Green Chile Pork Tamales

I have been living in Syracuse for a year now.  One of the unfortunates of living in this small large city is the lack of ethnically true tastes and food diversity.  I know there are some resident aliens, and immigrants, but to take the leap and open a store or restaurant with homespun taste is risky.  I have been having a yearning for good tamales for the last few months and decided that I needed to do it myself.

First was to start with the Carne or Meat.  I was thinking of Boston Butt (Rolled Shoulder), but since Laura and I did not need 10lbs of meat, I instead went with bone in country style ribs.  They have fat and bones; two ingredients absolutely required for deep pork taste.  There are many possibilities for flavor, but I happen to think the combination of Green Chiles and Tomatillos work great with pork.  Because I knew I would need liquid for the masa, I used green enchilada sauce from La Palmas.  Brand is not as important as chile content (This goes for red too) ,  I use the Mexican sauce because the first solid ingredient is chile.  Then I use a good canned tomatillo. 

Carne

3 lbs Bone-in Pork (Shoulder, Country Ribs)
1 28 oz Can Green Enchilada Sauce
1 10-14oz can tomatillo sauce. 
8-10 Cloves Garlic Peeled


Heat oven to 300degrees.  Place the pork in baking dish.  Separate the pork in large chunks and pour sauces over. Spread garlic out. Top the dish with a tight fitting layer of tin foil and Bake for 2-2.5 hours.    (Yes there is a lot of liquid.  This will not go to waste.)   

Check for tenderness. The pork should easily off the bone and separate.  Let the pork cool in the liquid for at least 30 min.  I pre-set my oven to cook from 3-5 am and by the time I roused at 7am, it was perfect.  Set the pork on a cutting board, separate bones, tendon, fat and roughly chop.  I do not shred.  Put the meat into a bowl.  Now, strain the juice in a steel mesh.  All large chunks get added to the meat.  As the liquid drains, scrape the bottom of the mesh with a spoon.  You are not pressing the solids through, you are just trying to gather the solids which are a combination of tomatillos, chile and garlic. You will end up with 2-3 cups of liquid and a really thick strainer of near solids.  Those solids get added to the meat to add moisture. 

Husks

Dried Husk (Found in the Mexican food aisle or at a Latin grocery)
Large Container.
Hot tap water.

Place the Dried Husks is in a large container, fill with hot tap water and soak for at least 2 hour.
I chose the sink.  I tried a shallow dish but after 2 hours, the inner husks were not quite right.  A note on the husks. They come in all sizes. An average package has 2-3 times more than you need.  That is about 100. 

Masa

1 lbs Instant Masa.  (Or in my case 1/2 half of a 2.2 lbs bag)
3 Tbsp Chile 3000 from Penzy's
   or
   2 Tbsp Chile Powder
   2 Tsp Cumin
   1 Tsp oregano
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp salt
1 Cup Corn Oil
4 Cups Total Liquid made from Reserved Liquid from Meat and water.

Place the masa in a large bowl.  Stir in the spices.  Then add the oil and mix thoroughly to ensure the oil is distributed thoughout.  Add 2 cups of broth and mix well.  This will still be loose.  As you add the 3rd cup, the mixture will start to come together.  Add the last cup 1/4 cup at a time until you have really thick peanut butter consistancy.  Kind of like the Natural peanut butter kind.     I used a spoon the entire time, but this might be better by hand if your arm strength does not support.

Time to set up for assembly 

Take some of the husks out and set them upright to allow them to drain. I will show pictures and then try to add a video of how I made the Tamales.

Step 1. Place the Husk large side toward the palm.   If the husk is wider than 6", tear off a side and reserve.  All bits, pieces and small chunks will be used to line the bottom of a steamer.  Spread a large dollop of the masa on the left 2/3rds of the husk. 

Make sure it goes all the way to the edge. 

Step 2:  Place about 1 Tbsp of meat in the middle.  Not too much. 

Step 3.  Roll the tamale to enclose the meat with the masa. 

Step 4.  Fold the bottom back up along the seam. 

Step 5.  Place the tamales fold side down, You can see the lining. 

Repeat until you are complete.  I had a little room left so I used some crumples husks to take up room.  Top with husks as well to trap steam.

Step 6:  Steam for 1 hour 15 Min.  Check water level every 20 min to ensure it does not go dry. 

Serve with Enchilada Sauce, Lizano Sauce, Matouks, or your favorite sauce. 

Enjoy