This recipe is flexible enough to suit any taste. There is more variation among families than regional differences. We cook as we are taught but make concessions to the preferences of our family members. Some people like their chiles hot, some mild, but please use some. The hottest part of any chile is the seeds, and mild chiles can be made even more tame by slitting the chile open and scraping the seeds out. Some people use oregano, cumin, or cilantro to the exclusion of the other Mexican spices. Corn imparts a unique and typical flavor.This is a large batch of tamales and the surplus should be frozen. The steaming stage cooks the masa dough and takes about an hour. Steaming can be done either before or after freezing, but time will be saved if done as part of this preparation.
1 1/2 lb pork (substitute chicken)
5 lb masa harina (corn flour)
1/3 to 1/2 lb lard (yes, lard !)
powdered red chile (NOT Cayenne)
to taste — I use 3 tbsp.
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
(or 1 tsp powdered)
oregano to taste (1/4 to 1/2 tsp)
cumin to taste (1/4 tsp)
salt to taste
1 pkg dried corn husks
(hojas – pronounced oh'-haas)
A — Cover meat with water and bring to boil. Simmer until it begins to fall apart (an hour or two). Place meat in a bowl and retain broth in the pan. Shred meat with your hands, add chile, garlic, spices and salt. Mix well by hand.
B — Begin soaking hojas in enough warm water to cover them.
C — Empty the bag of masa harina into a bowl. Add the lard and cut in. Use the meat broth to make a very soft dough. You may salt this dough slightly if you like.
D — Lay out softened hojas (illustration A). Spread dough with fingers to about 1/4" thick in center in a roughly oblong shape (ill. B). Place a tablespoon of meat in the center. Fold dough over to cover meat completely. Wrap hojas around this to cover completely and tie with long, thin strips of hoja (usually two tied together with a knot on either side of the tamale. Tied tamales are traditional, but many cooks simply fold the ends over last and stack with the folds downward so they don't come apart.
E — After using all your ingredients, stack the tamales on a steamer rack in a covered pot to steam. Please insure that they are above water level and steam for about an hour or until the masa seems done. Serve warm with red chile sauce if desired.
Options : Some people fill these with meat, green chile strips, and garlic. Use cheese or zucchini for a vegan (vegetarian) option — both of these use chopped green chile with garlic.
Attempts have been made to substitute vegetable shortening for lard but this simply does not work. For some reason, the masa doesn't cook and the flavors are not distributed. Brazos Bill (Gringo Bil), who is not a cook but a self-proclaimed expert in the arcane cooking arts, can not explain this phenomenon.