Chile Colorado Tamales

Ingredients

• 2 lb pork shoulder (or butt, cut into chunks)
• 0.5 onion (for the filling)
• 3 cloves garlic (for the filling)
• salt (to taste for the filling)
• water (to cover the pork)
• 6 dried guajillo chiles (seeded and stemmed)
• 3 dried ancho chiles (seeded and stemmed)
• 2 cloves garlic (for the sauce)
• 0.25 onion (for the sauce)
• 0.5 tsp cumin
• salt (to taste for the sauce)
• 1 cup pork broth (from cooking pork, for the sauce)
• 4 cup masa harina
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt (for the masa)
• 1.333 cup lard (or vegetable shortening)
• 2.75 cup pork broth (warm; range of 2.5 to 3 cups)
• 32 corn husks (soaked in warm water for 30 minutes; range of 30-35)

Steps

1. 1

   Place the pork shoulder chunks, 1/2 onion, 3 garlic cloves, and salt in a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the pork is tender enough to shred, about 1.5 to 2 hours. Reserve the cooking broth.

2. 2

   Shred the cooked pork and set aside.

3. 3

   To make the sauce, toast the dried guajillo and ancho chiles in a skillet for a minute until fragrant, then soak them in hot water for 15 minutes until soft.

4. 4

   Blend the soaked chiles with 2 garlic cloves, 1/4 onion, cumin, salt, and 1 cup of the reserved pork broth until smooth. Strain the sauce if necessary.

5. 5

   Mix the shredded pork with the chile sauce in a pan and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

6. 6

   Prepare the masa by beating the lard (or shortening) with a mixer until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the masa harina, baking powder, and salt.

7. 7

   Gradually add the masa harina mixture to the lard, alternating with the warm pork broth, until the dough is soft and spreadable (like peanut butter).

8. 8

   To assemble, spread about 2 tablespoons of masa onto the smooth side of a soaked corn husk, leaving a border at the edges. Place a spoonful of the pork filling in the center.

9. 9

   Fold the sides of the husk over the filling, then fold up the bottom tail. Repeat until all ingredients are used.

10. 10

    Arrange the tamales upright in a steamer basket. Steam for 60 to 90 minutes, until the masa easily pulls away from the husk.

11. 11

    Let the tamales rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Notes

The instructions were inferred from the ingredient list and standard tamale preparation techniques as the source text provided was truncated before the instruction page.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• Mexican
• pork
• steamed
• tamales
• dinner
• traditional