Tamale Fest 2013

At least once every few years I end up spending a week making tamales - oh yes, a WEEK! It's not a fast process....not particularly challenging either, but very tedious and time consuming.

This year, I had a pal with a freezer full of beefiness and I myself had some pork, and why not combine it and split things? So....

Sunday, I picked up 16lbs of mostly beef, I pulled out 17lbs worth of pork (and that was just sheer luck that the trimmings off of the last hog sent to the butcher were that much, nice equal amounts).

Monday, I set everything in a bath of baking soda and water in the fridge - first it helps to thaw the meat before you cook it (especially when my pork was a huge frozen brick of pork) and secondly it helps knock off the freezer burn....Monday night I pulled it out, rinsed it off, and made a bath of vinegar and water to aid in tenderizing things....

Tuesday, I boiled it all afternoon with spices and seasonings and what not.  Okay, that sounds more official than it is lol :) Every stock pot full of meat holds about 10lbs of meat, into each pot goes a handful of salt, a handful of oregano, 4 - 5 ancho chiles, 2 chopped onions, an entire head of chopped garlic, and a generous pinch of cumin. Once it was falling apart when I poked it with my spoon, into the fridge to rest a bit.....and cool off!

Wednesday morning, everything is drug back out and allowed to warm a tad (so I don't freeze my fingers off) then you gotta scrub up and dive it! All the meat needs to be picked apart and shredded into medium sized chunks...and I am VERY picky on my meat! I HATE WITH A PASSION to bite into the following things: gelatinous, cartilaginous, hard, boney, odd, unidentifiable, chew bits! Picky, I know. But come on now, who wants to get a bite of something they can't identify??? DON'T FORGET TO SAVE YOUR BROTH/STOCK!!!!

Oh yes....all that juicy brothy goodness from the stock pots...SAVE IT!!!! You are going to put some back into the meat, and SOME is going into the masa! Why buy beef or chicken stock for making your masa when you will have a pot (or 3) full of it??? Strain the chunks out (onions, garlic, pepper seeds, etc) and bottle that liquid gold up for later!

Once done, the 3 pots are now down to one BIG GIANT pot of meat shreds....add about 2 handfuls of chili powder, a touch more salt and cumin to taste if need be, and for a pot this big, about 4 cans of red enchilada sauce, and some of the stock off of the meat...personally, I have found mixing the mild half and half with the super spicy enchilada sauce is PERFECT!

Then, once it is all mixed up, put it into smaller pots - you are going to simmer it down a short while, and it's REALLY hard to get that canning pot to heat it up enough! It took me over an hour and a half to shred everything up and then I still had to do that part....let it simmer nice and slow for a while for the chili flavors to combine into the meat, then back in the fridge....because you will need a rest and the meat needs one too! It has to soak up all of the juices....

Now, it's Thursday and I am waiting on my masa flour and assistance to arrive....today I will be throwing together masa, wrapping up tamales, and getting them steamed....the steaming takes ages as well, but is crucial to cooking the masa so it's not squishy ucky...

So yes....there is a very good reason most people don't make tamales once a week LOL....I suppose you could do a much smaller batch, but then if you are going to drag out the big pots, and pans, and all....and get messy and dirty too (I always smell like a giant taco for 2 or 3 days at least)...then why not do a whole bunch at once? They freeze beautifully and taste even better!