Ida'S Tamales

1. 1

   Put cubed pork in a dutch oven. Mince garlic and onion in food processor and add to pork Add salt and pepper and enough water to just cover the mixture. Cook until tender. Drain off excess water and reserve for sauce and masa.

2. 2

   Clean and seed chiles and simmer in enough water to just cover them until softened. Puree chiles with garlic, onion and cumin. In a skillet add a small amount of oil and saute chile mixture briefly. Add pork broth to thin down the mixture and simmer sauce.

3. 3

   Add this sauce to cooked pork meat alternating with more broth and Ro-tel until the meat mixture is a good consistency for tamales.

4. 4

   First beat lard until fluffy. Add masa in small portions. If masa gets too hard add some broth and continue beating. Add baking powder and salt as you add more masa and broth and beat mixture until it's the right consistency. Masa will float in a cup of water. You can add red chile to give the masa some color.

5. 5

   To Cook:

6. 6

   In a large kettle with a raised rack on the botom (should be 1 1/2 - 2 inches from bottom of pan) add water. Cover the rack with foil, prick foil. Put a colander or any insert to lean tamales against in kettle. The tamales should be standing up in the kettle; do not overcrowd. Cover with husks. Cut a piece of heavy-duty foil to fit the top of kettle and put on top of husks. Put kitchen towels on top of foil to trap steam. Put the lid on securely and cook for about 1 hour til tamale falls from the husk. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Test by removing a tamale and letting it sit for a minute or so to test.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.