In this situation, most people would find the quickest, easiest thing to make last minute, but what do I do? I decide to try something festive that I have never made before that takes all day - tamales! Why? I have no idea! I keep making things! Christmas is turning me into a machine. It is fun though, I love learning something new.
I made pork tamales and they were time consuming but not as bad as I thought. I was able to make the pork filling yesterday, it just cooked in the crock pot all day, so no big deal. And today I made the masa and assembled them. I turned on some Christmas music and my friend, Cheryl came over and helped me assemble. It is definitely more fun to assemble tamales with friends.
Here is the recipe:
Pork Tamales
Makes about 30 tamales
Pork
Filling:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup cider vinegar
3 Tbs. lime juice
3 canned chipotle
chiles
3
tsp. salt
1
½ tsp. pepper
4 cloves minced
garlic
3 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. cloves
3 bay leaves
1 (5 lb.)
boneless pork shoulder roast
1 large yellow
onion, quartered
3 cups chicken
broth
Directions:
Combine the cider
vinegar, lime juice, chipotle chiles, garlic cloves and spices in blender and
puree until completely smooth — about a minute or so. Coat pork pieces with the spice
mixture and place in the broth. Add the bay leaves and the onion pieces.
Cover and cook on
low until the pork is tender, about 9-10 hours. Stir the pork every few hours.
When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Add
about 1 cup of the broth to the meat to keep it moist and flavorful.
Strain the
remainder of the liquid, discarding the bay leaves and onion, and reserve 7
cups for the masa dough. Refrigerate overnight then when the fat is solidified,
skim it off of the top and discard.
Dough:
Ingredients:
9 cups masa
harina
5 1/4 cups of broth
from pork (or chicken broth if you don’t have enough liquid)
4 1/2 tsp. baking
powder
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp.
paprika
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 ½ cups lard
1 package dried
corn husks (about 75)
Directions:
Soak the corn husks in a large bowl of
hot water for 2 hours.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the lard (yes, I said LARD) with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy and about triple its original size
(about 10 minutes). Combine the masa harina, baking powder, and spices; stir
into the lard mixture, adding the broth in increments and mix until well
incorporated and the mixture feels very fluffy and light. Test by taking a teaspoonful
and dropping into a glass of water. It should float. If it falls to the bottom,
keep on beating. The consistency should be of soft cookie dough.
Assemble & Steam:
Pat dry softened husks. When filling
each husk, place the smooth side facing up from the palm of your hand. Spread
1/3 cup of masa with a large spatula or knife leaving a 2 - 3 inch border on
the tapered (bottom) end of the husk. The masa should be evenly spread across
the lower 3/4 of the husk leaving about 1 inch on the left side.
Place 2-3
tablespoons of pork filling in a line along the center of the masa. Make sure
to leave 1/2-inch at the top and bottom, and room on the sides for the masa to
close around the meat.
Slide a second corn husk under the
prepared one facing the opposite direction so that the masa is in the middle of
the two tapered ends.
Carefully roll the tamale, starting with the side covered
in masa. Turn right side over to center of filling; fold left side over
filling, allowing plain part of husk to wrap around filling.
Fold the two
tapered ends down and secure by tying the package shut with a thin strip of
husk.
Line the bottom of a steamer basket loosely
with a few of the husk scraps.
Stack tamales upright, side by side. For best
results, the tamales should be firmly packed, put not too tightly, as the dough
needs room to expand some.
Layer some husk scraps atop the
tamales to help lock in the steam and add another layer of flavoring.
Once you
have a full pot of assembled tamales, fill the bottom of the steamer pot with
water, making sure the bottoms of the tamales are not in the water. Do not let
the tamales touch the water or the dough will get soggy.
Cover and bring just to a boil. Steam the tamales for at least 2 hours, adding
water as needed so the pot doesn’t go dry.
To test for doneness, carefully take
out a tamale from the middle of the basket. Unwrap, the masa should be firm and
pull away from husk easily, if not, continue cooking.
Your tamales can be eaten immediately, if you like. But to make
them even better, eat them leftover: let them cool completely, then re-steam
for about 15 to 20 minutes before serving. This gives you the best texture.
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