Bringing up the Rear...

And now, for the third and final round of "what to do with 7 lbs of crock pot pork", I bring you tamales. 

I was once afraid of tamales. This may have been the result of watching some of my friends prepare tamales dulces.  The process was so intimidating to me at the time that I was resigned to always buy my tamales rather than sacrifice hours and hours of my time to prepare them myself.   (an unfair time estimate on my part)
I don't remember what happened, exactly, but I decided to try my hand in this tamale making business. It wasn't nearly as awful as I had psyched myself up to believing it would be.  In fact, it was fairly simple and the most time consuming part is the steaming part, which I didn't have to be all that involved in. 
This doesn't take a huge amount of pork, so that's good, since this is the end of the prepared portion in this little series.  You might, possibly, want to hire an assistant as this is much quicker with two people.  I have done it alone and its totally do-able, but more fun with two people.

Pork Tamales
what you need: stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or hand mixer), medium sized sauce pan, large stock pot fitted with a steaming basket and lid, two spoons per person, large mixing bowl

Corn Husks-- to prepare your corn husks (which you can get a pretty much any grocery store in the fresh produce section), place about 30 corn husks in a large mixing bowl with very hot water and allow to soak to soften. (you will want a few extra because some of them will be wonky in size or shape and those just will not do).

Pork Filling-- Lucky for you, this is mostly already prepared. Warm the pork up in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat (or even in the microwave if you must)  Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground red pepper, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes on the stove top or 2 minutes in the microwave, just until warmed through and easy to deal with.

Masa-- This is where you will want a mixer. In a large bowl, place 4 Cups of Masa Harina(available at your grocery store near the flour), 1 1/3 Cup lard, 1 teaspoon salt, splash of beef broth and mix 2 minutes until the mixture is well incorporated and a little fluffy

 

You are now ready to prepare the tamales!  Pour enough water to make about 2 inches of water in the bottom of your stock pot that is fitted with a steamer basket.  Start heating the water over medium high heat. Drain the corn husks and pat dry.  Use spoons to transfer about two tablespoons of masa to the corn husk smoothing over the entire corn husk.  Add a bit of the pork to the bed of masa (totally up to you how much meat you like in your tamales, just make sure you have enough to make as many tamales as you want!) Now fold one side of the corn husk over and press down to make the masa stick to only one side - you won't be able to see the pork anymore at this point. It should be tucked away inside.  Wrap the side of the corn husk around the masa -like a blanket - and tuck the ends under.  Lay the husk-encompassed tamale in the steamer basket with the folded ends on the bottom so it doesn't come loose.  Repeat this with all of the mixture and husks at your fingertips.  Cover the pot once the tamales are all in and let them steam for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. 

Removing these tamales should be done with care as they will be piping hot.  Let them cool a few minutes outside of the steamer and unwrap to enjoy.