork, onion, bay leaf, garlic, oregano, cumin and salt and pepper to slow cooker. Cover the pork with water and cook on LOW for 8 hours or overnight.
- Drain the pork, reserving the broth. Shred the meat.
For the Red Chili Sauce:
- Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles while rinsing them under cold water. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of broth from the cooked pork. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Transfer the chiles and broth to a blender. Add oregano, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- In the same saucepan you used to cook the chiles, add oil and cook over medium heat. Add flour and salt and stir for 1 minute.
- Strain the chili sauce from the blender and add it to the saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, then add the sauce to the shredded pork.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
The pork turned out delicious. An excellent filling for tamales.
This was freakin delicious!!!!!!
I also made just the pork part and it makes the most delicious pulled pork sandwiches!
So with the masa recipe, how thick are the Tamales after steaming? I prefer them on the thinner side. How would I adjust the recipe to accommodate slightly thinner tamales? Thanks!
That’s fine, just spread the masa thinner over the corn husk.
Could you bone in pork shank instead of pork roast
I would think so. Pork is pork when cooked long and slow. Cooking with the bone will give it more flavor though.
Sooo excited to try this! My mother in law is Mexican and she makes us tamales every Christmas but was not able to because of covid this year 🙁 I saw the comments about using an instant pot. Does it work? Does it still taste as good in place of slow cooking it?
Hi Shellby,
I just copied a comment about using the Instapot for cooking/steaming tamales since I want to use that after I prepare my tamales. It might be helpful to you as well. The commenter said:
I used my instapot to cook the beef roast, then switched it over to a pan to make the sauce, and then I cooked the tamales in the instapot… I’ve never done it before and it was a DREAM. It was so easy. I put two cups of water in it. I dont have a steamer basket so I crumpled up tin foil at the bottom, and put that little metal tray that comes with the insta pot in it. Just so the tamales werent touching water. I put it in for 40 minutes, a 20 minute natural release, and let it set for 20 minutes… They came out perfect!!
Good luck!
Have you tried making this in an instant pot to reduce the cooking time?
Sure, in step one, cook the post with 2 cups of liquid (water or broth)on Manual/High pressure for 70 minutes. When timer beeps, allow the pot to naturally release pressure, about 15 minutes longer.
Hi! If I’m using a dutch oven for the pork, how long would you say I would cook it on a low setting?
It will take about 3 – 3 1/2 hours in the oven at 325 degrees.
My dad just finished chemo and radiation and can’t handle any bit of heat, is this a spicy sauce, and if so, any suggestions?
Red chili pods aren’t very hot but if you want no spice whatsoever, maybe sub for bell pepper and/or some tomato past.
Susan, my mom can’t handle any heat either. I use Gebhardt’s chili powder when I cook anything Mexican for her. It is not hot at all and has a delicious flavor. Hopefully, that will help you to cook for your Dad.
I use pasilla chili pods and it is NOT Hot at all. I can only tolerate mild Taco Bell sauce as a reference and this chili sauce nowhere near spicy. But The flavor is amazing.
This recipe seems absolutely perfect! I am trying this as a Christmas tradition passed down from my in-laws. I was interested in trying to cook the pork in an InstaPot. Is this possible? I am following your Tamale Recipe and saw the note about using an InstaPot to steam them, but I haven’t seen one for cooking the pork. Thanks.
Yes, you can. You’ll only need about 2 cups of water. Cook on high pressure for about 60-70 minutes, with a natural pressure release.
Hi! How much water do you add? Thanks!
Just make sure the pork is completely covered (you don’t need an exact measurement –you’ll only be using 2 cups of it, later, for the sauce.).
100 servings is how many dozens of tamales
This recipe will make about 2 dozen tamales.
How spicy is this?