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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Recipe
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 leaves
- 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 leaves
- 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
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HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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This was delicious, thank-you you for sharing Lauren.
I have never been a fan of Red Chili Sauce with California Peppers. It always has that strange bitter flavor and I can taste the skins.
Your suggestion to strain prompted me to use a high-quality cheesecloth. The result was amazing. A much more finished and delicate sauce. First time I have actually enjoyed this type of sauce.
It surprised me how much pulp/fiber was removed after a long processing in my Vitamix blender on high.
I can now go back to red enchilada sauce😀
Thank you!
How much water does “cover it in water” mean? You have to either give me a specific amount that I can actual measure out or be way more specific because I don’t know if you mean 1 cup of water or 5 cups.
Great recipe, 2nd time making this.only my red chili sauce was more orange brown then red and spicier than the first time I made it. First time was a dark red. Im wondering if i changed something. The 1st time the chili pods where a dark red almost black, 2nd time were lighter red, I am wondering if that was the difference. Wondering if you could tell me what I may have done to cause that. Still taste great, but a little spicy. Recipe brings back memories of when I was 8, and my mom, aunts and cousins making an assembly line to get them in the big steamers and ready to eat.
Great recipe!
Turned out so good and perfect for our Christmas tamales
Haven’t made this reciepe but it seems authentic. Really excited to try it for this holiday 2023. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Made the slow cooker pork/red sauce and it is wonderful. Wondering if I can freeze both the leftover pork and red chili sauce.
Thanks again for the recipe, very easy to follow.
Excited to try. Thank you for doing this. QUESTION- under instruction for Red Chili sauce on step #3, what am I cooking in the pan? I am reading that the chilis et al are still in the blender. What ingredient am I missing?
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… So you are cooking the flour to a light beige color… before adding the stuff from the blender… Don’t burn the flour… keep stirring as you are cooking the flour and adding the chile sauce
This recipe turned out so great!! I have never made tamales and this recipe will make a wonderful tasty filling for my tamales! Tomorrow is my birthday and my friends will come over to make tamales with me! Thank you for a great recipe!! Btw…I doubled the recipe too.
Can chicken be used instead of pork? If yes, would the meat cooking be the just replace with 1.5 lbs of chicken?
I just made the sauce as a chip dip!! it’s so good!!
Made the red chilli sauce and made it way to spicy is there anyway to die down the sauce before blending it. Made the recipe before and it was perfect I think I used different peppers this time though
You could add some tomato sauce to help mellow it out.
The Mexican recipes, especially tamales look great, can’t wait to try several. I’M 86 years old and fighting latter stages of Lukemia but I guarantee you I will be cooking soon. Your recipes seem easy to follow and as I send this response, my daughter is putting together a grocer list for Tamales. Thank you, I’ll let you know the results. Bob
Delicious.
Hi, just wanted to double check with the chili powder used here this is a US chili powder which is more of a blend of spices correct? I’m in Australia where chili powder is purely just chili powder so will need to make the adjustment or the taste will be quite different. Looking forward to making your tamale recipe as my husband has been missing them and they are not easy to find here.
very good
This recipe is fantastic. I’m doing my second batch rn. Obviously I missed this step on my first go around. Why strain the chili sauce?
Where is the tutorial? I can’t find it.
You can find that video here: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/mexican-tamales/#adthrive-contextual-container ENJOY!
Is the red chili sauce supposed to have bitterness? I don’t know if this is correct or if I did something wrong.
Well after feeling the same way. I’d have to say the author forgot to include that you are supposed to remove the solids after simmering the Chile’s. I read the back of the masa Harina bag and found this out the hard way. It had formed a bitter past not a sauce. Had to improvise with the aftermath. 😉
After you blend the sauce, you need to strain it (I use a fine mesh strainer), before adding it to the saucepan (step 4).
She definitely does mention to strain the blended chiles in the instructions.
Do you have an version for Instapot?
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.
Made tamales for first time for New Years. Turned out pretty good. I need a good steaming pot or round metal rack. Everyone loved the red chili sauce with the tamales.
I made this for tamales for Christmas
It was the first time making tamales and it was delicious. Thank you
Thank you for sharing your fabulous recipes with the rest of us. So appreciated!!!
Do you think I can substitute chicken in this recipe? I’m trying
I think it will be delicious!
Love your recipes. Please, continue sharing!
Where can I find you tamale recipe to use this meat? It sounds so good!
Here’s my tamale recipe: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/mexican-tamales/
When you say cover the pork with water (in crockpot) does that mean pour water in until meat is submerged or is there a specific amount of water you pour in? Your instructions don’t say. Looking forward to making this planning on using it as the filling for tamales (gonna use your recipe as well).
Yes, just pour water in until the meat is covered.
Thank you. This has been on my cooking bucket list. And I’ve always been intimidated. I know I won’t have a room full of lively Mexican ladies to joke with while I make it. Thank you for breaking this down and simplifying the process. This is the kind of instructions that seem full proof. Thank you, I’ll cook the pork tomorrow, then look out Monday! Woo hoo!
Where is the recipe for the masa and corn husks and how to put together and steam. Thank you
You can find that here https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/mexican-tamales/
Perfect!
AMAZING! 🤩 I am in love with this recipe, especially the sauce. I use this recipe with your tamale recipe (just as amazing!) and I just can’t get enough of it.
Thank you for providing this recipe and great instructions!
Hi this is my first time making these I have a bone in pork shoulder that is 10 pounds. I put in table spoons of spices instead of teaspoon. Is this going to be to much spice? Should I omit putting the spice in the red chilipods?
I’m making this with a slow cooker, how much water do you put?
Can you please suggest chiles for your pork with red sauce? I can’t get the California ones because I live in Scotland, but anco, guajillo, and A few other Mexican ones that I can’t think of right now.
I want to make these in honour of my grandfather. He loves them but could only get them in cans. I was only 18 when he passed and wasn’t much of a cool way back then.lol
I don’t have California (aka Anaheim) chilies where I live either. I will be using Guajillo. They are a bit spicier. If you have poblano peppers they are probably the closest to Anaheim with regard to flavor and spice level.
Look on Amazon. That’s where I bought mine.
I’ve made this a half dozen times and EVERY TIME it’s perfect. Everyone loves it. Zero changes or modifications. Thank you!
I made this recipe and it’s so good I’m making it again. I used this as filling for tamales and it was perfect.
gonna make this tomorrow, Mexican rice, refried beans
Tried this recipe and it’s a keeper, easy to follow. I like my tamales spicy, used dried New Mexico pods.Tamales were delicious! Also like to use large cookie scoop for the masa, makes them the same size. Thanks!👍
This recipe was delicious! Family has ready requested it again. Definitely kid approved.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I have made these tamales two years in a row now and they never disappoint. They are delicious and fun to make.
How would I make it spicier ?
I literally cannot get enough of this pork. I’ve used it for
tamales and it’s the best filling I’ve ever tasted! The sauce is so good I want to lick my plate. No joke. I’ve made just the sauce for other dishes. It’s so good it can stand on its own in many different ways – it’s warm and comforting without being spicy. Thank you for such an amazing recipe. Thanks to you I finally (at the age of 49) felt confident enough to try my hand at tamales. They were amazing!!!
How many tamales in this recipe?
Great recipe and instructions. I found rolling out the masa between two sheets of parchment paper then cutting rectangles to help me make consistent masa to filling ratios and reduced the time needed when scaling this up. Also, individually wrapping and freezing works great.
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?
I made two batches of this filling over a Friday-Saturday prep period for a Tamalada party I was planning for last Saturday (Dec 5th) with my daughter, grand-daughter, and great grand-daughter using your Mexican Tamale recipe. We’ve been doing this for a few years now, and love the get togethers and the end products. I didn’t have any California chilies, so substituted a mix of Guajillo, Pasilla, and Arbol chilies. Turned out great, but just needed a little more salt in the pork and/or the chili sauce. More like salt-to-taste in the pork and sauce recipes. To each his own, when it comes to salt, I suppose. God bless and Merry Christmas to all.
I followed this recipe almost exactly and its absolutely delicious! Perfectly tender and moist pork. Thanks so much !
How much water did you cover the pork roast with?
Is this too spicy for children?
Its mildly spicy (California chiles are mild in heat). My kids, ages 7,6, 3 years old have no problem with it :-).
my daughter does not even eat pepper because it is too hot, but she ate these.
I use this recipe all the time. My family loves it. 0
Can you substitue california chile, chile powder for the whole california chiles.
Yes you can. The flavor isn’t as strong, but yes you can.
I made tamales a few weeks ago using this recipe. We also did burritos.. My family loved it! Making them again today!
I’m so happy to hear it! Thank you for your comment!
delicious thank you
I plan to make tamales next week and I’ll use your recipe. I’ll let you know how my family likes it. It looks and sounds delicious.
Can I substitute beef for pork? What type of beef should I use? Thank you in advance
A beef raost would work well.
Pork with red Chilli sauce is even my favourite filling for a lot of dishes. I have tried it as a side dish with Steamed rice topped with cheese sauce and trust me it was amazing. I will definitely try your way of making Pork Chilli.
Sophie
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