Tamalada Time

Tamalada - Tamale making party. 

Hosting one is probably the best (&most fun) way to make a bunch of tamales.

To make tamales you'll need masa, filling, corn husks to hold/form, and various toppings to add when serving them. (3.5-4cups of filling and 4c. masa. will make 40 tamales)

You can use squares of parchment paper if you don't have corn husks.

Masa - can be savory or sweet (for dessert tamales). It can also be colored with some of the ingredients that go into the filling so you can differentiate between filling flavors.

Filling - Beef, pork, chicken, beans, cheese, peppers....do yourself a favor and make these ahead of time.

In class - we will make Red Chili Pork tamales, and bean and cheese
(15oz. refried beans w/1.5c. shredded mozzarella) tamales.

I made the chocolate tamales ahead of time.

I found https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/ very helpful. She also has a Salsa Verde Chicken tamale recipe you might try.

Steps to make tamales-
(break it down into parts, trying to do it in one day is too much)

Cook meat ahead of time. Crock Pot or Instant Pot. Let sit in fridge overnight so the fat can easily be skimmed off. It's also easier to shred and defat the meat when it's cold. The Birria Roast from Aldi is a super quick way to  do meat as it's already nicely seasoned.
Save the liquid to flavor your masa.

PORK - for 20 (Idid x4) - 60HI NPR in IP
or crock pot 8 hours on low (or overnight)
1 1/2lbs. pork loin shoulder or butt
1 large onion chopped
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic
1/2tsp. oregano
1tsp. cumin
1tsp. chili powder
1tsp. salt
1/2tsp. black pepper
Shred the cooled meat (remove fat-most of it will have cooked away).
Save the liquid to flavor your masa mix.

Red Chili Sauce
4 dried california chile pods-anaheim chilies
2 c. reserved pork broth (fat removed)
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. oil
1Tbsp. flour

Remove seeds from the chiles, cook in two cups reserved broth for 20 minutes. Blend til smooth, use immersion blender (or regular blender). Cook 1 Tbsp. oil and flour, add blended chilies, spices, cook for 10 minutes. Add to shredded meat. Don't make it too wet.

Make Masa-
    mix 1 1/3c. shortening (traditionally lard is used) w/2Tbsp. broth for 3-5min til light & fluffy.
    1cup of shortening weighs 6.7oz. - using a scale is easier than using a measuring cup

 if you use a Kitchen Aid, you may not have enough to mix, so you may need to start with a hand mixer
 Separately, mix 4c. masa harina, 2tsp. baking powder, 1tsp. salt, 1tsp. cumin
 add gradually to shortening, alternating with broth
 Start w/3c. broth - mix til light and fluffy
 To see if it is ready, drop a small ball into a glass of water - if it sinks, you need more liquid.

Regular masa can be made 24 hours in advance. Chocolate masa can be made up to 3 days ahead.
Both can be frozen if necessary.

Soak husks in very hot water for 30-60 minutes. Any longer may lead to bacterial growth.

Assemble tamales.
Keep masa covered so it doesn't dry out.
Remove corn husk from water and dry off.
Spread masa (1/4c) on the smooth side, from the middle up to the wide end. Leave edges clean.
Place 1-2 Tbsp. filling down the center. Don't overfill.
After class, I tried a variation of the 'tortilla press' method. I smushed the dough with my hand using the plastic bag and to my surprise, it worked great. Then I tried my little fondant rolling pin, and that worked even better!

Fold in sides like a brochure, then fold up bottom. Can tie a string around to differentiate flavors.
  Could also tie a strip of corn husk, but it's not necessary. It only took 3 minutes to fold up the 11 tamales shown above. (I spread all the masa first)
(Refrigerate overnite if no time to steam-standing up and well covered)
Steam tamales standing upright (pack tightly enough to keep them standing), open end up -
 stove-top - don't let the water touch the bottom of the tamales - lay a few husks over the top, or a towel
 once boiling, reduce to a simmer and steam for 90 minutes, til tamale separates from husk
  DON"T LET THE WATER DRY UP 
Apparently if you put a penny in the bottom of your pan, it will make noise when the water runs out.
 
To use an Instant Pot - 1c. water on bottom - Manual/High Pressure 25 minutes. NPR10, QPR
In class, I got the 'burn notice' - to avoid this, raise your rack a bit with a couple balls of aluminum foil so you can put more water in the bottom. (you don't want the bottoms of your tamales 'in' the water. I noticed a couple of mine slumped down because they weren't packed tightly. A couple others weren't wrapped tightly and leaked a bit of masa, which soaks up the water and could lead to a burn notice.

If you need to fill up some space, empty tuna cans come in handy. You could even use a regular can and fill it with water, which may help to avoid a possible burn notice.

Once cooked, tamales should not be left out too long.

Leftover tamales can be kept in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.

To freeze - allow cooked tamales to cool. Place in bag, freeze up to 3 months.
  Tamales can also be frozen prior to steaming. Don't keep them too long before cooking.
  Use same Instant Pot cooking times to cook them from frozen.

To rewarm - wrap tamale in dampened paper towels (to steam them) and microwave until warmed through. Letting them defrost first will allow them to reheat evenly.

Lots of options here:
https://deliastamales.com/order-online/best-ways-to-reheat-tamales/

Other ideas - mini tamale cupcakes - see Pinterest

Tamale Pie - press just over half of masa into bottom and up sides of a pan. Fill with meat, beans, corn, cheese, onion, salsa...press rest of masa onto waxed paper in the shape of the container you're using.
Use waxed paper or saran wrap to spread out the masa, and then place it over the filling. 

A tamale pie cooks for the same amount of time as the tamales.
I made two of these 6" square pans (cover with foil) stacked up in the Instant Pot (on the rack)
for 25HI, 10NPR, QPR

In the oven - Place pan into a larger pan, pour water onto the larger pan. Cover the two pans together with foil to make a 'steamer.' Bake at 375 for at least 1 hour.

http://www.austinfoodlovers.com/2007/12/31/chocolate-yep-thats-right-chocolate-tamales/
you'll find great instruction here on how to mix masa
1-mix masa and liquid in a separate large bowl and let sit to hydrate for 30 minutes.
2-in stand mixer, beat shortening (or butter) til light and fluffy
    add in baking powder
3-gradually add in masa mix - will be dry and crumbly
4-add in rest of water - mix on med high for 8 minutes (I alternated masa/liquid)
5-add in sugar and cocoa (if using) - mix for 2 minutes
6-keep mixing and adding small amounts of liquid til it passes the 'float' test

10Tbsp. butter - mix til light and fluffy
1 3/4c. masa (can mix in a separate bowl w/1c. of the water to start to rehydrate, let sit 30 min)
1 3/4c. water 
1tsp. baking powder
1/4c. cocoa powder
1/4c. sugar
This makes approx. 16 tamales (or 12-20 depending on size)

Fill with 1Tbsp. chips, caramel, nuts....I did add some marshmallows to the above chocolate tamale pie - they disappeared ;)