| Prep Time | 4 hours |
| Cook Time | 12 hours |
| Servings |
tamales
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Ingredients
Pork Tamales
- 3 1/2 lb. pork butt cut into 6-8 large chunks
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 10 cup water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp Mariposa Farms Fresh Oregano
- 1 1/2 cup chile colorado Recipe Below
- masa (Recipe Below)
Masa
- 1 1/2 cup lard
- 6 cup masa harina, instant corn flour (Maseca)
- 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tbs chili powder
- 1 1/2 tbs garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tbs paprika
- 1 1/2 tbs salt
- 1 tbs baking powder
Chile colorado
- 6 oz. Mariposa Farms Dried New Mexico Pods (about 12)
- 2 oz. Mariposa Farms Dried Guajillo Chile (about 12)
- 8 cup pork broth (From the slow cooker. If not enough, supplement with water)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Mariposa Farms Fresh Oregano
- 4 tbs vegetable oil
- 3 tbs masa harina or corn starch to thicken
- 2 tbs kosher salt (Plus more to taste)
- 4 tsp sherry vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
Ingredients
Pork Tamales
Masa
Chile colorado
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Instructions
Pork Tamales
- Add the pork, onion, garlic, water, and spices to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.
- When it is done, strain the pork from the stock, reserving the stock, garlic, and onions for the chile colorado.
- Shred the pork with two forks and set aside while you make the chile colorado sauce and soak the corn husks.
- Once the chile colorado sauce is ready, mix up to 1½ cups of the sauce in with the shredded pork (just enough to make it moist and give it a bit of spice).
- Set aside until you're ready to make tamales.
Masa
- Beat the lard on medium-high speed with a stand mixer (or electric hand mixer) until it's smooth and light (imagine whipping butter for cookies)
- In a separate bowl, mix the masa harina flour with the chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and making powder.
- Add the whipped lard to the masa harina and knead to combine.
- Add chicken stock to the mixture, one cup at a time, using a hand mixer to beat the masa until it is light and fluffy. Repeat with the remaining chicken stock. The masa is ready when it passes the "float test" - take a small piece of masa and place it in a cup of water. If it floats, it's ready. If it sinks, keep beating it and try again.
Chile Colorado
- Rinse chiles and slice them open so they'll lay flat, discarding stems, seeds, and ribs.
- Bring the pork broth to boil (reserving the garlic and onions from the broth).
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, and toast the chiles in batches, skin sides up for about 30 seconds (be careful not to burn them).
- Transfer the toasted chiles to a heat proof bowl and pour boiling pork broth over them.
- Soak chiles, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes, or until softened.
- In a food processor, purée the chiles with 3 cups of the soaking broth until smooth (reserving the rest of the soaking broth).
- Pour the puréed chiles through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids, and discard solids.
- Stir the reserved soaking broth into chile mixture.
- Cook the garlic, cumin, and oregano in oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium low heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the reserved onions and garlic from the broth and stir to combine.
- Add the masa harina or corn starch and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
- Add the chile mixture, stirring to combine. Simmer, partly covered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
- Season with salt, vinegar, and sugar and stir to combine.
- Mix 1-1½ cups of the sauce with the shredded pork. Reserve the rest to serve on top of the tamales.
Assembly
- Soak about 5 dozen corn husks in warm water to soften for about an hour. Pat them dry with a towel.
- Rip about 4 dozen thin strips from a few corn husks (¼-inch or less thick)
- Spread about 2-3 tablespoons of masa onto the inside of one corn husks on the right edge, leaving about 2 inches on the top and 1 inch on the bottom of the husk and at least 3 inches on the left. This meant about a 5-inch x 4-inch rectangle of masa spread thin on the right edge of the husk (see picture)
- Add 2 tablespoons of pork filling into the center.
- Roll the tamale so that the right edge of the masa touches the other edge to envelop the filling. Fold the top and bottom over like you're making a burrito, and roll the rest of the tamale. Tie with a strip of corn husk. Repeat until all tamales are assembled.
- Place a steamer basket in a large pot filled with a couple of inches of water (so the water is below the basket). This might take 1-2 pots, depending on the size of the pots. Line the basket with a few corn husks. Place the tamales into the pot upright, so the thinnest part of the corn husk is at the bottom. Place a few corn husks on top. Drape a damp kitchen towel over the pot and close the lid. Steam for about 90 minutes, checking to make sure the water in the pot doesn't run dry. To test for doneness, take a sacrificial large tamale from the pot and open it up. The masa should not be sticky and should be cooked evenly. If not, return it to the top and continue steaming.
- Steamed keep for 4-5 days in Ziploc bags the refrigerator and 4-5 months in the freezer. To reheat after being refrigerated, just steam in the same manner for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through. To reheat after being frozen, do not defrost, but steam the frozen tamales for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through.
- Serve topped with warm chile colorado sauce.
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