Tamales - Better Homes

Recipe Instructions *debone and trimmed of excess fat and cut up In a 4 1/2 to 5 quart Dutch oven bring pork, water, onion, garlic, and 1 1/2 t salt to boiling. Simmer, covered, about 2 1/4 hrs until meat is very tender. Remove meat from broth and cool Using two forks, shred meat, discarding fat. You should have 3 1/2 to 4 c shredded meat. Strain broth and reserve 5-6 cups. In a 3 quart saucepan, heat the red chile sauce and add shredded meat. Simmer, covered about 10 minutes. For MASA: beat shortening with a mixer on medium for 1 minute. Stir together MASA HARINA, baking powder and 2 t salt. Alternately add MASA HARINA mixture and broth to shortening, beating well after each addition. Add just enough broth to make a thick creamy paste. Soak corn husks in warm water for 5 minutes then rinse to remove and corn silk and debris. Drain. To assemble each tamale, spread 2 T MASA mixture in the center of a husk. Place 1 T meat sauce in the middle of the MASA. Fold in sides of husk then fold up bottom. Place a mound of extra husks in the center of a steamer basket in a dutch oven and put tamales in basket, open end up. Bring water to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and steam 40 minutes, adding more water as necessary. Microwaving for a couple minutes works too.