Mexican: Tamales 07 by Recipe Cottage

SEARCH RECIPES:

LOCATION: Recipes >> Mexican >> Tamales 07


	Tamales 07

		Tamales 12 lbs masa 2 large pork roasts (about 6 lbs each) 1 large beef rump roast 3 pkg corn husks 20 to 25 California whole chile pods 20 to 25 New Mexico whole chile pods 10 to 12 pasilla whole chile pods 2 tbsp. cumin salt to taste Trim fat off the roasts. Rinse meat clean in sink. Submerge meat in water in boiling pot, and cook over medium heat for about 4 hours or until tender. (Each roast should need its own pot. Cook them all at the same time. Do not salt the water.) Scoop off dried blood as it cooks. When meat has completely cooled, remove bone and fat (save the cooked fat in its own bowl) and shred remaining meat. Place shredded meat in bowl. Save all of the broth! Refrigerate everything overnight. Cut off stemmed end of all chile pods and discard. Cut chile pod open lengthwise with knife. Discard seeds. Separate each corn husk, cleaning them out of the cornsilk and dust. Discard cornsilk and dust. Separate large husks and small husks and place in separate ziploc bags. Grind chile pods in blender with pork and/or beef broth. Puree it into a liquid, ensuring that it is not too liquid. It should be the consistency of a thick paste-liquid. Pass this thick paste-liquid chile through a very fine metal sieve, and into a large bowl. Put the cooked pork or beef fat into a large saucepan and melt down over medium heat. Add about 1 cup of the thick chile sauce and mix. Add about 1/3 of the cooked, shredded meat. Add 1/2 cup of beef or pork broth. Add salt to taste and 2 tsp of cumin. Add about 3 cups more of the broth, and mix. Thicken sauce with 2 cups of water mixed with 2 tbsp. corn starch. Repeat with remaining meat. Season to taste. Cook over medium heat for half an hour. Soak corn husks in water, making sure they are submerged. After 1 hour, place wet corn husks in a strainer over a plate. Put a slab of the masa on a large plate. Take one corn husk, placing rough, lined side down on the plate. The smoother side will be facing you. Make sure small pointy end of husk is pointed toward you. With large spoon, put a heaping slab of the masa on your corn husk. Spread the masa over the husk, making sure you only spread it over the wide, bottom 2/3 of the husk. This will leave the pointy, 1/3 top end clean of the masa. The masa should be smooth and easy to spread. Take great care not to let the husk split or tear. If it does,its okay, just don't let it split down too far. Don't spread the masa too thick or too thin. Make sure you spread it in wide, even strokes over the husk. It should look relatively smooth on the husk, not thick and gloppy and uneven. If you can see the husk through the layer of masa, its too thin. If the husk is a bit heavy when you lift it, its too thick. Place a heaping tablespoon of your meat sauce in the center of the masa on your corn husk. Fold one edge of the husk over the sauce, then fold the other husk over that, like a burrito. Then fold the clean, pointy end over the burrito, and place fold-side down in a Ziploc bag. Repeat until you have run out of masa. Put a round, metal wire grill at the bottom of a very large pot. Place water at the very bottom of the pot, under the grill. Layer tamales over the grill, making sure they don't touch the bottom of the pot. Place them on top of one another until the pot is full. Steam tamales over medium heat for half an hour to 40 minutes, depending on how big your pot is and how many tamales you're cooking. Test the tamales by simply opening one up. The masa, when cooked, should be jelled and not mealy and too soft. Don't over cook or the masa will be too dry. When they're done, let them sit in the pot for about a half an hour so that they can completely gel. If you eat them too soon they'll be too soft. When you take off the husk, the tamale should come out easily, and come out solid. Throw out the husk. This recipe makes approximately 12-13 dozen tamales.