real homemade tamales

Ingredients

• Servings: 16
• tamale filling:
• 1 1/4 pounds lamb loin
• 1 large onion, halved
• 1 clove garlic
• 4 dried california chile pods
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• tamale dough:
• 2 cups masa harina
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup lard
• 1 (8 ounce) package dried corn husks
• 1 cup sour cream

Recipe

Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ready Time: 3 hrs 35 mins


• place lamb into a dutch oven with onion and garlic, and add water to cover. bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 hours.
• use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from the chile pods. place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. transfer the chiles and water to a blender and blend until smooth. strain the mixture, stir in salt, and set aside. shred the cooked meat and mix in one cup of the chile sauce.
• soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water. in a large bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more broth as necessary to form a spongy dough.
• spread the dough out over the corn husks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. place one tablespoon of the meat filling into the center. fold the sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer. steam for 1 hour.
• remove tamales from husks and drizzle remaining chile sauce over. top with sour cream. for a creamy sauce, mix sour cream into the chile sauce.