Description
I had been looking for a Tamale recipe for years. One day I went to the international market and stood in the Mexican aisle till a woman with a full cart came by. I just asked her if she knew how to make Tamales. This is her recipe with a few additions from me. The pork can be substituted with either chicken or beef. This is great served with refried beans and a salad.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds pork loin
- 1 large onion, halved
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 dried California chile pods
- 2 cups water
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup lard
- 1 (8 ounce) package dried corn husks
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Make filling: Place pork
- onion
- and garlic in a Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until pork is cooked through
- about 2 hours.
- Meanwhile
- make chile sauce: Use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from chiles. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups water. Simmer
- uncovered
- for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
- Transfer chiles and cooking water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain mixture into a bowl and stir in salt. Set aside.
- Shred cooked pork and mix in 1 cup chile sauce. Reserve remaining sauce for serving.
- Prepare husks and dough: Soak corn husks in a bowl of warm water until softened
- about 30 minutes.
- While the husks are soaking
- beat lard with 1 tablespoon broth until fluffy. Combine masa harina
- baking powder
- and salt in a separate bowl; stir into the lard mixture
- adding more broth as needed to form a spongy dough.
- Remove husks from water and pat dry. Spread dough out over husks to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick.
- Place 1 tablespoon pork filling over center of each. Fold the sides
- top
- and bottom of each husk in toward the center to enclose dough.
- Arrange tamales in a steamer basket. Place over simmering water and steam for 1 hour.
- Remove tamales from husks. Drizzle with remaining chile sauce and top with sour cream
- or mix sour cream into chile sauce first for a creamy sauce.
Prep Time: 35 mins
Cook Time: 3 hrs
Total Time: 3 hrs 35 mins
Servings: 16