Pork Tamales

Pork tamales or tamale is a Mexican dish made of minced and seasoned meat packed in cornmeal dough, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed

Listen: TAMALES

The tamales of old came in all shapes and sizes. There were meat, seafood, vegetable, nut and fruit tamales. Some were filled with the corn dough masa we use today and some were not. Crushed rice or beans could be used instead of the masa or the tamale could contain no masa at all. Tamales could be wrapped in corn husks, banana leaves, avocado leaves, other non-toxic leaves, or even paper or bark. Tamales were steamed, grilled, roasted, boiled or even fried. There was quite a variety.

The tamales of today are more homogeneous. The most common tamales are made with beef, chicken or pork in a red or green chile sauce or sweet tamales made with raisins and cinnamon. Most are wrapped with corn masa in a corn husk and steamed.

Tamales are typically not made every day anymore due to the labor involved. They are made for special occasions like the Day of the Dead, Christmas, New Year's or just about any other family or holiday celebration.

Pork Tamales recipe for pork tamales

Yield: Makes 4-6 dozen tamales
Ingredients

    PORK BUTT
    2 ½ lbs. Boneless pork butt
    1 Tbsp. Garlic powder
    1 Tsp. Salt
    1 Tsp. Black pepper
    MASA
    10 lbs. Masa (cornmeal flour)
    4 cups Pork lard
    ¼ cup Water
    3 Tbsp. Baking powder
    2 oz. Chile Ancho to color masa
    TAMALE ASSEMBLY
    6 dozen dried corn husks
    CHILE SAUCE
    ½ lb. Chile Ancho
    1 Tsp. Garlic powder
    ½ Tsp. Ground cumin
    2 cups Water (stock saved from boiling the Chile Ancho)
    2 Tbsp. Pork lard
    2 Tbsp. Salt

Make it: Pork Tamales

PORK TAMALES