Sweet Pork Tamales

Instructions

 

Soak the corn husks in a bowl of very hot water for 30 minutes or until softened.

 

Tamal Dough: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the lard and 2 tablespoons of broth until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Combine the masa flour, baking powder, salt, and cumin in a separate bowl. Stir into the lard mixture and beat well with an electric mixer.

.

Add the broth, little by little to form a very soft dough. Beat on high speed for several minutes. The dough should spread like creamy peanut butter.

Lay a corn husk, on the counter with the wide end at the top. Scoop about ¼ cup of dough onto the top, center of the corn husk. Keep the dough spread along the top half of the corn husk to allow plenty of room to fold the bottom husk up.

    Place 1-2 tablespoons of desired filling in a line down the center of the dough. 

    Fold in one long side of the husk over the filling. Fold in the other long side, overlapping the first  side and fold the bottom of the husk up.

I used my turkey pan so I could use the grade to keep the tamales out of the boiling water. I also lined the grade with extra corn husks and stacked them.

Bring water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and steam for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or longer. Check them after 45 minutes. 

Remove one and try to pull the husk off. If the husk pulls away cleanly from the tamale they're done. If the dough is still sticky or wet looking, cook them for 5-10 minutes longer and try again.

The most important part is to let them sit for 10-15 minutes after cooking so the tamale sets up. I just leave them in the pot and take it off the heat.

Ingredients:
4 Cups Masa Harina
3 Cups Broth (I use as much of the liquid from the meat as I can)
2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin
1 1/3 Cup Lard
8 Ounce package dried corn husks

For the Meat Filling (The trick is to have the perfect sweet and spicy)

1 Pork Shoulder or loin ( I cook this in the crook pot over night on low)
3 Bouillon cubes and about 4 Cups of water
1 Cup fruit juice or 1/2C of preserves. I like peach.
1 Tbsp. dried chili flakes or red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper (black will also work)
1 chopped onion
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 C cilantro