On the Chefs thread, Liliara requested a recipe for Tamales. I lost my original recipe when we moved, but this is a close approximation. I only really followed the recipe in order to make the dough (and usually I just read the dough recipe off of the side of the masa flour bag -- luckily I've studied a bit of Spanish). Sorry I can't be more helpful. If I find a more precise recipe, I'll post a link.
If you have trouble finding the specific type of peppers, you can experiment with whatever variety you have available.
Tamales:
1 (7-ounce) bag of corn husks
1 recipe masa (tamale dough)
1 recipe cooked pork (3lbs or so) or chicken (whole chicken)
Prepare the pork or chicken ahead of time. The best way I've found to do this is to put a pork roast in a crockpot or slowcooker with some garlic (6 cloves or more), oregano (a couple of tablespoons), salt (add until it tastes right? -- sorry, I don't usually measure salt), and about six ancho cili peppers (I've only been able to find dried peppers here in our town). If you feel really adventurous throw in a half dozen jalapenos or so. The jalapenos add a real zip to your pork -- take the seeds out if you don't want it too spicy. I usually let the pork cook all day and prepare the tamales at night. *Make sure to save the broth from the pork roast. I also trim some of the fat off of the pork and save it for the dough.*
To make the dough is pretty simple. It's just masa harina (a finely ground corn flour, lard (although I use vegetable shortening and some of the fat from the pork roast), salt, and water (I add the broth from the pork first and then water after).
I modified the rest of these instructions from a recipe at
http://chickenrecipe.com/az/tmls.asp
To make the masa (dough):
BEAT 2/3 cup lard in large mixer bowl until creamy. Combine masa harina (the corn flour stuff) and salt in medium bowl. Alternately add masa harina and broth to lard, mixing well after each addition. Gradually add melted lard, mixing until consistency of a whipped cake frosting.
To make the tamales:
SPREAD 1/4 cup masa dough, using back of spoon, to form a square in the center of one husk. Place about two tablespoons of meat filling in center of masa square. Fold right then left edge of husk over masa. Fold up bottom edge. Repeat with remaining ingredients. If your corn husk is too small, you can use two husks to roll the tamale, although it is much easier to just use the big husks.
To cook the tamales:
Steam in a vegetable steamer for about an hour. Most recipes say to steam the tamales for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, but I'm not that patient. I usually finish the tamales by baking them in the oven (350 degrees) for about 20 minutes after I've boiled them.
I've had tamales of all different varieties. Some add green beans and other vegetables. Some use beef instead of pork. The other great thing is that tamales can be frozen and saved for another day. They reheat very well in the microwave (just leave them in the corn husks when freezing and reheating).
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Most Subtle Official Straightman of the Laughing Hyenas -- Grammarian Brigade.