TAMALES

Tamales are eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner and especially around Christmas. Not the easiest to make, but well worth the trouble.
Print Recipe
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 6 to 8 lbs Pork Roast
  • Large Fryer Size Chicken, about 5 lbs.
  • 6 tbsp Chili Powder
  • 3 tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 3 tbsp Ground Comino
  • 1 tbsp Black Pepper
  • 2 tbsp Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Corn Oil
  • 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
  • 3 tbsp Chili Powder
  • 3 tbsp Paprika
  • 3 tbsp Salt
  • 3 tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 4 lb Bag Corn Masa
  • 2 Cups Corn Oil
  • Corn Husks

Method
 

  1. Cut the pork roast into fist sized chunks.
  2. Put the chunks into a pan and cover with water. Boil for about 2 1/2 hours or until it becomes really tender. After the meat is really tender take it out of the broth to cool (save the broth for the masa).
  3. After the roast chunks are cool enough to handle easily, shred them with your fingers. Try to remove and discard the fat as you go. If you have cooked the roast chunks thoroughly, it will be easy to shred into small pieces with your fingers.
  4. Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with water.
  5. Boil for 2 hours or until the chicken is done and tender.
  6. Take the chicken out of the broth and allow the chicken to cool (save the chicken broth as well).
  7. Remove and discard the skin. Take the chicken meat off the bones and shred it into very small filaments.
  8. Combine both meats in a very large pan and mix together. Make sure that the meats are thoroughly combined and mixed well.
  9. Mix the oil and seasonings listed above in a small pan and warm on the stove. Do not cook the oil and seasonings mix, only warm on the stove.
  10. When the oil and seasonings mix is warm, pour over the meat and mix with your hands until it is completely distributed through the meat. It takes a good 10 minutes to get the mixture completely uniform.
  11. Place meat mixture and both broths into the refrigerator until needed.
  12. Skim the fat from the chicken and pork broth. Mix both broths into a single pan and warm on the stove-top. Do not let it get too hot to the touch.
  13. Put 2 lbs of Masa in a large bowl.
  14. Add the dry Masa spices listed above. Mix the spices into the Masa until it is completely incorporated. Mix well, because you don't want a clump of spices in a tamale.
  15. Add the corn oil to the Masa and spice mixture.
  16. Begin to slowly work in 2 quarts of the warm chicken/pork broth, about a cup at a time. Work the mixture with your hands to make the dough. Slowly add the warm broth one cup at a time as you continue to work the mixture with your hands. If it is too dry, add enough warm water or broth to get it right for spreading. It should be about like thick peanut butter. If it is too thin add more Masa. If it is too thick add more broth or warm water.
Prepare the Corn Husks
  1. Soak the husks in a sink full of warm water for about 2 hours. You will need to carefully separate them when they get soft. Try not to tear or damage the corn husks. It is easier to make the tamales if the husks are in one piece.
Making the Tamales
  1. After the corn husks are soft, take some of them out of the water and shake the water off.
  2. Lay them on the counter on a towel. Holding a towel dried husk in you hand, small end toward your fingers, scoop up about 1/2 cup of the Masa dough with a spatula or spoon and smear it on the husk. Cover the left 2/3 of the husk with Masa and leave 1/3 uncovered. Leave the top uncovered as well. Repeat this on between 5 and 10 husks.
  3. When you have covered 5 to 10 husks take about 1 tablespoon of meat and lay it on the Masa about one inch from the left edge. Starting on the left side, roll the tamale all the way to the right edge. Now fold the top of the husk over like an envelope and lay the tamale on the counter with the fold on the under side.
  4. Roll the next one the same until all your husks with Masa on them are all rolled. Continue this until you have filled and rolled the desired amount of tamales (around 4 dozen).
Cooking the Tamales
  1. To cook the tamales you need a very large pot that has something in the bottom to keep the tamales out of the water while they steam.
  2. Add about 3 pints of water to the pot and start stacking the tamales upright until full. The envelope end of the tamale will be on the bottom, the open end of the tamale should be on top.
  3. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for at least 2 hours. Check water several times and add more as needed. When done, take out one tamale and let it rest for 5 minutes. Unwrap it and it should be firm with no raw Masa. If done, remove all the tamales and let them cool on the counter, then put in bags for the freezer, 6 to a bag, or eat them immediately. You can freeze the tamales indefinitely if they are vacuum sealed. If you use zip lock bags they will stay good for up to a year in the freezer.