Mmmm… Tamales

Well, I had a hankering’ for tamales… and margaritas, too. So a while back I found a recipe for Tamale Pie. The filling was phenomenal! The “pie crust” of cornmeal, was not. It was dry and awful. However, I had used a larger cut of meat for the filling recipe, and had leftovers. So I froze the meat filling with the intent that ONE DAY I would make actual tamales. That day has come.

So this morning I searched different recipes for what seemed to be one that would work best for me. I picked and choosed through the different methods and techniques and even watched a You Tube video for a demo. Already having the filling made and on-hand made this process much easier for an afternoon. If you were to tackle it all in one day, I’d get the margaritas going early!!

Below is the conglomeration of what I did. You may or may not need to make another small batch of masa, depending on how much filling you end up with. Oh – and it makes a ton, maybe 40 -50 depending on your husk sizes! Have a party or freeze the leftover.

For pork marinade

• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice plus 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed in a mortar or a garlic press
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder

For filling

• 1/4 pound Spanish chorizo, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 (14 1/2-ounces) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry Sherry

For Masa

• 9 cups Masa
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 cans chicken broth plus water to make 9 1/2 cups liquid
• 1 1/2 cup oil

Other Stuff

• Crock Pot
• one 8 oz bag of dried corn husks
• Flour-sack cloth or “tamale cloth”
• Steamer pot, pasta pot or stock pot with steamer insert
• Queso Fresco and cilantro for serving

First, make your pork. I adapted the flavors of this more Cuban recipe in my own version. I stick my pork shoulder into a crock pot on high (6 hour setting) with all of the marinade ingredients. Then, skim the fat off, reserve the juices and shred the pork.