Preparation / Directions:
Prepare Husks: Trim smaller end square and remove silks. Soak in boiling water for 1 hr. Husks should be 6 or 7 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide or larger.
Prepare Meat: Boil meat, onion, garlic and salt in enough water to cover meat until very tender. Drain broth and save. Run meat through chopper and season with chile powder and additional salt to taste. (We prefer meat to have slightly more consistency so we simply finely shred meat instead of running through chopper) Melt fat in pan and add flour. Heat until flour browns, stirring constantly. Add meat mixture and enough broth to make meat mixture like very thick gravy. Cook for 15 minutes.
Prepare Dough: Scald masa with remaining meat broth. If you don't have enough broth, you can use water or additional canned broth. Add salt and add chile powder until masa turns slightly pink. Mix thoroughly.
Prepare tamales: Spread masa onto shuck beginning at the top and enough to bend over. Spread as thick as you like. After smoothing masa on the shuck, put some of the meat mixture down the middle and roll like a cigarette. Steam tamales for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. in a large pot with elevated rack high enough to keep tamales out of the water. Tamales are done when the shuck peels easily away from the masa without sticking.
Finished transcribing this recipe handed down from my grandmother. It's been in use, possibly with slight enhancements, for 40 or 50 years at least. Add a Q twist to it by wrapping about a dozen cooked tamales (2x6) and tying with strips of corn shuck and then putting them in the smoker for an hour or so. Also use smoked meat instead of plain. Would be a great way to use up odds and ends from smoked leftover
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