Tamales!!!

I did it! And I'm so proud of myself! I don't know what got into me, but I got the bug to give tamales a try. Living in Texas and Arizona, I used to know women who would make these by the hundreds and sell them for practically nothing. And they were so good. When I started looking on-line for recipes, it seemed like quite a daunting task. They all said how labor-intensive the process was. But I charged ahead!

I figured my first attempt was going to be utterly experimental and I was right! The first recipe I used (www.food.com/recipeprint.do?rid=15286) came out oddly. The flavor was wonderful (although I did not use her pork recipe, I used my leftover Shirley Corriher Pull-Apart Pork Roast (see earlier post) and simply added some canned Mild Red Enchilada sauce. But her instructions on how to roll the tamales just didn't work. I had only used half of the masa, so thought I'd give it another try. I bought another small (under 2#) pork butt and cooked it according to her directions. I would definitely use Shirley Corriher's roast instead. Much better flavor. Anyway, I again looked on-line for better rolling instructions and found this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=J96tm2uFpd8. So much better!

The photos above are the finished product on the table, steaming the tamales, the stack of uncooked tamales, a tamale ready to be rolled, and the husks soaking in hot water.

Now the beauty of these babies is that, while it will take a couple of hours to roll an entire batch, they freeze beautifully and you can take 2 or 3 out at a time and just pop the cooked tamales in the microwave or reheat them in the oven.

This recipe will make somewhere around 50 tamales. It's hard to say, depends on the number of husks you get in your package and how big they are (some of mine were over 12" wide, so I tore them in half). My recipe is a compilation of several I read on-line, but ultimately worked really well. If you 're going to try it, I really urge you to watch the YouTube video listed above. It made it so much easier!

TAMALES

3 1/2-4# pork butt, cooked the day before using Shirley Corriher's recipe in previous post, shredded

2-3 cans red enchilada sauce (depending on how "juicy" you want the filling....I used "Mild")

6 cups stock (I used turkey stock I had in the freezer)

3/4 cup shortening

6 cups masa harina

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

1 package (about 50) corn husks

Put all of your husks in a large bowl or clean sink. Pour boiling water or very hot tap water to cover. I used heavy pot lids to hold them down. Give them at least half an hour to soften.

Mix the enchilada sauce into the shredded pork and simmer for about 10 minutes.

To make masa, beat shortening on medium speed in large bowl for 1 minute.

In a separate bowl, stir together masa harina, baking powder, and 2 tsp salt.

Alternately add masa harina mixture and broth to shortening, beating well after each addition (add just enough to make a thick, creamy paste).

To assemble the tamales, spread 3-4 Tbsp of the masa on the top corner of the husk, about a 4x4 square. Then add 1-2 Tbsp of the pork. Watch the video at this point to learn how to roll it up! I tore a strip of the husk off of the edge to use to tie the tamale.

Now, there are actually tamale steamers out there and I suppose if I made these everyday, I would buy one. Instead, I used my largest stock pot with a steamer basket. Stand the tamales with the open end up. Bring the water (up to the steamer basket bottom) to a boil, then turn heat down (I used somewhere between 4-5 on my electric stove) to a low boil and cover. It usually takes between 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 of an hour. I start checking them at one hour. Take the smallest one out, unroll it and see how set the masa has become. Then check another every 15 minutes after.

Freeze leftovers in a ziplock bag. To reheat in the oven, place in a baking dish with husks on sides. Sprinkle the top with a little water. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

To microwave, thaw and wrap in wet paper towel, 2 minutes for 1 or 2 tamales.