Welcome Macie:
Here are 2 previous threads,
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23922 (this one has a great recipe)
http://www.masbakersfield.com/home/ViewPost/40775 Linda’s Pork with Chile Colorado Sauce Tamales
Ingredients:
6 pounds prepared tamale masa
16-ounce bag of corn husks
5-6 pound pork butt or shoulder
10 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons cumin seed, crushed
3 tablespoons peppercorns, crushed
3 tablespoons coriander seed, crushed
3 teaspoons dry oregano
Kosher salt
3 yellow onions, chopped
1, 12-ounce bag of California chiles, rinsed
1, 12-ounce bag of Pasilla chiles, rinsed
1, 6-ounce bag of Guajillo chiles (hot), rinsed
3 tablespoons oil (vegetable, olive or canola)
Makes three dozen tamales
Preparation:
Day before
Prepare meat. Cut pork roast in half and then in half again. Put into a large stock pot, fill half full. Add 4 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon cumin seed, 1 tablespoon ground peppercorns, 1 tablespoon Kosher salt. Cook covered on medium high heat for about 30 minutes. Toss meat around and continue cooking for another hour. Meat should be very tender and easy to shred. Remove meat, placing into a bowl to let cool. Once cooled, wrap in foil and place into zip lock bags and refrigerate.
Day of
Purchase fresh masa. Prep onions, garlic, chiles, grind seasonings, peppercorns, cumin seed, and coriander, can be easily done in a coffee grinder. Shred pork meat. Soak corn husks in a hot bath. Let sit and walk away. Can sit for hours or as little as 30 minutes. Remove from water and wrap around towels. Some husks still have silks, can easily be removed with a paper napkin.
Making Chile Colorado Sauce
Put rinsed chiles into a large stockpot. Cover with water and boil 15 - 20 minutes, occasionally stirring and pushing down the chiles on top of pot. Chiles will become soft. Remove from pot and put in a glass or plastic bowl, not steel, as you want them to cool down quickly.
While chiles are cooling, in a large pot, add 3 tablespoons oil. Heat on medium to high heat, add chopped onions and cook, stirring for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add 6 cloves chopped garlic and cook for another minute. Add 2 tablespoons ground cumin seed, 2 tablespoons coriander, 2 tablespoons pepper and oregano. Cook for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Meanwhile, assign someone to shred pork. Instruct them to remove all the fat.
Add the shredded meat to the sauce and let simmer for 30 minutes.
Spreading masa on corn husks
Assign a team to get started with this. Husks are removed from water and patted dry. Lay on towel to absorb the remaining water. The husks have a smooth side and a textured side. Place the husk with the textured side on the palm of your hand, slightly cupping the husk. With a rubber spatula, drop about 2-3 ounces of masa on the middle of the husk. Spread downward from the middle, and to the side on the bottom wide edge. The top 1/3 narrow end of the husk does not get spread with masa. Stack husks on top of each other until ready to be filled.
Filling the tamale husk
Add 1 or 2 spoonfuls of meat filling in center of tamale. Wrap one side toward the middle and the other side to overlap the middle. The masa acts like glue. Then fold the top 1/3 of husk down toward the middle seam. Place tamales in tamale can.
Steaming tamales
Fill can up to water line and place rack in pan. Put tamales standing up with folded end down and exposed end upward. Work your way around the inside of can, circular and moving inward as the can is filling up with tamales. When bottom layer is full, stack on top in the same manner. Layer top of tamales with some of the wet corn husks to maintain moisture in can. Cover and cook. No tamale can? Use a steamer basket and line bottom of large pot with corn husks. Add a few inches of water and layer tamales same way. Heat should be low to medium and water needs to be added frequently.
Cook on medium high heat for 20 minutes, reduce heat to medium low. Cooks in 1 to 1 and a 1/2 hours. Add a little water midway to ensure the can does not dry out.
I have been told to place a copper penny in the bottom of the can — when you don’t hear the penny rattling this is a good indicator you need to add water.
Remove from the pan and place on a platter. Serve with rice and beans and a green salad. Enjoy
