How to Make Tamales

Tamales are popular Mexican delights, but can be very time consuming to make at home. Tamales are traditionally made by all family members during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. Since tamales take lot of time to prepare, this dish is considered a delicacy and is cooked only during certain festivities, holiday seasons, or on some special occasions. If you plan to make this tasty dish at home, why not invite your friends with whom you can have a great time making this traditional dish? Not only will you end up learning the art of making tamales, but you also can tittle-tattle and have a lot of fun together. Hot lips making tamales can be a treat for your entire family. It may seem difficult to make tamales at home, but with the help of this easy recipe, you can stack up tamales like a pro in no time!

Tamale Recipe

• 35 real Corn Husks
• 2 ½ lb Pork Roast
• 1 1/3 cup Pork Lard
• 4 cups Masa (Cornmeal Flour)
• 1 medium Onion (cut into half)
• 5 Garlic cloves (peeled and halved)
• 4 tbsp Salt
• 1 tbsp baking Soda
• 1 tbsp toasted Cumin seeds
• 3 dried medium California Chili Peppers

• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Kitchen towels
• Large capacity steamer
• Straining spoon
• Dutch oven
• Rubber gloves
• Blender

Method

• Keep the pork in a bowl and add onion, garlic, salt, and cumin seeds to it.
• Pour water sufficient to cover all the ingredients.
• Put the entire bowl into a Dutch oven.
• Bring it to boil and then reduce the heat.
• Allow it to simmer for some time until the pork is tender.
• Remove it and allow it to cool.
• In the meantime, remove the stems and seeds from the chili peppers. Wear rubber gloves to prevent skin irritation.
• Take two cups of water in a pan and boil it for some time. Add peppers to it.
• Remove the pan and allow it to cool down.
• Blend the chili pepper into a smooth paste.
• Shred the cooked pork into small pieces using a fork.
• Mix one cup of chili sauce into the shredded pork.

• Soak the husk in warm water for at least 10 minutes.
• Put the masa in a large mixing bowl.
• Add the baking soda, lard, and salt and mix them well.
• Beat the ingredients gently to make a smooth paste.

• Remove the corn husk from the water and place it on a dry kitchen towel.
• Spread the tamale dough about ¼ inches thick onto each corn husk.
• Put one scoop of the pork filling in the center of the tamale.
• Fold the sides of the husk so that the filling doesn’t come out and tie it with a piece of corn husk. Do the same with the rest of the tamales.
• Place the folded tamales in a steamer.
• Cover and steam for an hour.

• You can serve your Tamale with green chili sauce.
• You can either serve the tamales with the corn husk or remove them from the husk and serve them. The choice is yours!