My Grandmother was from Mexico. From what my mom says...she made tamales a lot. My mom wishes that she had taken the time to help/watch/learn how to cook from her mother. She also told me that my tamales would make my abuelita proud.
Tamales
First- Have a lot of time!
Filling
2.5-3 lbs of meat (chicken, pork) for a small batch, increase incrementally with the amount of meat
Chili powder- light and dark
Cumin
Garlic
Onion
Salt
Red chilies
Combine the above. Cook to the smell. The mixture needs to have the most wonderful chili/comino/garlic/onion smell even when combining…Cover with water and cook until tender/falling apart, then grind or shred. The mixture should be moist, not soupy or dry.
Masa-
5 C Masa
5 C Broth( the left over’s from cooking the chicken) with additional cumin onion, garlic, and additional chicken broth
1 lb of Lard, Crisco- I use butter flavor...it really is so good.
Should have a nice consistency- not sticky, not too dry, malleable yet cohesive.
Corn Husks- They should have soaked in warm water for an hour and a half before using.
Preparation. Could use a knife or a spreader, I prefer using the original tool for making them…my hands…they will always be wet, need to be clean and washed often in the process. Steam- approximately 1 hour. More or less…pull one out and and see if it sticks to the husk, if so…the tamales are not done.
