Roasted Pork Tamales With Salsa Verde Filling

Submitted by Witch Doctor

"This tamale preparation will work with any type of filling, i.e., chicken, beef. The filling also works well in empanadas, tacos, sopes and quesadillas."

 

• Ready In: 5hrs 20mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Yields: 24-36 Tamales

ingredients

• For the Tamale Dough

• 2 cups maseca cornflour, for tamales (Maseca is the brand name, it is Mexican corn flour)
• 2 cups warm water or 2 cups stock
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 1⁄3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 5 1⁄3 tablespoons butter
• 12 dry corn husks

• For the Roast Pork with Salsa Verde Filling

• 2 lbs pork (boneless shoulder works best)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chicken broth

• For the Salsa Verde (use 1 quart)

• 10 tomatillos
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 6 garlic cloves, stem removed
• 2 jalapenos or 2 serrano peppers
• 1⁄2 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• salt, to taste

directions

1. For the Tamale Dough:

2. In a mixer add corn flour, water, baking powder, salt, butter and shortening. Mix at medium speed for about 3 minutes until mixture becomes light and fluffy.
3. Spread 2 ounces of tamale dough on each corn husk and place 1 1/2 ounces of pork filling in the center of each. Fold corn husk and place into a steamer for 1 hour. Allow time to rest and serve warm.

4. For the Roast Pork with Salsa Verde Filling:

5. Heat medium-sized roasting pan, add vegetable oil, and add pork which has been cut into cubes about 2 inches by 2 inches and seasoned on all sides with salt and pepper.
6. Sear pork to a golden brown on all sides.
7. Add salsa Verde and chicken broth. Cover and place in a 300-degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is very tender.
8. Remove pork from liquid and cool.
9. Pull meat, shredding it into small pieces, then brown lightly in a sauté pan and add cooking liquid. Season to taste.

10. For the Salsa Verde:

11. In a medium pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil, then add tomatillos, onions, jalapenos and garlic. Simmer for 5 minutes and drain.
12. Place ingredients in a blender with cilantro, lime juice and salt; puree.
13. Return pureed mixture to sauce pot and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning as needed.

Reviews

[adopt a greyhound]

Definitely five star. I didn't make tamales but made them into enchiladas. Will make tamales one day but will use this one forever.

 

[TexasKelly]

This was my family's Christmas Eve dinner. I followed the directions exactly, and was pleased with the finished tamales. I got exactly 14 tamales, but had about 3 or 4 cups of leftover filling. That is fine b/c we will use the rest to make enchiladas. I did have a problem with steaming, and it's the same problem I had the one other time I made tamales. After 2 hours, they were still mush and not set at all. I had to resort to setting them on a tray and putting them in the oven on low heat for about 30 minutes. I use a plain old steamer basket, so perhaps I need to invest in an actual tamale steamer to fix that problem. All in all, everyone loved the tamales, I know I will use the recipe again. Thanks for posting it.