Tamales

By á-43751

Meme & Shawna

Ingredients

• Masa Dough:
• 4 lb. bag of prepared Masa/Maseca Tamale Corn Flour
• 3 T. paprika
• 3 T. salt
• 3 T. chili powder
• 3 T. garlic powder
• 2 c. corn oil
• 2 quarts pork or chicken broth (reserved from cooking pork roast)
• Filling:
• 3 lbs. pork roast
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• oil to sear meat in
• Red Sauce:
• 1 1/2 c. stock
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 2 T. canned chipotle in adobo
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 diced onion
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 T. oil
• Green Sauce:
• 1 diced onion
• 1 can green enchilada sauce
• 1 (7 oz.) can chopped green chilies
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Preparation

Step 1

For dough: In a very large bowl, place 1/2 the bag of Masa. To this add the paprika, salt, chili powder & garlic powder. Using clean hands, work the dry ingredients together, mixing well so that you don't end up with clumps of spices. Once you have the flour & spices well combined, add the corn oil all at once. Continue to work with your hands, mixing the corn oil into the dry ingredients. Once this is distributed well, begin adding the warm broth, 1 c. at a time. Keep mixing & adding broth until your masa is the consistency of paste or peanut butter. You will probably be using both hands before you get to this point. NOTE: You may need to add more masa or liquid as you are mixing so you obtain the right consistency. It is important that the prepared masa be very moist & light. When you've prepared your masa, do the "float" test: spoon a little bit of dough into a bowl of water. If it floats, it's done. If it sinks, it needs more liquid, a little more fat & several more minutes of mixing. If making in advance, cover with plastic wrap til ready to use.

For filling: Sear pork roast in oil. Place in crockpot & cover with 8 c. water, onion & spices. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Cool then shred. Strain & reserve broth.

For red sauce: saute onions, sprinkle in spices. Add sauce & stock; simmer 20-30 minutes. Add half of the shredded pork. You can refrigerate overnight til ready to assemble.

For green sauce: saute onions in oil. Add spices. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Add half of the shredded pork. You can refrigerate overnight til ready to assemble.

To assemble: soak corn husks in hot water to rehydrate them (about 30 minutes). Remove & pat dry. Take 1 (or 2 if very narrow) husks & place them in your hand (pinched looking end toward your fingers & smooth side of husk up). If husks rip or one is too small, overlap 2 together & continue wrapping & tying as usual.

Using a butter knife, masa spreader or tortilla press; take enough masa to spread over corn husks covering the top 2/3 & 2/3 of one side. You want the masa to be about 1/4" thick. If you spread too thick, it will be hard to roll up with the meat added & it will squeeze out onto your hand or counter. If you make it too thin, you will have the meat falling out in the steamer.

Add about 1 T. filling; spreading it evenly down the center of the masa (careful to leave 1/2" at the top & bottom, & room on the sides for the masa to close around the filling). Fold one side over then the other; bring up bottom & tie with piece of husk. Don't roll up too tight.

Stand the tamales upright in steamer pot (folded side down. For best results, tamales should be tightly packed, but not too tightly so the masa can have room to expand.

Once the pot is full, fill the bottom with water, making sure the bottoms of the tamales are not in the water. Cover & bring to a boil. Keep water bubbling but not a hard boil. Once steam has begun to escape from pot, reduce heat to medium; keep these steaming for 1 1/2-2 hours, adding water as needed so the pot doesn't go dry.

The tamales are done when the masa around the meat is firm. To test the tamales for doneness, remove one from the steamer & let cool a few minutes. As you open the husks, the dough should come away easily & completely smooth. Cut into tamale to make sure it's cooked through.

Remove tamales & let them rest for a few minutes to help them set up. Can be cooled down, packed in storage bags & refrigerated up to 2-3 days or frozen up to 3 months. If using a vacuum sealer, they will last up to a year.

To reheat, wrap in foil & place in a 350º oven for about 30 minutes.