BEST TAMALES
Source of Recipe
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List of Ingredients
Makes about two dozen tamales
11/4 pounds pork shoulder
Red chile powder
1/3 pound lard, chilled
13/4 teaspoons salt, more if desired
1 teaspoon baking soda
11/2 cups masa harina de maiz
Broth from the pork
Cook pork roast for about 45 minutes in a pressure cooker, or 3 hours, slowly, in a pot. When the meat is done and tender, shred it and place in a pot, adding red chile powder to taste, and 1 quart of water. Bring to a simmer.
Turn off the heat and let soak for about 20 minutes. Then shred the pork.
Clean the hojas, or corn husks: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Turn off heat, add corn husks and weigh them down with a plate so they are completely submerged. Let them soak for an hour. Then drain.
Cream lard, salt and baking soda, and add masa harina, with one cup of cooking broth, from pork roast. Whip until the masa is light and fluffy.
Test the masa by putting a small ball of it in a glass of water. If it floats, it is ready. If it sinks, whip in more water. Add water in very small increments.
Spread the paste evenly on the top half of the drained husk and add the meat filling in a vertical line down the center of the masa. Then fold in the sides of the husk toward each other, overlapping them a bit.
Fold the bottom part of the husk up against the top of the filled tamale.
Just like putting a diaper on the baby.
Use a narrow strip of husk to tie around the middle to hold the tamale closed.
Finally, lay the tamales flap-side down in a steamer basket. Steam for about 20 minutes, or until the masa feels firm inside the husk. Let cool for about 30 minutes. The tamales may be frozen at this point.
Add garlic and more red chile powder to the remaining pork broth to make red chile sauce to ladle over the tamales.
Recipe
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