Tamales

PREPARE THE CORN HUSKS
1. Soak corn husks in water for 2-3 hours. Rinse well and remove any dust or corn husk fibers. Keep immersed in water until ready to use. Drain a handful at a time before using.

TO MAKE THE MOLE
1. Place meat in a large pot with cold water. (You can cut the meat into cubes before placing in water rather than in step 5 if desired). Add garlic, onion, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45-90 minutes. Meat should be fully cooked and tender enough to cut or shred if not already cubed.
2. While meat is cooking, soak chili pods in water until softened, 2-3 hours. Remove stem and seeds from chili pods.
3. Make your chili paste: Place chili pods in a blender, add 1 cup of water and blend until smooth. Consistency should be a smooth paste. (Optional: Canned mole may be used in place of steps 2-4). Add small mounts of water as needed to desired consistency.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to refrigerator until ready to use.
5. After meat is cooked, remove from water and cut into small pieces (cubes) if you haven’t already. Sauté in a stock pot over medium high heat with ¼ cup of oil until browned. Discard any fat and let cool.
6. Make a roux: combine canola oil in a large pan with flour (1cup oil to 2 cups flour ratio). Stir constantly for 3-5 minutes. In a small cup, mix 2 tablespoons of chili powder with 1 tablespoon of bouillon then add to pan. Carefully combine chili powder mix and roux. Add 4 cups of water and stir to create a light gravy consistency. Keep adding water until you achieve the right consistency. Now you have mole.
7. Add chili paste to mole, 1 -2 teaspoons at a time until desired flavor is reached. Taste and season with extra salt, garlic powder, or bouillon as needed.
8. Add the cubed or shredded meat to the mole and combine thoroughly. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Let cool and refrigerate until ready to fill tamales. Tip: Prepare mole/meat mixture the night before. This allows the mole to coagulate for easier preparation.

TO PREPARE THE MASA
1. Place lard in a large mixer and mix until fluffy. Add 2 tablespoons of salt if desired.
2. Add half the masa and mix together. Slowly add bouillon (1 tablespoon at a time) until thoroughly combined. The amount of bouillon used varies to your liking. Repeat until all masa is mixed in. Note: The masa mixture should be the consistency of smooth peanut butter. Add chicken broth, a little at a time, to reach this consistency if needed.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR TAMALES
1. Arrange ingredients in an assembly line as follows: corn husks, masa mixture, meat/mole mixture.
2. Spread masa evenly over husks. Be sure to spread the masa on the inner/smoth side of the husk with the widest part of the husk at the top. Leave about 1" of space empty at the bottom of the narrow part of the husk. Masa should be a thin solid layer for easy folding.
3. Place a rounded tablespoon of meat/mole mixture in the center of the spread masa.
4. Fold the left side of the husk over the meat mixture, then fold the right side of the husk over the center to create a closed tamale.
5. Fold the bottom tail of the corn husk up and behind the tamale and set aside.
6. Continue preparing tamales until you have used all your ingredients.

Note: Tamales can be assembled and frozen until ready to cook. If freezing, be sure to keep them in an air tight container and fully defrost before cooking.

COOK YOUR TAMALES
1. Place a steamer rack inside of a large stock pot. Add enough water to sit just below the steamer bottom. Bring water to a boil.
2. Arrange prepared tamales in the pot/steamer so that they are standing with the open end up.
3. Cover with a cloth, foil, and lid to seal the steam inside the pot.
4. Steam tamales for approximately 60-75 minutes or until masa is firm.
5. Uncover half of the pot and allow steam to escape. Let tamales sit and firm up further for about 20 minutes.
6. When ready to serve, unwrap your tamales and enjoy!