James's Pork Northern Tamales
1 1/4 lb Pork shoulder
1/4 x Onion sliced
1 x Clove garlic peeled
1/2 tsp Salt
4 x Peppercorns
Water to cover
3 x Chile anchos
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tbl Lard
THE TAMALES
Basic Tamal Dough
2 tsp Chili sauce from the filling
72 sm corn husks soaked
Method :
Cut the meat into 1-inch squares-it should have a little fat on it-and put it
into the saucepan with the onion, garlic, salt, and peppercorns.
Barely cover the meat with water and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and simmer
the meat until it is tender-about 40 minutes.
Set the meat aside to cool off in the broth. Strain the meat, reserving the
broth, and chop it roughly.
Heat the griddle and toast the chiles well, turning them from time to time so
that they do not burn. Let them cool a little. When they are cool enough to
handle, slit them open and remove the seeds and veins.
When the chiles have cooled off they should be crisp. Crumble them into the
blender jar or spice grinder and grind them with the cumin seeds to a fine
powder.
Melt the lard, add the chili powder, and cook it for a few seconds, stirring it
all the time. Add the meat and, continuing to cook, let it season for a minute
or so.
Add the pork broth and let the mixture cook for about 5 minutes over a medium
flame so that it reduces a little-there should be quite a bit of sauce left. Add
salt as necessary.
Make the basic dough but do not add any baking powder. Mix the chili sauce into
the dough to give it a little color.
Using the smallest husks or the large ones cut in half, spread a scant
tablespoon of the dough thinly over each husk, covering an area about 2 X 2
inches. Put a little of the meat with plenty of sauce into the center of the
dough and fold the husk as you would for ordinary tamales.
Stack the tamales in the steamer and cook for about 2 hours. Test to see if they
are done.