Pork Tamales

Tamale Sauce

Deglazing the Seared Pork

I am a day away from stuffing my first tamales. One of the things that I have learned in this very short span of a few days is not that tamales are labor intensive-but that it's important to create the individual components in good order!

Far from being an expert, I received advice years ago from a Mexican friend who made the most delicious tamales. Her voice is inside my head and I am hopeful that I will create a great first batch!

My friend regularly made two types of tamales; a delicious pork tamale with a fiery sauce and a second type that was sweet and stuffed with bits of corn. I intend to tackle both.

I started my sauce with the final green tomatoes from the garden, added a bunch of garlic, cilantro, my own dried poblanos and dried fingerhot peppers. The tender pork butt chunks were simmered for two hours in the flavorful sauce and added another great dimension to the sauce.


Cooled Pork Ready to be Shredded

I have already shredded the pork, added fresh cilantro, garlic and 2 tbsp of the sauce to add to the tamales. Today, I bought frozen corn on the cob and will shuck it for the sweet tamales. I opted for that method to add the cob liquor and the sweet bits to the tamale dough.

In the morning I will soak the husks for two hours and finally stuff and steam the tamales. It's been a fun adventure! More photos to follow!
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