Tamales!!!

Well since I am currently a stay-at-home mom, and am totally bored, I have been cooking quite a bit.  Not great for the waist line, but great for bragging rights.  Yesterday, I made tamales.  The only thing I can say, is they needed a bit more salt, but other wise for a white girl I did pretty good.  My youngest son, took some for his lunch today.  Not too bad for a white woman! 

So if you are wondering...how to make tamales is being posted for your viewing pleasure now.  Let me start off by saying I don't have measurements.  I know if you google them, I am sure you can find some recipes with actual measurements, you just won't get it from me.  

Tamales---
I bought two packages of pork for carnitas.  You can use pork roast or whatever else you want to.  I am not brave enough to use a pig's head.  
I boiled the  meat until very tender.  You can add whatever seasonings you would like.  After the meat is cooked you will either shred it or blend it up.  I just blended mine.  Use very little liquid if any....you are not making nursing home food.  

I also bought a large package of dried chilies.  With those you need to take off the ends and remove the seeds if you want.  I just left the seeds in ours.  In a pot of water I added the dried chilies, a cut up onion and some garlic cloves.  The dried chilies will expand.  After these have cooked then you will blend up the chilie, onion and garlic.  Again, use a little or none on the liquid, but keep the water from the chilies.  

While everything cooking soak your corn husks.  I bought two bags of these.  

In the refrigerator section I bought two bags of masa at Wal-Mart.  I also bought a can of shortening.  I added my chilies mixture to the masa as well as a few cups of melted shortening.  Your masa should be about the consistency of your dressing/stuffing before you cook it at Thanksgiving.  I call it "slap happy"  Don't ask...LOL  If needed you can add some liquid from chilies.

To your meat, add chili powder, cumin, cayenne etc... I would also say you can add these seasonings to your masa. 

Once you have everything prepared and ready, grab yourself a drink.  I put newspaper down on the table and set out my bowls of masa and meat and gather up my corn husks.  

Use your spoon and spread masa on the corn husk and then put on a spoon some meat.  Then roll up the husks.  Keep going, you will be there a while.  Once you have rolled up all your tamales then you are ready to steam them.

I use my roaster oven for mine.  I put a coffee cup in the center, upside down.  Then I stack all the tamales around the cup, open side up.  I add a bit off water to the bottom, then place them in the oven at 350 degrees.  They are done when the masa pulls away from the husk.  Of course you need to do a taste test! 

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So there you go, Homemade, white girl tamales.