Tamales Recipe

How to make it

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• For filling, combine pork, onion, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1/2 tsp sald and whole black peppercorns in a 4-quart Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover (about 6 cups). Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender. Remove meat from broth. Let meat and broth cool. Remove any fat and discard, shred the meat. Strain broth and reserve 2 cups for preparing dough.
• For sauce, toast New Mexico and ancho peppers in a dry skillet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, turning frequently, until they have a toasted aroma. Let cool. Wearing disposable plastic gloves, remove stems, seeds, and ribs of peppers. Tear peppers into pieces and place in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and let stand for 30-60 minutes to soften. Stain soaking liquid through 100 percent cotton cheesecloth; reserve liquid.
• Place soaked peppers in a blender container with cumin, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 tsp of the salt. Add 1 cup of the soaking liquid; cover and blend until smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until reduced to 1 1/3 cups. Add pork. Cool completely (about 1 hour). (Filling can be made a day ahead and refrigerated until use).
• For dough, beat lard and baking powder with an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Combine corn totrilla flour, almonds and the remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt. Alternatively add flour mixture and reserved pork broth to lard while beating. Mixture should resemble a thick, creamy paste. Meanwhile, soak husks in hot for for 30 minutes or until soft. Drain well; pat dry.
• To assemble each tamale, starting about 1 inch from the top edge of the husk, spread about 2 tbs of dough into a rectangle 3-inches wide and 4-inches long so one of the long sides is at the long edge of the wrapper. Spoon filling down center. Fold the long edge of the wrapper over the filling so it overlaps dough slightly. Roll wrapper around outside of filled dough mixture. Tie ends with strips corm hush or heavy kitchen string.
• To steam, stand tamales upright in a steamer basket in a very large Dutch oven. Don't pack them in too tightly, but fill the space. Place at least 1 1/2-inches of water in the bottowm of the pan. Bring to boiling; cover. Reduce heat to medium-low. Steam for 45-60 minutes. Tamales are done when dough easily pulls away from corn husks and is spngy and well cooked throughout.
• *Note: To toast cumin seeds, heat seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from skillet immediately so they don't burn.