Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 4 lb fresh corn scrapped from the cobs cut the corn kernels from the cob and weigh out about 4 lbs. grind corn in food processor after.
3 lg sweet Vidalia onions or Texas sweet onion diced small
3 lg sweet bell peppers diced small
12 clove fresh garlic, smashed or put through a garlic press
3 lb lean pork cut into small bite sized pieces
4 sm cans Hunts tomato sauce
1 can roasted peeled red pimentos from the can, fire diced small, you can do your own or buy in a can. drain all water
2 tsp scant not heaping over, of dried oregano
2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp ground bay leaves (powder)
3 sm packets of sazon Goya seasoning, con culantro and achiote
3 tsp salt or more to suit your taste
1 Tbsp Goya adobe seasoning (level not heaping over)
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 c pure white pork lard, or shortening of you choice, do not use any type of oil
2 tsp garlic powder
3 lg bags of dried corn husks ( 5 lbs) opened, separated and cleaned of the corn silk
1 lg spool or roll of butchers twine
1/4 c sugar
chicken broth
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Directions: |
Directions:1. First open, separate and clean the corn husks of the silk. Put all of the corn husk leaves into a very large pot and cover with very hot water. Let soak for at least a few hours. Leave in the water until you are ready to wrap the tamales.
2. Cut you pork meat into small bite sized pieces season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Heat a little of the lard about a 1/4 of a cup and add the pork meat brown on all sides. Do in small batches so meat browns if you do a lot of the meat together it will steam instead of browning. We are looking for a light golden crust on the meat, does not need to be cooked completely. Do not let the meat over brown or burn. After browning add about 2 cups of chicken broth and cover with a tight lid and cook for over a medium flame for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is fork tender. Be sure to check that your broth does not dry out or your meat will burn add more broth as needed. When meat is tender shut off and set the meat aside. You can do this the day before. just take out the meat and let come to room temp when ready to mix with the corn mixture.
3. You should have at least 4 pounds of scrapped corn off of the cob's. Put the corn into a food processor and process ensuring that your corn is well ground into a thick mash. Do all of your corn like this work in batches until all is ground into a thick mash. Add 1/4 cup sugar and mix well Set aside.
4. In a large heavy pot melt the rest of the lard and add all of the diced onions, peppers both sweet garlic, and the diced red pimentos. Saute until all the veggies are limp and onion is translucent. Next add the tomato sauce; continue to cook over a medium flame. Careful not to scorch any of the sauce. Next add all of the dried seasonings, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, salt, pepper, sazon Goya packets, Goya adobo, and garlic powder and continue to cook over a medium flame. What you have made is a very large sofrito. Taste to see if your sofrito has enough salt and pepper, if you like a little heat you can add a little ground cayenne pepper, not too much. Cuban tamales are not spicy.
5. Now pour your mashed ground corn into the veggie and tomato sofrito; mix very well making sure to incorporate all of the sofrito into the corn. Taste again for salt; at this point you may want to add more of the same seasonings you added before to bring your tamale mixture to the right point of your taste. I know I always land up adding a bit more garlic powder or little more adobo powder until I find the right taste. Add your cooked meat stir well and continue to cook over a medium to low flame stirring and stirring until your mixture has somewhat thickened. This stirring process takes about an hour without leaving unattended. You may want someone to help with the stirring as my hand gets tired of stirring the thick mixture. Be sure to lower your flame so as to not scorch this mixture or the whole thing will be ruined. After cooking for one hour or so shut off the tamale mixture
6. Take out your soaked tamale husks blot on a clean kitchen towel, You will need three large husks per tamale. Take one large wide husk, they are triangle shaped put about four (4) ounces of tamale mixture in the middle of the husk do not spread on the husk like is done with the Mexican tamale, just drop the mixture in the middle of the husk and fold each side over the the mixture overlapping one side over the other, then take the triangle top tip and fold down over both the sides; now take another large husk and put the tamale you just wrapped in the middle of that husk. The open end should be facing the top of the triangle tip fold both sides one over the other take the top and fold down over the two sides, Now take the last husk place the wrapped tamale into the husk fold over the sides one over the other and then fold the tip over the sides and tie and secure with butchers twine on both ends.
7. Fill a large pasta pot half way with water; bring to a boil. When water starts to boil slowly slip in each tamale gently. Boil tamales in the water for about one hour and a half. Keep boiling hot water in a tea kettle or another pot to add to the pot when the water starts to evaporate. The trick is to keep the tamales boiling all of the time for one hour and a half. When done remove tamales into a large pan. Let cool until they can be handled comfortably. As they cool they will thicken and set even more. |
This recipe for Cuban Tamales is from