Tamales de Picadillo* Oaxqueno or Smoky Pork Tamales

I've had a bag of masa harina sitting in my pantry for over a year now. Originally purchased to satisfy an itch for sopes, it has since sat in the dark corners of my pantry waiting patiently for an, Oh yeah masa? moment. That moment came recently in the form of tamales. Ah tamales, tamales. A deceptively simple outfit; a wrap of corn husk, an insulating layer of rich masa and a warm porky core — an elegant ensemble easily screwed by dry meal and bland innards. To get it right, I went to the authority on Mexican eats, Rick Bayless and his cookbook Mexican Kitchen, where I conflated a couple of recipes to come up with the following. This recipe is sooo worth the effort. It reads tediously and is exhaustive — but make it, just once. You won't be sorry. Do it, I dare you.

One of my key criteria for great tamales is the masa surrounding the filling. The amount must be in correct proportion to the filling. Texturally it must be moist and MUST be tasty. This recipe does it — and I think the secret's in the lard. Yes lard, L-A-R-D. Beautiful stuff. Let us fellow food lovers do our part for lard's sake and help it shake its bad rap. If we compare its stats to our benign and ubiquitous dairy-friend, butter, we find that lard is lower in saturated fat, higher in unsaturated fat and has lower cholesterol by weight than butta. Not convinced? How about the frugal argument that pork fat is cheap? It is. Ask your local butcher to set some aside and s/he will be more than happy to sell you their trash for pennies a pound. Here's how I rendered my own lard. The store-bought brick lard is partially hydrogenated and has a flavor akin to motor oil and is to be avoided. Clarifying you own fat is simple; take pork fat and cut it into 1-2 inch chunks. Place the fat bits in an oven-proof container with a lid in a 300-degree-oven for about an hour. The time to render will vary. I made an amount enough for one recipe and it took about an hour — a larger amount will take a couple of hours. Check the fat occasionally and give the entire lot a stir and make sure the cracklings don't burn. When the pieces of fat have transformed into the homemade cousins of bacon bits, a.k.a cracklings, strain them onto a dish lined with paper towels and liberally salt and pepper. The remaining liquid lard can be transferred into a clean and dry glass container and stored in the refrigerator for a couple of months. Delicious.

Tamales de Picadillo* Oaxqueno

adapted from Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen Makes 18 tamales

THE FILLING

1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, trimmed cut into 2" cubes

2 cloves garlic peeled

1/2 large onion, diced

In a 3 qt. saucepan add pork, garlic, and onion and cover with an inch of water and a heavy pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer and cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat easily shreds. This may be cooked in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use reserving the broth for making the masa.

3 chipotle peppers,canned in adobo sauce

7-8 plum tomates, halved

3 cloves of garlic unpeeled

1 T. lard or canola oil

1/2 t. salt

Roast garlic cloves and tomatoes under the broiler (I use my toaster oven) until the skins of the tomatoes start to blacken and the garlic begins to soften. Cool tomatoes and puree with garlic, salt and chipotles in a blender or food processor. Heat lard in a dutch oven and add sauce cooking on medium heat until sauce thickens, set aside.

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 T. lard or canola oil

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. black pepper, freshly ground

1/8 t. cloves, ground

1/2 C. raisins

1/2 C. walnuts, chopped and toasted

In the same dutch oven, heat 2 T. of lard or oil on med-high heat and add onions and saute until soft and add shredded pork. Continue frying until the pork begins to crisp and brown approximately 12- 18 minutes. Sprinkle in the cinnamon, pepper, cloves, raisins and the reserved chipotle sauce. Reduce the mixture until nearly all of the moisture is absorbed and add the toasted walnuts. Allow the filling to cool before assembling tamales. This step may be done in advance and stored until ready to assemble.

THE MASA

4 oz. package of corn husks

2/3 C. lard*, chilled or shortening

1 t. baking powder

1 3/4 C. masa harina, prepared with 1 C. + 2 T. hot water, allowed to cool

2/3 C. broth, reserved from cooking pork

1 t. salt

Place corn husk in a large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil, turn off heat and allow to sit about an hour until husks soften and separate. While the husks soak prepare the masa. In a stand mixer, whip the cool lard with baking powder and salt until light about 1 min. Add prepared masa in three additions, scraping the sides of the bowl between additions. Slowly add broth until the batter is light, and has a cake batter consistency. To test the batter, place a a scant teaspoon of batter in a glass of cool water — if the batter floats it's ready.

Set aside about 18 good corn husks. Shred a few of the extra husks into strips to be used to tie the tamales. Dry the interior with a paper towel and place the husk with the tapered end towards you. Spread a scant 1/4 C. of masa in a 4 x 4 inch square near the top edge of the husk. Add 2 T. of filling to the middle of the masa. Take the sides of the husk together and overlap them over the filling forming a cylinder. Fold the bottom portion of the cylinder up over the filling and secure with a strip of husk leaving the top of the tamale open. Place assembled tamales upright in a colander lined with extra husks. Place the colander in 1-2 inches of boing water in a large stock pot and steam of 1 1/4 hours. When reading the masa will separate easily from the husks. While steaming periodically check the water level and replenish as needed.

*picadillo is a filling of shredded or minced meat