HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE TAMALES WITH PORK RECIPES

Steps:

• Soak the corn husks. Place 1 package corn husks in a large pot or bowl and add enough hot tap water to cover. Make sure the husks are submerged by weighing them down with a few coffee mugs.
• Cook the pork. Cut 1 pound pork shoulder into 2-inch chunks. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Place in a large saucepan. Cut 1/2 large white onion into 2 pieces, and add 1 piece to the pan. Add 1 of the garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer over high heat, about 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the pork is fork tender and falling apart, stirring every 20 minutes to prevent the bottom of the pot from burning, 1 to 1 1/2 hours total. Meanwhile, start the chile sauce.
• Cook the chile sauce ingredients. Husk and rinse 1 pound tomatillos. Place in a medium saucepan. Add the remaining onion piece, remaining garlic clove, and 4 serrano peppers, and cover with 1 inch of cold water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the items have softened, about 8 minutes for the tomatillos and peppers, and 12 minutes for the onion and garlic. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the items to a bowl as they are ready. Let cool slightly, then coarsely chop the peppers (discarding any tough stems), onion, and garlic.
• Cool the meat. When the pork is ready, use a slotted spoon and transfer it to a bowl. Remove 1/4 cup of the broth for the sauce. Let the pork cool slightly, then shred with your fingers or two forks.
• Blend the sauce. Place the tomatillos, chopped chiles, onion, garlic, and 1/4 cup broth in a blender and blend until smooth.
• Combine the sauce and meat. Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a medium saucepan over high heat until shimmering. Add the sauce in one quick pour. Stir in the shredded pork. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to let the flavors meld. The filling should taste salty—it needs to be saltier than you’d think, to stand out inside the tamales. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Knead the dough. If using masa harina for your dough, place 3 cups masa harina in a deep mixing bowl and pour in 2 1/4 cups chicken broth. Mix with your hands until the dough is moist and soft. If using fresh masa, knead 1/2 cup chicken broth into 2 pounds masa with your hands until a firm dough forms.
• Mix the dough. Pour 1 1/4 cups canola oil into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer and large bowl.) With the mixer on low speed — and don’t wear your best clothing, because it will splatter — add the masa in golf-ball-sized pieces one at a time. The dough may look rather lumpy and unattractive here, but it will eventually transform. Stop the mixer and sprinkle in 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. If using masa harina, stir in an extra 1/2 cup chicken broth. Mix on high speed until the dough is very light and fluffy, about 10 minutes more.
• Spread the dough inside the husks. Remove 1 corn husk from the water and wipe off any extra water with a towel. Use a rubber spatula to spread about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dough (the amount depends on the size of the corn husk) in a large rectangle. Leave a few inches of space at the top so the dough doesn’t burst out once it’s cooking, and leave about 3 inches of space at the narrower end of the leaf so you have room to fold it.
• Add the homemade filling. Add a small amount of the pork filling (about 2 tablespoons) in a line down the center of the tamal. Don’t add too much, or else it will spill out of the husk when you’re folding it.
• Fold the tamales closed. To close the tamale, bring one side of the tamal toward the other, like an empanada or a taco, and press lightly to seal. Then tuck the leaves of the husk over each other into a tube-shape. Press down on the narrower end to seal, then fold up toward the wider end. Set aside folded side down and repeat with the remaining tamales.
• Steam the tamales for 35 minutes. Add water to a steamer pot and line the insert with a layer of corn husks. (This helps keep the steam trapped inside and adds a bit of flavor.) Bring the water to a light boil. Place the tamales vertically, open-side up in the steamer, but don’t pack them too tightly or they won’t have room to expand. Cover with some extra corn husks. Cover and steam until the corn husk easily pulls away from the tamal, about 35 minutes.
• Let the tamales cool 10 to 15 minutes. Don’t eat the tamales immediately after you remove them from the pot, as they’ll be too soft still. Let the tamales cool for 10 to 15 minutes — they’ll firm up quite a bit and be ready to eat.

Steps:

• Heat lard in a large heavy pot over medium-high. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and softened, 6–8 minutes. Add ancho, guajillo, morita, and pasilla chiles and broth and bring to a boil. Cover pot, remove from heat, and let sit, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes to allow chiles to soften.
• Meanwhile, toast coriander seeds in a dry small skillet over medium heat, swirling often and adding cumin seeds during the last 30 seconds, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool; finely grind in spice mill or with mortar and pestle.
• Preheat oven to 250°. Transfer chile mixture to a blender; reserve pot. Add ground toasted spices, garlic, and oregano and purée until smooth, adding more broth if mixture is too thick or won't blend, about 2 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup purée for masa and set aside until ready to use. Place pork shoulder, pork belly, bay leaf, salt, and remaining chile purée (about 1¾ cups) in reserved pot. Bring mixture to a boil, cover pot, and transfer to oven. Braise pork until very tender and it shreds easily, 2–2½ hours. Let cool 15 minutes, then skim fat from sauce; discard bay leaf.
• Using a potato masher or a large fork, smash pork into sauce until meat is shredded and incorporated into sauce. Stir in vinegar; let cool.
• Transfer filling to an airtight container and chill until pork is cold and firm, at least 3 hours. Do Ahead: Filling can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• Mix masa, lard, broth, salt, and reserved chile purée in a large bowl with your hands until well incorporated and mixture looks shiny and smooth, about 4 minutes.
• Slap the top of masa with the palm of your hand, immediately pulling your hand back. If masa doesn’t stick and your hand looks shiny, the dough is ready. If masa sticks, add another 2 Tbsp. lard and knead until incorporated; repeat slap test. If masa still sticks to your hand, repeat process until you get there (another 2 Tbsp. lard should do it).
• Mix corn masa flour, stock, lard, salt, baking powder, and ¼ cup reserved chile purée in a large bowl with your hands until dough comes together. Continue to knead until mixture looks smooth and shiny, about 4 minutes.
• Slap top of masa with the palm of your hand, immediately pulling your hand back; if dough sticks to your hand, add 2 Tbsp. more lard and knead to incorporate. Repeat slap test. If masa doesn’t stick and your hand looks shiny, dough is ready. If masa sticks, continue adding lard 2 Tbsp. at a time and repeat slap test. Let dough sit 30 minutes, uncovered, until the consistency of peanut butter; it will thicken as it sits.
• Soak husks in a large bowl of hot water until soft and pliable, about 15 minutes. Using your hands, swirl husks in water to loosen any silks or dirt. Drain, rinse, and shake off excess water.
• Place a husk on a work surface and gently stretch out wide end. Measure 5" wide, then tear off any excess (hold onto the scraps; you’ll use them later). The width doesn’t have to be exactly 5", but if you go any narrower, your tamale might not cover the filling. This recipe makes about 30 tamales; prep a few extra husks in case some tear.
• Arrange husk so wide end is closest to you. Spoon 2 heaping Tbsp. masa onto husk about 4" from the bottom. Using a putty knife, small offset spatula, or butter knife, spread masa into a thin, even layer, covering the width of the husk and about 5" up the length of the husk; leave the narrow end uncovered. If you mess up, just scrape off masa and start over. Repeat with remaining husks and masa.
• Keeping wide end closest to you, place 2 Tbsp. cold pork filling in the center of masa on each husk, forming a log that runs down the center. Fold 1 side of husk over filling, then fold other side over to cover. Holding tamale seam side up, fold narrow, pointed end of husk away from you and under tamale. Set on a rimmed baking sheet seam side up. Repeat with remaining tamales.
• Line a large heavy pot with husk scraps. Crumple a large sheet of foil to form a 3"-diameter ball. Place ball in center of pot. Using ball as support, prop tamales upright, with folded end down and seam side facing up, around ball; this will take 4–7 tamales. Continue stacking tamales around the ball, leaning them against one another. Pour broth into pot, being careful not to get any inside tamales (broth should come about ¾" up sides of tamales). Bring liquid to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and simmer tamales, undisturbed, adding more stock as needed to keep some liquid in pot, 40 minutes.
• Remove a tamale from pot; let cool 3 minutes. (If you don’t let it rest before checking, masa will stick to husk and appear gummy.) Remove husk; if masa sticks to husk, it’s not ready. Carefully refold and return to pot. Cook 5 minutes more; check again. If husk peels back easily, tamales are done. Remove from heat, uncover, and let sit 10 minutes before unwrapping. Serve with salsa and lime wedges for squeezing over.