Pork, Beans and Cheese Tamales

Ingredients:

• Slow cooker beans

• 2 cups pinto beans

• 1/4 onion

• 2 garlic cloves

• 8 cups water

• 1/2 Tbsp salt

• Optional- small bunch of epazote 

• Slow cook for 8 hours

Frijoles puercos / Mexican Pork beans:

• 4 cups of cooked and blended pinto beans

• 6 pieces of thick-cut bacon (more if you love bacon: )

• 1 cup of chopped deli ham

• 4 oz of pork chorizo (use 8oz if you love it: )3 pickled jalapeños 

• 1/4 cup of pickled jalapeño juice

• 1 to 2 chipotles in adobo, finely chopped 

• 1 cup of Mexican cheese blend 

Red masa for tamales:

• 4 cups of maseca 

• 4 cups of chicken broth 

• 8 Guajillo chiles 

• 1 cup of lard 

• For spice add 3 chiles de àrbol

Instructions:

For the filling:

1. Prepare the bean mixture: Slow cook two cups of pinto beans, onion, garlic, salt, and water for 8 hours.

2. Blend the cooked beans with onions, garlic, bean broth, and water until smooth.

3. Cook bacon, ham, chorizo, and add the blended beans, pickled jalapenos, jalapeno juice, chipotle, and Mexican cheese blend. Cook until desired thickness is achieved.

Masa and Lard Preparation:

1. Blend the pre-soaked Guajillo chilies with the chicken broth until smooth. 

2. In a bowl, add the lard and start whipping it up using a mixer, starting at a low speed and gradually increasing the speed as the lard warms up. Scrape the bowl and continue mixing until the lard is soft and shiny, similar to the consistency of whipped marshmallow. This should take about 4 minutes. 

3. Transfer the whipped lard into a bowl and start combining it with the instant corn masa. Some recipes include baking powder, but for this recipe, the focus is on whipping the lard to make the tamales deliciously fluffy. 

4. Once you have a fluffy crumble, add the blended chili mixture and continue combining all the ingredients until the masa is fully mixed and fluffy. This should take about 4 minutes. 

5. Your masa is now ready to be used for assembling the tamales.

To spread the masa on the corn husk for making tamales, you can follow these steps:

1. Soak the corn husks in warm water for over 45 minutes and then dry them up a little bit to make them more pliable.

2. Take a big spoonful of the prepared masa and start spreading it onto the corn husk.

3. Spread the masa as evenly as you can across the corn husk. The amount of masa you use will depend on the size of the corn husk.

4. Once you have spread the masa, smooth it out with the back of the spoon to create an even layer of masa.

5. Add filling before 

6. fold the tamal.

To steam tamales, follow these steps:

1. After your tamales have been folded, place them in a pot with a steamer basket or a makeshift steamer using a foil ball at the bottom.

2. Add enough water to the pot to create steam, but not so much that it touches the tamales.

3. Cover the tamales with a cloth to prevent condensation from dripping onto them.

4. Bring the water to a vigorous boil and steam the tamales for 5 minutes.

5. After the initial 5 minutes, reduce the heat to medium and continue to steam the tamales for 35 to 40 minutes.

6. Once the tamales are fully cooked, turn off the heat

Tip:

-Allow the tamales to rest for 10 to 15 minutes after steaming before serving to let them set and enhance their flavors.

-Premium Corn Husks work best

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