I don't exactly know what is causing the sudden interest in Mexican foods... maybe it is because Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner. All last week I tinkered with Mexican dishes and Mike and I even ate at a Mexican place for our date night over the weekend. Huh.
This was my very first time making Tamales and I thought they turned out pretty well. So did The Hubster. The boys loved them, the girls made their usual faces at dinner. I will continue to experiment with this recipe, but it is a great one to start with!

Start with corn husks. Yep- corn husks.I found these in the spice isle of the grocery store. Some places keep them in the international or ethnic isle. Soak these in hot water for 2+ hours. (follow the directions on the package for best results)

(I brought the water to a boil, turned off the heat and left it. Notice the pot is on my counter... you just want to soften the husks, not cook them)
Now it's masa time! You will need 2 pounds

I didn't realize there is actualMasa flour, I used stone ground cornmeal! I think next time I will seek out the Masa flour and see how I like it.

add in your spices:
3 Tablespoons each; paprika, salt, chili powder, garlic powder
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds

Whisk

2 cups of oil. I was supposed to use corn... but I only had olive or canola, so I opted for canola. It worked just fine.

Mix until it all comes together

Slowly add in 2 quarts (4 cups) of warm chicken broth, about 1 cup at a time. If it is too dry, add more broth (if you run out of broth you can use water) you want your masa dough to be the consistency of peanut butter.

Ta-Da! Now you want to build your tamales. This was pretty daunting... but let me tell you, it is way easier than you think it is!

Spread your dough from one end to the other. I tried both ways and it seemed like going from the narrow end to the wide end worked best for me. you want the dough to cover the husk with out being too thick (the dough is too thick in this picture)

Put a spoonful of filling in your tamale. You could use veggies, beef, pork or salsa chicken

Fold the narrow end up to the edge of the wide end

Fold one side over....

Then the other. As you finish folding your tamales, you want to put them in your steaming basket. I put my steaming insert on its side and stacked them as I made them... when I set the steaming insert up in it's correct position, the tamales were standing with the folded end down, exposed end towards the top.
Time to steam!

Okay... so everything is a learning opportunity, right?! My steaming insert is too short for my tamales! I will not be held back by little obstacles!! I came up with a genius solution!!

Is that clever or what?! It worked perfectly!
Bring 3qt of water to a boil and reduce to medium heat. cook for at least two hours, ours went for longer because that's how long it took me to get to them.
Add more water as needed- don't let your pan boil dry!
Your masa will be firm. Remove tamales and let cool for a few minutes (5...3... however long your kids can wait) We melted white Queso cheese on these beauties but you could also do a traditional red sauce.
If you happen to have any left over- store in the fridge or freezer (I keep the husks on while being stored) reheat in the microwave.