I remember the first time I had a tamale was when I was in high school and my dad took me to the farmers market. There was a local Mexican restaurant selling them there and my dad bought me one. I immediately loved it and couldn't believe it had taken me so long to try tamales!
This is my second time making tamales. The first time... well.... lets just say it wasn't all that successful. Somehow the meat ended up tasting just like ketchup and I mixed the masa all wrong so it was really course and dense. Lucas still ate them with a smile on his face though- what a good man. :)
I am happy to say that this round of tamales turned out much better! The flavor is really good and the masa has the right texture. (It's amazing what reading the directions will do for you!) The great thing about tamales too is that you can add any flavor you want. You can do beef, chicken, pork or even sweet tamales. Your imagination is the limit! Next time I am going to try a chicken tamale.
Tamales can take a lot of time to make. I made my meat in the crockpot one day, and then assembled the tamales and cooked them the next. It took me about an hour and a half to assemble all the tamales, which isn't too bad. And it would be really fun to get a bunch of people together for a tamale party to make a whole bunch! So without further ado, here is what I did for my simple tamales.
Pork Tamales
What you need:
2 lbs pork roast
1 (28 oz) can red enchilada sauce
Corn Husks
Masa flour mixed according to directions
(This is where I went wrong last time. I just looked at the ingredients and put them all together in a bowl without whipping my shortening first. Bad mistake! Make sure you follow the directions for a great Masa dough.)
Cook meat in crock pot with enchilada sauce on high for 6-8 hours until meat is really tender and shreds easily. Remove meat from crockpot and shred. Mix the remaining sauce in with shredded meat. I refrigerated mine until the next day when I assembled my tamales.
Soak corn husks in warm water for about an hour until pliable. Spread a large spoonful of prepared masa dough on to center of corn husk. Make it about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Put a tablespoon of shredded meat in the center, and fold corn husk over to seal the tamale.
Steam in a large steamer for 90 minutes. Remove tamale from corn husk and enjoy either plain or with your favorite salsa or hot sauce.
2 comments:
This looks simple enough! I may have to try these!
It's super important to whip the shortening until it's fluffy. that makes the masa light. Your masa should be creamy, like frosting when you are ready to spread it in the husks.
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