Mamas Red Tamales - pork shoulder roasts

Method

• Prepare pork roasts by boiling the meat with about 2 tablespoons of garlic salt per roast.
• Use as many pots as you need to accommodate the roast.
• Cook the meat until fork tender and comes apart with no resistance.
• This usually takes about 2 hours.
• Reserve pork broth.
• Pull meat apart into chunks and refrigerate until ready to use.
• While the meat is cooking, clean dried chilies by removing the tops and discarding the seeds.
• Place pods into a bath of water and soak for a few minutes.
• While pods are soaking, fill a large pot halfway with water.
• Place your clean chili pods in the water and push them down until the water covers all.
• Bring to a boil and then simmer 34 to 45 minutes.
• When done, remove from heat.
• Transfer small bunches of the tender chili pods to a blender and blend on high until the pods turn to a liquid mixture.
• (The seed and skins will make the mixture seem a little chunky but that will be removed in a food mill.)
• Pour the chili sauce into a food mill which should be attached to a bowl or saucepan.
• Run the sauce through the mill until no more liquid is left in the top of the mill.
• Discard the leftover seeds and skin.
• Repeat this process for the remaining chili sauce until all of it has been run through the food mill.
• Next, add the ground cumin to the chili sauce.
• This sauce uses quite a bit of salt; add small amounts at a time, to taste.
• Once chili sauce is properly seasoned, add pork to the chili sauce.
• Stir until thoroughly mixed.
• No need to heat, just put the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Open packages of cornhusks and remove the silk from each husk.
• Place cornhusks into a sink filled with warm water.
• Let the husks soak for about 3 minutes.
• Remove the husks from the water and place on a cookie sheet and cover with damp towel to keep moist.
• Prepare masa according to the directions on the package, or buy premade masa, available at specialty ethnic food stores.
• Also try calling a Mexican restaurant, they may make it for you.
• To soften up the masa before you work with it, add approximately 2 cups of the reserved pork broth.
• Once softened, divide masa into deep bowls amongst the people helping.
• Press masa flat, down into the bowl, creating a flat surface.
• Take 1 cornhusk and lay it flat, add a large dollop of the masa onto the husk.
• Spread the masa out onto the leaf with the back of a spoon to create a thin paste like coverage, being sure to leave no holes.
• Place 2 tablespoons of the chili sauce/pork mixture onto the masa.
• (It?s best to keep a bowl of the sauce next to you at all times.)
• Fold the tamale bringing two sides together so that they slightly overlap, then fold the bottom up over the folded sides.
• Press down slightly on top of tamale while holding everything in place and the masa will act as a glue to seal the filling.
• Place tamales standing upright into a large double steamer.
• Steam for 2 hours.
• Remove tamales from steamer and let stand about 5 minutes.
• Pull off husk and eat.
• If desired, tamales may be frozen in plastic storage bags.
• To steam frozen tamales, just add 1 hour to the cooking time.