Real Texas Christmas Tamales

This year my helpers, David and Richard, could have started their own Real Texas Tamale business!  They got fancy….we found a cool new tool, a Masa Spreader that not only cut down the usage of too much Masa, but also saved time.  In addition to the Masa Spreader, we purchased a Tamale Steamer.  Wow, we are really serious now.

Real Texas Tamales

Ingredients

Meat Filling

5-lb Pork
1 dried Red Poblano Pepper
1/8 cup or sprig of Spicy Globe Basil
Salt and Garlic Pepper

Chili Pepper Paste

12 dried Chili Pepper Pods (heat of the pepper is to your preference)
3 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Salt
2 tablespoons Oil
2 tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Oregano, crushed

Masa (traditional version)

5 lbs Fresh Masa
1 lb Lard
1/2 cup Veg. Shortening
1/8 cup Salt
1/4 cup Chili Powder
2 cups Chicken Broth
1/8 cup Baking Powder
1/8 cup Garlic Powder

1 package Corn Husks

Directions

Cooking the Pork Roast

Clip the spicy globe basil leaves using kitchen utility scissors. Clip the leaves that are near the new grown or the stragglers. Wash the leaves with cool water and dry the leaves on a paper towel.

Put the pork roast in the slow cooker roasting pan with the fat side up. Put the slow cooker at medium, add salt and pepper to the pork roast. Place a dry hatched chili pepper at the side of the pork roast. Place the spicy globe leaves on top of the pork roast, put the lid on and cook it for about 8 to 10 hours at a medium. The pork roast should be cooked until it gets real tender (it should fall apart when tested with a fork). You do not have to add any water the pork roast will cook in its own juice.

Making the Chili Pepper Paste

The next step is to make the chili pepper paste. Take any type of dry chili; cut off the stems, rinse them in water and remove the seeds. Put them in a pot and pour the water into the pot. Cook the chili pepper pods until they become very soft. Put the chili pepper pods into a blender. Add minced garlic, salt and oregano to the chili peppers in the blender. Add the juice of the chili pepper to the blender now. Only use enough juice to make a paste. Blend the mixture until it gets a smooth consistency.

Heat the oil in a skillet and add the flour, to brown the flour. Add the sauce that has already been blended to the browned flour. Stir it well so that there are no lumps form. Simmer it for about 2 to 3 minutes. You can add Cayane pepper for extra taste; make sure that you are only adding a little bit because the flavor will intensify when refrigerated overnight.

Adding Chili Pepper Paste to Shredded Meat

Shred the pork after its cooked and put the shredded pork in a container. Add chili pepper paste to the shredded pork and mix it real good. Put it in a container, cover it and refrigerate it overnight.

Soaking the Corn Husks

Take the corn husks, separate them and soak them in hot water for about an hour or until softened. We are doing this to avoid them breaking up, corn husks easily break when they are dry.

Making the Masa

Add lard and vegetable shortening in a pot and melt. Make sure that it’s completely blended and melted. Add salt and chili powder to the melted mixture. Stir to blend. Take the chicken broth and add garlic powder and baking powder it to and stir. Put the masa in a large container. Add the lard and vegetable shortening chili powder mixture into the masa. Add the mixture of broth with baking powder and garlic to the masa. Blend the mixture with a mixer until light and fluffy. Take a small pinch and place in a cup with cold water. It’s ready when the small pinch of masa floats. The masa is blended and ready. Grab some masa with the masa spreader.

Take the corn husks out of the water, dry and with the smooth side up spread the masa over them.

Making the Tamales

Take approximately 1 to 2 tablespoons of pork mixture and spread in on the masa covered corn husk. Then fold the sides towards the center. Pinch the end that looks open and fold the other longer end. Place tin foil at the middle of the tamale steamer pan. Place the tamales into the pan with the folded end down. Stack against the foil to stand the tamales upright.

Steaming the Tamales

Place the remaining corn husks over it so that it will capture the moisture. Place the pot on the stove and turn it to medium high and cook until the water in the pot starts boiling. Then turn the heat to medium low or low and cook the tamales for about 2 hours. Test tamales to make sure they are cooked. You can check by opening a tamale (The masa should be spongy and doesn’t stick to the corn husk.)

Divide the tamales, put 12 in aluminum foil and wrap tightly. You can then place in large ziplock bag if you want to freeze.

Tagged as: christmas tamales, Ramona Werst, Real Texas Recipe, Real Texas Recipes, tamales, texas cooking, Texas recipe