Tamales Recipe Tutorial S4 Ep410

lard

🥗Healthier: vegetable shortening

💰Cheaper: butter

Vegetable shortening reduces saturated fat while maintaining texture.

pork shoulder

🥗Healthier: chicken thighs

💰Cheaper: pork loin

Chicken thighs provide a leaner option without sacrificing flavor.

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Prepare a large pork shoulder, weighing between 7 to 9 pounds, ensuring it has enough fat and gelatin for flavor.

Place the pork shoulder in a roasting pan with the fat side up.

Add 6 to 8 cups of water to the pan to ensure enough liquid for cooking.

Cook the pork shoulder in the oven for several hours until it is tender and fully cooked.

After cooking, refrigerate the pork to allow the fat to solidify for easier separation.

Once cooled, separate the meat from the lard and drippings.

Prepare the chili paste using guajillo, pasilla, ancho, chipotle, arbol, and peat way chilies.

Soak the dried chilies in hot water until softened, then blend them into a paste with garlic, black pepper, salt, and cumin.

Mix the chili paste with the shredded pork and some of the reserved lard to flavor the meat.

Combine masa harina with water and some of the reserved lard to create the dough for the tamales.

Soak corn husks in warm water to soften them before wrapping the tamales.

Take a portion of the masa dough, flatten it on a corn husk, add a spoonful of the pork filling, and roll it up tightly.

Place the tamales upright in a steamer pot and steam for about 1 to 1.5 hours until the masa is firm and pulls away from the husk.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: