As mentioned in the other Homemade Tamale thread, I didn't get them made before Christmas, due to my son's football team making it to Round 5 of the 5a Division I playoffs. However, I enlisted (more like DRAFTED) my three boys, as well as the girlfriend of the oldest, and we got them made on the 30th, just in time for New Years, and the game this coming Monday. Better late, than never, I guess.
For those of you who have never tried to make your own, I highly recommend that you help, with someone else doing the directing, at least a time or two, before tackling a "tamalada" on your own. One person can do most of the prep work the day before, as well as the steaming part, but you will want 5 people to do the assembly portion. We got just over 25 dozen assembled in a little less than 2.5 hours. I've made as many as 68 dozen in a single day, but decided that this year I would make a small(er) batch.
Day 1 - Cooking the pork filling.
I'm way to squeamish and a juera (a white/blond girl) to go the hog's head route, so I used two 8-9 lb. pork roasts. Cut them into large chunks, add some garlic and comino, and slow roast (250 degrees), covered until the meat easily separates and falls off the bone (probably about 4-5 hours).
While the pork is cooking, it's time to work on the chile peppers. I used approximately 3/4 lb. dried Guajillo chile pods.
Remove the stems, slit open the pepper, and remove the seeds.
Cover with water, in a large pot, and boil until tender (approximately 20 minutes).
Puree' the boiled chiles in either a blender, or food processor, until they are the consistency of a salsa. Add some of the water that the peppers were boiled in, if needed, until the consistency is correct.
When the meat has finished cooking, I pull out and discard any obviously large chunks of fat...
...and then shred the meat w/ a couple of forks, into a large pot.
Once the meat is shredded, add the chile paste/sauce, salt, and comino, to taste. It's important that the meat not be too dry, so add some of the juice/water that the peppers boiled in, in order to keep the meat moist.
When ready, the meat should be the consistency of, and somewhat resemble, chopped barbecue. The chile peppers will give it a nice red color.
At this point, you can put the meat in the fridge overnight, but be sure to save the remainder of the chile water, as well as about a quart of the juice that cooked off the meat.
Day 2
Preparing the shucks.
Rinse the shucks under running water, and then place into a LARGE pot, or ice chest. Cover with hot tap water, and let sit while you are getting the meat and masa ready.
Re-heat the meat until it is warm, but not hot. This is just to make it easier to work with, when filling the tamales. If necessary, add a little more of the chile water, to make the filling nice and moist.
Preparing the masa.
I purchase my masa from a good molino. In a pinch, I've used the one sold at HEB, but the quality (in my opinion) wasn't as good. You'll need to find out where good masa is sold in your area, but in San Antonio, I go to Adelita's on Fresno (just off I-10).
Break the masa into golf ball sized chunks, in a VERY large bowl. I have a stainless steel bowl that I purchased from a restaurant supply, just for this purpose.
Here's where you'll need a partner, to help by pouring liquid, as you knead the masa, by hand. I have 15 lbs. of masa in the bowl, when I'm working it. Pour in 1 cup of melted lard, followed by about 1/2 cup of chile water, and 1/2 cup pork juice. Knead by hand, until thoroughly mixed. Continue adding the lard, chile water/juice, and pork juice, in small amounts, until the masa is the consistency of a soft cookie dough, and yields a smooth surface when you run the palm of your hand over it. I wish I could be more detailed, but it really is a feel. This is why you need to apprentice, a time or two, with someone who knows what they are doing. To develope the "feel".
Now is the time to set up the assembly line. I have one person pull the shucks out of the water, shake off the excess, and separate/size them. They should be approximately 6 inches across the widest part, which may require tearing off and discarding a portion. The next person, is in charge of spreading the masa. Two people fill, roll, and fold the tamales. And, the 5th person places the tamales in the steamer, ready to cook.
This is the point where my age and ethnicity show thru, and any good abuelita would probably disown me, but hey, what can you do? Most "old" tamale makers will use the back of a spoon to spread the masa onto the shucks. For my money though, there is nothing that can beat that modern invention, the masa spreader! I haven't looked to see if they are available any time of the year, other than around the holidays, but I have seen them for sale at both HEB and Wal-Mart.
How the spreader is used, is best shown/explained HERE.
Trust me on this one, the masa spreader is worth every penny of the cost! An important point to remember is that the shucks have a (relatively) smooth side, and a more rough/textured side. The masa needs to be spread onto the smoother of the two sides.
Fill the tamale with 1-2 tbsp. of filling, roll closed....
...and fold the tip back.
It's important to have consistency in size/amount of the filled tamales, so I recommend that no more than two people do the filling.
Place the tamales, vertically, with the folded side pointing down, into the steamer.
Cover the pot with a lid and steam them until the masa easily separates from the shuck when unrolled. This generally takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure you have enough water in the bottom of the steamer, because you do NOT want it to run dry and burn. It's not good for your pot, and the smell will affect the taste of the tamales.
I made, pork, bean, and my own concoction of shredded monterry jack cheese/whole kernel corn/chopped jalapenos. The last ones have always been a huge hit. Mine also tend to be a good bit bigger/fuller than ones you can purchase elsewhere, but I prefer them to have a better filling to masa ratio.
As I said, they really aren't difficult to make. Just time consuming (plan on the better part of a day and a half), not a job that any sane person would tackle on their own
.
For those of you who have never tried to make your own, I highly recommend that you help, with someone else doing the directing, at least a time or two, before tackling a "tamalada" on your own. One person can do most of the prep work the day before, as well as the steaming part, but you will want 5 people to do the assembly portion. We got just over 25 dozen assembled in a little less than 2.5 hours. I've made as many as 68 dozen in a single day, but decided that this year I would make a small(er) batch.
Day 1 - Cooking the pork filling.
I'm way to squeamish and a juera (a white/blond girl) to go the hog's head route, so I used two 8-9 lb. pork roasts. Cut them into large chunks, add some garlic and comino, and slow roast (250 degrees), covered until the meat easily separates and falls off the bone (probably about 4-5 hours).
While the pork is cooking, it's time to work on the chile peppers. I used approximately 3/4 lb. dried Guajillo chile pods.
Remove the stems, slit open the pepper, and remove the seeds.
Cover with water, in a large pot, and boil until tender (approximately 20 minutes).
Puree' the boiled chiles in either a blender, or food processor, until they are the consistency of a salsa. Add some of the water that the peppers were boiled in, if needed, until the consistency is correct.
When the meat has finished cooking, I pull out and discard any obviously large chunks of fat...
...and then shred the meat w/ a couple of forks, into a large pot.
Once the meat is shredded, add the chile paste/sauce, salt, and comino, to taste. It's important that the meat not be too dry, so add some of the juice/water that the peppers boiled in, in order to keep the meat moist.
When ready, the meat should be the consistency of, and somewhat resemble, chopped barbecue. The chile peppers will give it a nice red color.
At this point, you can put the meat in the fridge overnight, but be sure to save the remainder of the chile water, as well as about a quart of the juice that cooked off the meat.
Day 2
Preparing the shucks.
Rinse the shucks under running water, and then place into a LARGE pot, or ice chest. Cover with hot tap water, and let sit while you are getting the meat and masa ready.
Re-heat the meat until it is warm, but not hot. This is just to make it easier to work with, when filling the tamales. If necessary, add a little more of the chile water, to make the filling nice and moist.
Preparing the masa.
I purchase my masa from a good molino. In a pinch, I've used the one sold at HEB, but the quality (in my opinion) wasn't as good. You'll need to find out where good masa is sold in your area, but in San Antonio, I go to Adelita's on Fresno (just off I-10).
Break the masa into golf ball sized chunks, in a VERY large bowl. I have a stainless steel bowl that I purchased from a restaurant supply, just for this purpose.
Here's where you'll need a partner, to help by pouring liquid, as you knead the masa, by hand. I have 15 lbs. of masa in the bowl, when I'm working it. Pour in 1 cup of melted lard, followed by about 1/2 cup of chile water, and 1/2 cup pork juice. Knead by hand, until thoroughly mixed. Continue adding the lard, chile water/juice, and pork juice, in small amounts, until the masa is the consistency of a soft cookie dough, and yields a smooth surface when you run the palm of your hand over it. I wish I could be more detailed, but it really is a feel. This is why you need to apprentice, a time or two, with someone who knows what they are doing. To develope the "feel".
Now is the time to set up the assembly line. I have one person pull the shucks out of the water, shake off the excess, and separate/size them. They should be approximately 6 inches across the widest part, which may require tearing off and discarding a portion. The next person, is in charge of spreading the masa. Two people fill, roll, and fold the tamales. And, the 5th person places the tamales in the steamer, ready to cook.
This is the point where my age and ethnicity show thru, and any good abuelita would probably disown me, but hey, what can you do? Most "old" tamale makers will use the back of a spoon to spread the masa onto the shucks. For my money though, there is nothing that can beat that modern invention, the masa spreader! I haven't looked to see if they are available any time of the year, other than around the holidays, but I have seen them for sale at both HEB and Wal-Mart.
How the spreader is used, is best shown/explained HERE.
Trust me on this one, the masa spreader is worth every penny of the cost! An important point to remember is that the shucks have a (relatively) smooth side, and a more rough/textured side. The masa needs to be spread onto the smoother of the two sides.
Fill the tamale with 1-2 tbsp. of filling, roll closed....
...and fold the tip back.
It's important to have consistency in size/amount of the filled tamales, so I recommend that no more than two people do the filling.
Place the tamales, vertically, with the folded side pointing down, into the steamer.
Cover the pot with a lid and steam them until the masa easily separates from the shuck when unrolled. This generally takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure you have enough water in the bottom of the steamer, because you do NOT want it to run dry and burn. It's not good for your pot, and the smell will affect the taste of the tamales.
I made, pork, bean, and my own concoction of shredded monterry jack cheese/whole kernel corn/chopped jalapenos. The last ones have always been a huge hit. Mine also tend to be a good bit bigger/fuller than ones you can purchase elsewhere, but I prefer them to have a better filling to masa ratio.
As I said, they really aren't difficult to make. Just time consuming (plan on the better part of a day and a half), not a job that any sane person would tackle on their own
.
