Mama Salazar's Beef and/or Pork Tamales

By KDHarmon

Ingredients

• Using 6 pounds of meat makes about 10 dozen tamales and will take over a large American freezer, so feel free to cut this recipe in half or more, but don’t decrease onions or garlic.
• 3 pounds pork roast
• 3 pounds beef roast
• 2 large onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup chili powder or more (depends on heat of chili powder and spice tolerance of tamal eaters)
• salt
• pepper
• cumin
• 8 cups masa harina
• 2 cups shortening or lard
• Corn husks (2-3 packages for full recipe)

Details

Adapted from deliciousdays.com

Preparation

Step 1

Day 1:
Cook meat (pork or beef, or both in separate pots) in a large pot of water (or in a slow-cooker filled with water) with an onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook for the day, 4 hours minimum. The more broth you can generate from the meat, the better!

After the meat is cooked (so that it falls apart and shreds easily), remove from pot, set aside to cool, and puree the onion and garlic with the broth. Season broth mixture to taste with chili powder and salt.

Shred meat finely with two forks (you can even chop it after shredding), and store covered in refrigerator separately from broth.

Soak corn husks in water overnight.

Day 2:
Rinse and clean corn husks thoroughly. Drain well and pat dry.

Season shredded meat with chili powder, salt, and cumin (optional) to taste. As you season the meat, add a small amount of broth to moisten meat, but it should not be runny.

For every 2 cups of masa harina (meal), add ½ cup of shortening or lard, 1tsp. of salt, and enough chili powder to make a pink dough. Add broth mixture a little at a time to masa and mix with your hands to get a smooth, spreadable consistency. If you run out of broth, you can use hot water, but you will wish you had plenty of broth. (If you use about 6 pounds of meat, you will likely use about 8 cups of masa harina in total).

Assemble the tamales: spread masa about 1/8 inch thick on corn husk with fingers, leaving about ½ inch border along the sides and 2 inch border along the top and bottom of husk. Use about 2 Tbsp. of shredded meat to fill the tamale (like a cigar). Fold sides until they just overlap, fold narrow end under, and place tamale folded side down. Grandma Salazar tears thin strips of the corn husks to tie a “little belt” around each tamale to keep it secure. Although this isn’t necessary, it does look the nicest and makes each tamale a little gift to be opened.

To cook, steam fresh tamales for 15 minutes or until masa is no longer sticky.

Store in freezer. Steam frozen tamales for 20 minutes. (This is a real treat a few days or a few weeks later. After you’ve recovered, it’s almost like someone else made them for you!).

Makes about 10 dozen tamales.

A few tips:
• The key to good tamales is to spread the masa (dough) thinly on the husk. I never get more disgusted than when I try tamales at a restaurant that are really just logs of steamed masa, with hardly any filling to speak of.

• The more the merrier when it comes to making tamales. They are certainly labor intensive, but oh, so rewarding. If you can’t talk your friends or family into helping, there must be plenty of good music to get you through.

• Plan two days for the project, and make sure you (or your neighbors) have enough freezer space to preserve the abundance.

• If you are a pro, serve tamales like my Grandma or my mom does with beef or chicken enchiladas, refried pinto beans or tostadas, and some Spanish rice.

• If you are planning to be a pro (moi?), start by serving your tamales with a Pozole soup (see here and here) which can be cooked all day or just simply Spanish rice.

• We like to mix the beef and pork for the tamales, but if you’re a purist, feel free to go with one or the other.