TAMALE MASA TOO STICKY RECIPES

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.

Steps:

• Season the beef shoulder all over with salt and pepper then brown in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Once browned on all sides, add enough water to cover the roast along with the 1 sliced onion and about 6 cloves of garlic. Cook until the meat is fork tender and comes apart with no resistance, about 2 hours. When done, remove the roast to a platter to cool, reserve the beef broth. Hand shred the meat and set aside.
• To prepare the sauce, remove the tops of the dried chilies and shake out most of the seeds. Place the chilies in a large stockpot and cover them with water. Add the cumin, remaining sliced onion and garlic. Boil for 20 minutes until the chiles are very soft. Transfer the chiles to a blender using tongs and add a ladle full of the chile water (it is best to do this in batches.) Puree the chiles until smooth. Pass the pureed chiles through a strainer to remove the remaining seeds and skins. Pour the chili sauce into a large bowl and add salt, stir to incorporate. Taste to check seasonings, add more if necessary. Add the shredded beef to the bowl of chili sauce, and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Go through the dried cornhusks, separate them and discard the silk, be careful since the husks are fragile when dry. Soak them in a sink filled with warm water for 30 minutes to soften. In a deep bowl, combine the masa, baking powder, and salt. Pour the broth into the masa a little at a time, working it in with your fingers. In a small bowl, beat the vegetable shortening until fluffy. Add it to the masa and beat until the dough has a spongy texture.
• Rinse, drain, and dry the corn husks. Set them out on a sheet pan covered by a damp towel along with the bowls of masa dough and beef in chili sauce. Start with the largest husks because they are easier to roll. Lay the husk flat on a plate or in your hand with the smooth side up and the narrow end facing you. Spread a thin, even layer of masa over the surface of the husk with a tablespoon dipped in water. Do not use too much! Add about a tablespoon of the meat filling in the center of the masa. Fold the narrow end up to the center then fold both sides together to enclose the filling. The sticky masa will form a seal. Pinch the wide top closed.
• Stand the tamales up in a large steamer or colander with the pinched end up. Load the steamer into a large pot filled with 2-inches of water. The water should not touch the tamales. Lay a damp cloth over the tamales and cover with lid. Keep the water at a low boil, checking periodically to make sure the water doesn't boil away. Steam the tamales for 2 hours.
• The tamales are done when the inside pulls away from the husk. The tamale should be soft, firm and not mushy. To serve, unfold the husk and spoon about a tablespoon of remaining beef filling on top.