Tamales, Wonderful Tamales!

I did it! I made tamales! It's not hard, just very time consuming, but totally worth it in the end, get someone to help you, make it a family thing, and the time thing won't be so bad, I did these all by myself, (with the exception of Hubby, pouring the broth into the maize while I mixed it with my hands) They had a great flavor, spicy, but not too spicy. I made these for my Hubby, who had been asking for awhile, and they sounded good, so I finally broke down and made them. I am so glad I did, I will most definitely make these again soon! This recipe made enough for about 5 dozen, depending on the tamale size. So make these soon, and enjoy all of your delicious hard work.

Place pork shoulder, veggies and  spices in a crockpot on low 8-10 hours

cut off stems and ends and remove most seeds in chilies.

Boil in pork broth, onions, and garlic for 30 minutes or until soft. let cool

Meanwhile, after cooling pork, remove bones

Bones should come right our (so tender!) shred finely.

Add chilies and broth mixture to a blender, blend until consistency of sauce

pour over pork shoulder and stir to distribute chili sauce evenly

wrap with plastic wrap and marinate it in the fridge for 2-4 hours.

Soak corn husks in warm water for up to 20 minutes

Add MASECA to a bowl with salt, baking powder and chicken broth.

Beat Crisco vegetable shortening or lard until fluffy

Add the MASECA mix.

Lay the corn husk smooth side down

Fill with about 1/2 cup dough, depending on the size you want, and corn husk

Smooth out, leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch husk ends

add 1-2 Tablespoons of meat/chili mixture

Meet both ends of dough to close around meat, leaving the top open, tuck the bottom end underneath and fold around like a burrito.

Fill tamale steamer with tamales, do not pack them in, you need room for the steam to rise.

This will be your end result after about 2 hours of steaming, you know when the tamales re done, when the corn husk will peel easily away from the MASECA mix.

Ingredients:

Filling-

1 3-4 pound pork shoulder
1 whole onion cut into 5-6 large chunks
4 cloves garlic cut in half
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cumin
enough water or chicken broth to cover most of the pork

Chili sauce-

2 oz dried Ancho chilies
3 oz dried Pasilla chilies
4 cups pork broth from crockpot
Onions and garlic that were in the crockpot
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons salt


Tamale dough-
(This is a double batch)
4 cups MASECA For Tamales mix
4 cups water or broth, (I used chicken broth)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup lard or vegetable shortening (I used Crisco)
(Note: I tripled this recipe)

(The directions to make the tamale dough is on the package, I cannot tell you exact measurements, I made 3 double batches, and that came out to about 5 dozen, it just depends on the size of the tamales you are making)

Casing:

1-2 packages dried corn husks

To make the filling:

Rinse and pat dry the pork shoulder and add to a crockpot, add onions, garlic, salt, and cumin.
Add enough broth or water to almost cover the pork. Set on low 8-10 hour setting.
Turn after 4 hours. Once done, (the pork is finished when it shreds away easily) turn off crockpot and let sit for 1-2 hours, remove the pork, saving the broth, onions, and garlic for the chilies. Let the pork rest 10 minutes, or until cool enough to shred with fingers or forks.

Cut off ends and stem ends of chilies, and remove most seeds, place in a pot along with onions, garlic and about 4 cups of broth. Boil for 30 minutes, or until soft. you can shred the meat while the chilies are boiling.
When the chilies are done, let cool for 10-15 minutes, then add to a blender, blend until consistency of sauce, with no chunks remaining, pour over shredded meat and wrap with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge, and let marinate for 2-4 hours.

For the dough and casing-

Casing-

Place 1 package of corn husks in a large pot of warm water, soak for 20 minutes,  
you may need to weigh them down with a heavy bowl or pot to make sure they are fully submerged.

Dough-

4 cups MASECA mix
4 cups water or broth, (I used chicken broth)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup lard or vegetable shortening (I used Crisco)
(Note: I tripled this recipe)


To make the dough-

In a large bowl, mix MASECA with baking powder, salt and add broth slowly, incorporating with hands.
Add shortening to a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, beat medium-high until fluffy.
Add the MASECA mix, beat until well incorporated* and has a spongy texture.

*(Note: A way to tell the dough is mixed, is by taking a small teaspoon sized amount and put it into a glass of water, if it floats, its done!)

To Assemble:

Open a corn husk, shake off any excess water, lay smooth side down, or hold in hand and smooth about 1/2 cup of the dough (depending on size of husk, it the dough should be spread 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick) onto husk, leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch of husk showing on each end, spread about 1-2 tablespoons of meat/chili mixture onto dough, close both ends together, folding the dough over the meat, fold the bottom end of the husk in and wrap like a burrito, leaving the top open, repeat until all of the meat is used.

Steaming:

Using a tamale steamer, or large pot with steaming tray, fill with water just below the fill line,
fill pot with tamales leaving some space for steam to escape, do not overfill. bring water up to a simmer (You should be able to hear the water simmering in the pot) and simmer for about 2 hours. The tamales are done when the husk pulls away from the dough easily. Remove tamales and place on a paper towel lined tray, let sit for 10 minutes to rest and further set. Serve with sour cream, salsa, or eat plain. Delicious!!!