Easy and Delicious Tamales

You’ll find tamales, a delicious traditional taste of
Mexico, all over Puerto Vallarta, sold in restaurants, by street vendors and at
Farmer’s Markets.  But if you would like
to give these masa stuffed bundles a try at home, we’ve found a “can’t miss”
recipe.

Tamale Filling:

 1 1/4 pounds pork
loin

 1 large onion, halved

 1 clove garlic

 4 dried California
chile pods

 2 cups water

 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Tamale Dough:

 2 cups masa harina

 1 (10.5 ounce) can
beef broth

 1 teaspoon baking
powder

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 2/3 cup lard

 1 (8 ounce) package
dried corn husks

 1 cup sour cream

Directions

Place pork into a Dutch oven with onion and garlic, and add
water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the
meat is cooked through, about 2 hours.

Use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from the chile
pods. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered, for
20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Transfer the chiles and water to a
blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture, stir in salt, and set
aside. Shred the cooked meat and mix in one cup of the chile sauce.

Soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water. In a large
bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. Combine the
masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more
broth as necessary to form a spongy dough.

Spread the dough out over the corn husks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch
thickness. Place one tablespoon of the meat filling into the center. Fold the
sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer. Steam for 1
hour.

Remove tamales from husks and drizzle remaining chile sauce
over. Top with sour cream. For a creamy sauce, mix sour cream into the chile
sauce.

 Click here for more Vallarta Lifestyle from Sarah Elengorn.