Texas Tamales
Filling:
2 pounds lean, boneless beef, pork, chicken or venison
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 cup canned green chilies, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2-3 tablespoons ground chili pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a saucepan, cook meat in water until tender. Grind meat; brown in hot oil. Sprinkle flour over beef while stirring. Dissolve bouillon cubes in water and add to beef. Add remaining ingredients in order listed. Cover and simmer 45 minutes.
Masa dough:
1 1/2 cups lard
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups masa harina
2 2/3 cups warm water
In a large mixer bowl, beat the lard and salt until fluffy. Mix together masa harina and water and add to lard mixture, beating well until the ingredients are combined.
To assemble tamales:
To soften corn husks, soak them in warm water for several hours. Place 1/4 cup tamale dough in center of each husk and spread it into a rectangle. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the meat filling down the center of the dough. Lift the sides of the dough to the center and press dough edges with fingers to seal, then finish by putting the edges of the husk together and folding around the masa, folding up the “tail” at the end. Cover and steam tamales over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours.
Yield: 6 dozen.