Tamales

• Corn Husks 

1lb.dried corn husks

Soak husks in hot water until soft and pliable. Confirm you have aminimum of 24 husks and pat dry.

• Red Chile and Meat Filling

2 ³/z lbs. pork loin, tri-tip, or chicken

1 large white onion

3 garlic cloves

²t tsp. ground cumin

1³ Z »tsp. salt

6-8 Guajillo chile pods, stems and seeds removed

In a large Dutch oven, cover meat, onion, garlic, cumin and salt with approx. 5cups of water, bringtoaboil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3hours or until very tender. Remove meat and shred. Reserve the broth for the masa.

Soak chiles in 3 cups of boiling water for 1 hour until soft and plump. In a blender, puree chiles and soaking water together until very smooth.

Mix chile puree and meat together in a large bowl and set aside.

• Masa

2³ 1 cups Masa Hanna

²X tsp. salt

³Z» tsp. baking powder

3 cups of reserved broth

1 cup Crisco vegetable shortening or lard

3 tbs of reserved broth

In a large bowl, mix Masa Hanna, salt, baking powder, and 3 cups of broth to torm a smooth dough. In a separate bowl, cream Crisco and 3 lbs. of broth together until light and fluffy. Combine the Crisco mixture into the masa until well blended.

• Assembly

Place one husk in the palm of your hand with the top edge closest to you. Spread 2 tbs. of prepared masa ³/•" thick from the center of the husk to the edge closest to you. Place 2tbs. of filling in the center of the spread masa. Fold in the sides of the husk and then fold the tail up to form the tamale. Arrange the tamales open end up in steamer and steam covered for 75 minutes on low heat.

• Variations

For a green tamale, in place of Guajillo chiles, use green poblano chiles, 1 cup of chopped cilantro and 3 tomatillos in stead. For a vegetable tamale, add one cup of chopped vegetables into the meat mixture.