Pork Adobo Tamales
Ingredients
- For the husks:
- 30 - 40 units tamal husks wide enough to accomodate the tamal (always have more handy, especially if you want to make your tamales smaller and also because husks sometimes tear).
- very hot water to soak the husks
- For the Pork Adobo:
- 8 units dried Guajillo chilis seeded and deveined
- 2 units dried Chiles Anchos chilis seeded and deveined
- very hot water
- 1/2 units onion
- 4 units garlic cloves peeled
- Salt and Pepper to taste, or
- 2 cubes chicken bouillon
- 1 -2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs shredded pork meat butt or ribs, cooked. Reserve the cooking broth
- For the Tamal Masa:
- 5 1/3 cups Masa Harina
- 1 1/4 cups Pork lard or shortening
- 1 1/4 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- 5 cups Pork cooking broth divided
Instructions
- Remove any remaining silks from the husks. Soak husks in the hot water for at least 30 minutes, until pliable.
- Make the Pork Adobo: Soak the dried chilis in the hot water for 10 minutes. Once they have softened, place them in the blender along with about 1 to 1.5 cups of the soaking water, the onion, garlic cloves, salt and pepper or chicken bouillon and process until smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Carefully pour the chile mix into the saucepan and fry covered, as it will splatter a lot, stirring often for about 7 - 10 minutes, time enough to cook the chilis, the onion and the garlic. Add in the shredded pork meat, mix well and cook for 1 -2 more minutes.
- Make the Masa: In a large bowl combine the masa harina with 3 cups of the pork cooking broth by hand, until well blended and no dry bits remain.
- In a separate bowl, using your mixer, whisk the lard/shortening until fluffy (about 2 minutes on medium speed). Using a spatula scrape all the lard/shortening from the bowl and add it to the masa harina/broth mix bowl. Add the salt and the baking powder. Start mixing by hand, gradually adding the remaining 2 cups of pork broth. Knead for about 10 - 15 minutes. The resulting masa should be thick, sticky and easy to spread. One sure way to know if your masa is ready is to drop a small bit of the masa in a small cup or ramekin filled with cold water. Once the masa piece floats, your masa is ready.
- To assemble the tamales: Pour some hot water at the bottom of a stove top-tamal steamer, place your basket or a heat resistant plate on top and bring the water to a boil while you assemble the tamales. Once the water boils, turn the heat down to a constant simmer. Shake and pat dry your corn husks. You are going to spread the tamal masa and filling on the softer side of each husk. With a spatula or a cooking spoon spread about 1/3 cup of the masa first on each husk, on the widest open edge, mostly at the top portion of the husk, topping then the masa with 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp of Pork Adobo. Carefully wrap the vertical sides of each tamal first, bringing one side to meet the other and then wrapping everything together. Now bring the pointy opposite edge of the husk in. The tamales should be snugly wrapped, not tightly (you don't want any filling overflowing).
- Start placing your tamales vertically, husk open side up, in the steamer, in your basket or on top of the heat resistant plate. If your tamales don't want to stay upright, place a heat resistant container inside to keep them from falling. Steaming time counts from the moment you put the last tamal in. Steam for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Carefully add more water if necessary, not pouring it directly over the tamales. See notes if you don't own a steamer.
Notes
If you don't own a stove top-steamer, you can use a pressure cooker to steam your tamales. You will need a steamer basket or a heat resistant plate to act as a barrier between the water and the tamales.
Add water to the cooker so it’s just below a heat resistant plate or a steamer basket. Place the tamales on top of the plate, or in the basket vertically, with the husk open side up. Close the lid and set the pressure cooker to high heat. Once the pressure cooker reaches the maximum, reduce it to the lowest setting, and let the tamales cook for up to half an hour. This method takes about 20 minutes depending on the pressure cooker.
Turn off the pressure cooker, let the pressure naturally release for 10 - 15 minutes. Check the tamales for doneness. If they aren't done, steam for an additional 5 – 10 minutes.