Mexican Pork Tamales Recipes

Steps:

• Place the dry corn husks in a baking dish. Pour hot water over the husks to cover. Weigh the husks down so they are completely submerged and let soak for 2 hours, or until pliable.
• Add the tomatoes, onion, guajillos, pasillas, garlic, and 4 cups (960 ml) of water to a small pot. Cover, bring to a boil, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.
• Transfer the vegetables to a blender, Add salt and pepper to taste, the cumin, and about ½ cup (60 ml) of the cooking liquid. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
• Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and season with salt and pepper. Fry the pork until well-browned and most of the fat has evaporated. Drain any excess fat, if necessary.
• Add the sauce to the pan with the pork, bring to a boil, cover, and let simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• In a small bowl, combine the baking soda, baking powder, and 1 tablespoon water. Stir to dissolve, then set aside.
• Add the lard to a large bowl. With an electric hand mixer, whip the lard until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Add the masa and baking soda mixture and mix with your hands until smooth, about 5 minutes. It should be spreadable but still hold its shape.
• Drain the soaked corn husks.
• Place 1 husk on a clean surface and add 1-2 tablespoons of masa to the center of the husk. Spread with the back of the spoon to about ¼ inch (¾ cm) from the edges.
• Place 1 tablespoon of meat in the center. Roll the corn husk over the filling from left to right and fold the top down to create a little pocket. Set aside. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Place the tamales, open ends up, in a steamer basket set over a large pot of boiling water. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and the lid. Let steam for 1 hour, then turn off the heat and let the tamales rest for 1 hour more.
• Unwrap the tamales and serve with salsa verde.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Make the filling: Put the pork in a deep saucepan and cover with cold water (about 6 cups). Add 2 teaspoons salt, the onion, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and peppercorns; cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the pork is tender, 1 hour, 30 minutes to 2 hours. Transfer the pork to a plate and shred. Strain and reserve the cooking liquid; keep warm.
• Meanwhile, soak the corn husks in a bowl of hot water, using a plate to keep them submerged, until pliable, 1 hour.
• Combine the pork, cumin, 1/3 cup chili powder, the garlic, flour, sugar, vegetable oil and 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid in a large skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the dough: Mix the masa harina, lard, 2 teaspoons salt, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and 2 2/3 cups of the reserved cooking liquid in a bowl until combined.
• Drain the husks and pat dry. Starting 1/2 inch from the wide end, spread about 3 tablespoons of the dough down a husk, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the pork filling down the center of the dough, then fold in the sides of the husk, wrapping the dough around the filling. Fold up the narrow end of the husk. Repeat with the remaining husks, dough and filling.
• Set a steamer basket in a large pot filled with 1 to 2 inches of water. Arrange the tamales standing up in the steamer, folded-side down. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, cover and steam until the dough is firm, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the steamer and let cool slightly before unwrapping.

Steps:

• There are a few steps to making tamales and it is usually an all-day affair.
• Cooking the meat: Chop the pork butt into 3-inch cubes; reserve the bone.
• Add the oil to a large pot or Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat (we use a Dutch oven because it seems to cook faster). Add the pork butt to the pot. Sear the sides slightly until just golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add the peppercorns, bay leaves, onion, 3 cloves of the garlic and 1 tablespoon salt. Add 2 to 4 cups of water, or enough to cover the pork butt, then add the reserved bone. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and bring it to a boil. Cook on medium heat until very tender, about 2 hours.
• Preparing the corn husks: Separate the corn husks and take off all the little hairs and dust from them. Allow them to soak in hot water while the pork is cooking (or soak overnight).
• Carefully remove the pork from the broth with tongs to a plate or cutting board. Pour the leftover broth through a colander into a large bowl so that all the onion and other ingredients stay behind. Set the strained broth aside for later (about 4 cups).
• Shred the meat with 2 forks into small bite-size pieces. (You want it small enough that you aren't getting large pieces or chunks into the tamal.) Transfer to a medium saucepan.
• Preparing the chile: Cut the stems from the ancho chiles, open them and remove all the seeds and veins. Put them in a 3-quart saucepan, cover with water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, remove from the heat, set aside, cover and let steam for 5 minutes.
• To a blender, add the softened chiles, ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt and blend. Press in the remaining clove of garlic and slowly add 2/3 cup of the reserved pork broth. Continue to blend until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the chile mixture for the masa, then pour the remaining red chile sauce over the shredded pork and mix together to combine. Keep warm over low heat.
• Preparing the masa: Melt the lard in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Pour the melted lard into a large bowl. Add the masa harina to the bowl of lard, then add the baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, reserved 1/4 cup of the red chile sauce and 1/2 cup of the reserved pork broth. Knead well. Add more pork broth as needed until the dough is moistened and fluffy.
• Assembling the tamales: Drain the husks and pat them dry with a clean towel. Spread the kneaded masa onto the smooth side of the corn husks with a spoon in the center of the husks (2 to 3 tablespoons of masa per husk). Add the meat to the center of the masa, 1 to 2 tablespoons per husk. Fold over the husks in half vertically so that the masa wraps around the filling completely. Fold the pointy side up at the end to hold the tamale in place.
• Cooking the tamales: Arrange the tamales open-side up around the inside of a steamer basket that fits into a large (10-quart) pot, packing the tamales together. If there's extra space in the steamer basket, place a mason jar or small heatproof ceramic bowl upside down in the center, arranging the tamales around it. Arrange a layer of husks around the sides of the steamer basket and up over the top of the tamales and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Fill the large pot with 1 to 2 inches of water. (Note: You can put a penny at the bottom of the pot so you can hear it rolling when you need more water.) Bring the water to a rolling simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium low, set the steamer basket inside of the pot and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the tamales to steam for 1 to 2 hours or until the masa pulls away from the husks. Let sit to cool down for 5 to 10 minutes. Use tongs to remove the tamales afterwards and set on a jelly roll pan to cool down.

Steps:

• Cook the Pork.
• Remove the skin from the shoulder and chop into big chunks, pop in large saucepan and cover with at least 20 cups of water add seasoning's and bring to the boil, simmer for around 2 hours till meat can be shredded. When pork is ready remove from broth and leave to cool, DO NOT DISCARD THE BROTH.
• Prepare the MASA.
• In a large mixing bowl add 6 cups of Masa Flour, cumin, salt, pepper,garlic powder, paprika and baking powder. Add 6 cups of retained broth and beat in well, dissolve the lard in a bowl in a microwave, when liquid beat in to the dough for about 10 mins to get some air into the mix, makes for a fluffier masa. Leave covered to cool.
• Put your husks in a mixing bowl and cover with hot water to soften (about 30 mins).
• To make the Mole.
• fry onions till brown, add tomatoes, seasoning's and chillis add the remaining broth bring to the boil then turn down to simmer, add 1 cup of masa flour and stir until the mole thickens a bit. Leave to cool.
• Prepare the filling.
• Shred the pork with your fingers or 2 forks and put into a mixing bowl. Add mole until you have a nice moist mixture (not to runny)
• Make your Tamales.
• Take a husk place on a flat surface, take one tablespoon of masa dough and spread over husk to within 1 inch of the edges. Place one tablespoon of filling onto the centre of the masa, pick up husk and roll the masa over the filling roll into a tube flip up the pointed end to make a packet and tie with butchers string or a strip of husk. Place in your steamer and steam for 90 mins, till cooked.
• Once cooked you can eat them or store in the freezer for later. I vacuum seal mine in pairs they will keep for 6 months (if you can keep your hands off them). Best eaten hot with a good slosh of salsa and a nice crisp salad. To reheat steam for about 10 mins or re heat in microwave for about 2 mins well covered until piping hot.