Traditional Tamales Red Chili Sauce For Pork Or Beef Rar Recipes

TAMALES DE PUERCO (RED PORK TAMALES)

Steps:

• Cut pork into 3 chunks and place in a large saucepan. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil; skim foam from surface. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Remove pork and let cool. Strain broth and reserve.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil while pork is cooking. Add tomatoes, arbol chiles, and guajillo chiles, and boil until chiles are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking water, and allow to cool.
• Place corn husks in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain, place on a work surface, and cover with a clean, damp towel.
• Combine tomatoes, 1/2 cup cooking water, chiles de arbol, guajillo chiles, and cornstarch in a blender; blend until smooth. Strain tomato sauce through a fine-mesh sieve.
• Beat lard with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy. Combine masa, 1 cup reserved pork broth, 1 tablespoon salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl and mix until smooth. Add masa mixture to lard and mix until it has a smooth cookie dough consistency. Test if the masa is ready by dropping a small ball of masa into a glass of cold water; if it floats, it's ready, if not, keep beating for a little longer.
• Shred cooled pork with 2 forks.
• Select 1 wide corn husk or 2 small ones. Spread about 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the the corn husk, filling it up to 2 inches from the bottom and 1/4 inch from the top. Add 1 tablespoon of the tomato sauce and pork down the center of the masa mixture. Fold sides of husk together, 1 over the other. Fold the bottom of the husk over the seam of the 2 folded sides. Repeat with remaining husks.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add tamales with the open side up and cook until filling is heated through and separates from the husk, about 1 hour. Let tamales rest for 15 minutes before serving.

RED CHILE PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• For the braised pork: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds black pepper and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and guajillo, ancho and pasilla chiles and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off the heat and let sit until the chiles have softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender with the cumin, oregano, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds black pepper and puree until very smooth.
• Pour the sauce back into the Dutch oven, then add the pork and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low to maintain a steady simmer and cook until the pork is very tender and the sauce is brick red, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, soak the corn husks in a bowl of hot water, using a plate to keep them submerged, until pliable, about 1 hour.
• Discard the bay leaves from the pork, then shred the pork with 2 forks. Stir in the apple cider vinegar; taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly.
• For the masa dough: Beat the lard, baking powder, chile powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and light in texture, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.) Reduce the speed to low and add the masa harina. Once just incorporated, slowly add 2 1/2 cups of the chicken broth and mix until combined, 2 to 4 minutes. Test the dough by placing a 1/2-teaspoon dollop in a cup of cold water--it should float. If not, add the remaining 1/2 cup broth and mix until combined, about 2 minutes more. This will ensure that the masa dough is light and fluffy.
• Drain the husks and pat dry. Starting 1/2 inch from the wide end of a husk, spread about 3 tablespoons of the masa dough down the length of the husk, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the pork filling down the center of the dough, then fold in the sides of the husk, wrapping the dough around the filling. Fold up the narrow end of the husk. Repeat with the remaining husks, dough and filling.
• Set a steamer basket in a large pot filled with 1 to 2 inches of water. Arrange the tamales standing open-end up in the steamer. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and steam until the dough is firm, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the steamer and cool slightly before unwrapping. Serve with lime wedges if desired.

RICK'S RED CHILE PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• To make the batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the lard, baking powder, and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup masa and 1/3 cup stock; beat until thoroughly combined. Add the remaining masa and 1/3 cup stock; beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. The batter should be soft but it should hold its shape in a spoon.
• If using fresh masa, test the batter to determine if it is adequately fluffy (this will ensure light and tender tamales): Drop 1 teaspoon batter into a cup of cold water. If it floats to the surface, it is ready.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Store batter in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 2 days.
• To make the wrappers: Reconstitute the corn husks by placing them in a deep saucepan and covering them with water. Set saucepan over high heat, and bring to a boil.
• Transfer husks and water to a heatproof bowl. Set a small plate on top of husks, keeping them submerged. Soak 1 hour. Remove from water.
• To make the filling: In the jar of a blender, combine chiles, garlic, pepper, and cumin. Add 1 1/2 cups water, and blend until a smooth puree forms.
• Strain mixture into a medium saucepan. Add the pork, 1 3/4 cups water, and salt. Place over medium heat; cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has reduced to the consistency of a thick sauce and the meat is very tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Using a fork, break up the meat.
• Return the tamale batter to the mixer. On low to medium speed, mix the batter for a few seconds to lighten the dough. Add 3 tablespoons sauce; mix again to combine.
• You may need to add a few tablespoons or so of chicken stock. The batter should not be stiff, but slightly loose and not runny. Remember, the lighter the batter, the more tender the tamale.
• To assemble the tamales: Unroll one large reconstituted corn husk; tear lengthwise along grain to make 1/4-inch-wide strips (two per tamale); if strips aren't long enough, tie two together.
• Place another long piece, lightly dried, on work surface, pointed end away from you; scoop 1/4 cup batter onto middle of one end. Spread into a 4-inch square, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border on pointed end and a 1-inch border on the other sides. Spoon 2 tablespoons filling down the center. Bring long sides together to form a cylinder, making sure the batter encases filling. Fold the pointed end under; tie loosely with husk strip. Fold the flat end under; tie. Repeat.
• Reserve smaller husks to line the steamer basket and cover the tamales.
• To steam the tamales: Set steamer over high heat. When steam puffs out, reduce the heat to medium. Steam 1 hour 15 minutes, adding more water when necessary. To check for doneness, unwrap a tamale: If ready, dough will come free from wrapper and feel soft. If dough sticks to wrapper, rewrap, and steam 15 to 20 more minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes for batter to firm up. They will remain warm for about 1 hour.

RED CHILI SAUCE (TO BE USED WITH TRADITIONAL TAMALES)

Steps:

• Remove stems and seeds from dried chili peppers.
• Place peppers in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• Roast in 350°F oven for 2 to 5 minutes or until you smell a sweet roasted aroma, checking often to avoid burning.
• Remove from oven and soak in enough hot water to cover for about 30 minutes or until cool.
• Put peppers and 2 1/2 cups of the soaking water into a blender (save the remaining soaking water).
• Add garlic, cumin and salt.
• Cover and blend until smooth.
• In a 2-quart sauce pan, stir flour into oil or melted shortening over med heat until browned.
• Carefully stir in blended chili mixture.
• Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. (If sauce gets too thick, stir in up to 1 cup of the remaining soaking water until you reach the desired thickness) Use this sauce for traditional tamales, recipe #15286.
• Note: When working with chilies, use rubber gloves to protect your skin, and avoid contact with your eyes. Wash hands throughly with soap and water to remove all of the chili oils.