This is my favorite thing to make out of my leftovers from
pulled pork tacos. It's very time-consuming, but I love tamales. It's worth the effort!
Equipment:
--large pot (typical stock pot)
--steamer basket
(or you can use a steamer appliance, whatever)
Ingredients:
--About 3 cups of filling (I use the pulled pork but you can use whatever you want)
--3 cups masa harina (regular or the stuff specifically for tamales - both work well)**
--1 tbsp ground oregano
--2 tbsp chicken bouillon
--2 tsp cumin
--1 tsp garlic salt
--1 tsp cayenne pepper
--1/2 tsp chili powder
--1-1.5 cups oil
--2-4 cups of water, as needed
--1 pkg corn husks
**This amount of masa harina will generally make enough tamales to cook one batch in the stock pot, about 30 tamales, give or take.
1. Soak the corn husks in warm water for long enough to soften them up. (They're impossible to work with if you don't soak them well. Chop the filling up so there aren't large pieces of meat. Place the steamer basket in the stock pot and fill with water to just below the steamer basket.
2. In a large bowl, combine the masa harina and all the seasonings (oregano through chili powder). Mix this well with a fork. Add the oil and mix well. The mixture should be sort of crumbly. Add water about a cup at a time and mix it with your hands. This is the tricky part - getting the right consistency - the dough should not really stick to your hands much, but you want it to be thick like peanut butter. So creamy sort of, but not too wet and sticky...
3. Tear a few corn husks into thin strips; you'll use these to tie up the tamales, so be sure they are long enough to wrap around.
4. Lay down two corn husks, overlapping them by an inch or so at the widest point. Take about a golf ball sized amount of dough and press it onto the husks, making a thin layer in the shape of a rectangle. (This should leave a few inches of husk on the ends, enough to fold over.) I like a thin layer (as opposed to a thick layer) because you can taste more meat, so press it as thinly as you like. I use the heel of my hand and my fingers to get it in the shape and depth I prefer.
5. Layer the filling along the center of the dough, leaving a little space on either end (to close up the masa).
6. Take the husks and fold up the top and bottom to close the masa around the filling. (Make sure you have enough masa to cover it all; if not, take out some filling.) Pinch the husks just above the masa and roll it up, fold the ends of the tamale across it, and tie it with a husk strip.
***This is hard to explain without pictures!***
7. Heat the water in the stock pot to boiling; while it's heating, place the tamales in the steamer basket, standing upright.
8. Turn the heat down to medium-low. (Just low enough to keep making steam, like maybe around a 4 setting.) Cook the tamales for at least 2 hours and 15 minutes; I usually check one around 2 hours and see how the masa is cooking. If it's not done, keep cooking it.
There are tricks to the masa, too - I don't really use them, but you can try to float a ball of masa in a cup of water to make sure you have enough oil in the dough. If you have trouble with the dough and it won't cook, then you can finish them off in the oven; that will help dry the masa out. They don't taste as good, but it does dry the dough out so they stick together.
