Tamales Tamales are made from 3 preparations: corn husks masa dough filling(s) I have found that the quality of corn husks makes a difference. I like the kind they sell at the big Latin grocery in Auburn. I have not found a large difference between fresh masa and Maseca. The fresh is more convenient. Fat is fat. Sometimes I use butter, sometimes lard, sometimes I combine them. The total is what matters. Corn Husks soak in room temperature water 2-3 hours, weighted to stay submerged Masa 3.5 lbs fresh masa 9 oz. fats 2.5 teaspoons salt 2.5 teaspoons baking powder 1 15 oz. can chicken broth Cream fats, salt and baking powder using the KitchenAid paddle attachment until fluffy. Work in the fresh masa a bit at a time. Slowly add chicken broth. When combined it should look about like hummus. Refrigerate batter for 1 hour minimum. After removing it from the refrigerator, add water a tablespoon at a time while stirring, to return it to hummus consistency. Filling One popular filling in Mexico is Oaxaca cheese and strips of RSP poblanos. I have found that mozarella works as well as Oaxaca. Meat Mixture (also works very well for barbacoa) 2 lbs of beef or pork 1 recipe marinade Marinate 1.5" chunks of meat in a gallon zip for at least 3 hours or overnight. Then preheat an oven to 275°F. Add meat and marinade to ovenproof bowl (yellow Pyrex works great) and roast 3 hours then test for fall-apart doneness. Strain meat out and shred. After cool, refrigerate with some of the marinade to keep it moist. Leftovers freeze well. Marinade 6-12 dried chiles, your choice (New Mexico, Pasilla, Guajillo ...) 4 cloves garlic 2 tomatillos, quartered juice of 1/2 orange 2 teaspoons cumin juice of 1 lime pinch oregano salt pepper Break the stems off the peppers. Remove as many seeds as you can. If they don't fall out easily, don't worry, you can remove them later. Boil them in a pan with enough water to cover, for 10-20 minutes. Remove and strain out peppers, reserving liquid. Process peppers in a food mill, directly into the Cuisinart bowl. Add remaining ingredients and process until combined. Add a little reserved liquid if desired. Taste the mixture. If it needs more heat, add a little cayenne pepper. Tamales Prepare a large steaming pan (add water, add steamer/standup ring). Lay one soaked corn husk out flat. Add dough and spread out as desired. Add filling down the middle. Roll and then fold over. I like to tie them with butcher's string, but the traditional way is to use a thin strip peeled from a corn husk Put each tamale into the steaming pan so it stands up. Repeat until you run out of corn husks, dough, or filling. Leftover filling can be frozen but do not under any circumstances try to freeze and reuse leftover dough. If you do, it will be very tough when cooked, and will stick hard to the corn husk wrapper. After filling all the tamales, lay some of the remaining husks (if any) over the top of the tamales to retain steam and heat, then steam for 1-2 hours. Put up in ziplocs, 2 to a bag. These freeze very well. Below is a recipe from the Web. After making it once I liked it but thought it was just too strong. So I have made some changes. 3 guajillo chiles (or New Mexico red chiles) 3 pasilla chiles 4 cloves of garlic 2 tomatillos, quartered Juice of ½ an orange 2 tsp of cumin Juice of 1 lime A pinch of mexican oregano Salt Pepper Be careful using this recipe in the Cuisinart. It's easy to overflow the pan and it makes a mess. Maybe put the water in last and be very judicious. Use a lot of water in the pan you boil the peppers in, and watch the color. Don't let it get super dark. The orange color of an al pastor marinade is what you're looking for. Al Pastor Marinade 6 guajillo chiles (or New Mexico red chiles) 6 pasilla chiles 4 cloves of garlic 2 tomatillos, quartered Juice of ½ an orange 2 tsp of cumin Juice of 1 lime A pinch of mexican oregano Salt Pepper Water Bring some water to a boil, and boil your guajillo and pasilla chiles until they are nice and soft. Once they are cooked, remove the stem and put them through the food mill to remove the skin and seeds, if any. Then add to a blender along with 1 ½ cups of the water from the peppers, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 quartered tomatillos, juice of ½ an orange, the juice of 1 lime, 2 tsp of cumin, a pinch of mexican oregano, salt, and pepper. Blitz until a smooth paste and set aside. Tamales Corn husks Small Pork Shoulder (appetizing pork), cubed 560g of masa harina 700ml hot water 375g of lard 1 ½ tsp baking powder 1 cup of chicken stock 2 poblano peppers Oaxaca cheese Begin by soaking the corn husks in room temperature water for at least 3 hours. Next we are going to cut the pork from the bone, remove the skin, and cut into 2 inch cubes. In a large ziploc bag, combine the pork and chili mixture and place in fridge for at least 3 hours. If you leave it to marinate overnight, be sure not to use foil. After at least 3 hours place in the oven at 275° for 3 hours. MASA - FROM DRY METHOD In a bowl combine 560g of masa harina with 700ml of hot water. Give a good mix with a wooden spoon until a crumbly dough forms. Set aside and let it rest for 15 minutes. Or just use fresh masa, which is already hydrated. In a stand mixer, whip 375g of lard for 2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add 1 ½ tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp of kosher salt. Mix to combine before adding masa. Slowly add while scraping down the sides with a spoon, and then slowly add 1 cup of warm chicken stock. Mix to combine. Let the tamale dough rest in the fridge for at least one hour. Take pork mixture out of the oven and shred it with a fork, and add some of the pan liquid (marinade) to the pork. On your stovetop, roast some poblano peppers, wrap them in foil, and let them steam before we peel them. Once they’ve steamed, peel off the blackened char off the peppers and slice them into strips. Tear some Oaxaca cheese into strips. Take your corn husk, open it up, and spread your tamale dough in relatively thin and even layer over the top half of the corn husk leaving a 2 inch border on each side, stuff with your fillings, and roll together so that the two sides of the tamale dough meet in the middle. Fold up the tapered end of the corn husk, and with 2 small strips of corn husks, tie together in the center. Repeat for how ever many tamales you would like to make. This recipe calls for two kinds of tamales, one with peppers and cheese, the other with your pork. Place all the tamales standing up in the steam basket of a large pot. Cover the top of the tamales with some corn husks to help concentrate the steam in the steamer. Add about 2 cups of water, and cook for about 45 minutes. Once you remove the tamales from the pot, let them rest for 30 minutes before digging in. March 2018 3 lbs fresh masa 8 oz. fat 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 whole can chicken stock filled tamales super full no ties steamed 2-1/2 hours July 2018 2.5 lbs fresh masa 2 sticks butter, softened 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons kosher salt can of chicken broth I creamed the butter with the salt and baking powder and then slowly worked in the masa and then added chicken broth until the mix resembled hummus. I used less than 1 can, probably 3/4. I made only beef tamales with poblano pepper strips. I tied the tamales with Karen's help. I used a stainless pot from the basement along with the 11" steamer insert.