Traditional Tamales Pork
This tamale recipe is about as traditional as you can get, although i use a roast instead of the whole pig head that many mexican women use. I have also used beef, but they just do not taste quite the same. These take about all day to make and are a lot of work, but they are so worth the time and the effort. Not for the faint-hearted cook for sure. They are a huge hit here in the west. For added flavor, top with either some of the red sauce used to prepare this recipe, or with my favorite, green chili sauce with pork, recipe #20574. Serve with sides of spanish rice, refried beans topped with cheese and frosty margaritas for a delicious authentic mexican meal. For an online tamale-making tutorial, including pictures, please see http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=188623 posted in the mexican cooking forum.
Steps
In a 5 qt dutch oven , bring pork , water , onion , garlic and 1 1 / 2 salt to boil.
Simmer covered , about 2 1 / 2 hours or until meat is very tender.
Remove meat from broth and allow both meat and broth to cool.
Shred the meat using 2 forks , discarding fat.
Strain the broth and reserve 6 cups.
In a large sauce pan , heat the red chili sauce and add meat.
Simmer , covered for 10 minutes.
To make masa beat shortening on medium speed in a large bowl for 1 minute.
In a separate bowl , stir together masa harina , baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt.
Alternately add masa harina mixture and broth to shortening , beating well after each addition.
In the mean time , soak corn husks in warm water for at least 20 minutes.
Rinse to remove any corn silk and drain well.
To assemble each tamale , spread 2 tablespoons of the masa mixture on the center of the corn husk.
Place about 1 tablespoon meat and sauce mixture in the middle of the masa.
Fold in sides of husk and fold up the bot.
Ingredients
pork shoulder, water, onion, garlic cloves, salt, red chili sauce, shortening, masa harina, baking powder, corn husks