We are scattered across the country so we will all be working in our own kitchens - but we will be able to communicate by leaving comments on Judy's blog.
To get ready for today, I thawed my pork roast and cooked it. It's a big one, nearly 8 pounds!
Most of the recipes I read said to cook the meat in water on the stove, but I elected to roast it in the oven first until it was done enough to shred. That way it was easier to pick out the fatty yucky stuff than if it had all cooked down together.
All this liquid cooked out of the meat. When the liquid cooled, I strained it and put it in the fridge to let the fat rise to the top so I could scoop it off.
I shredded the meat, added water and simmered it on the stove, with chopped onions, garlic and jalapenos, and spices...cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, and salt.
When it was really tender, I poured most of the liquid off to also let the fat rise to the top. Both jars of the reserved liquid/broth will be used in making the masa - the corn dough that wraps around the meat.
I had trouble getting the shredded pork salty enough. It seemed like I was adding a lot of salt, but it is a lot of meat. Everything went in the fridge overnight. I will have to warm the pork back up a bit before using it so it doesn't prevent the masa from getting cooked through.
I didn't have a steamer basket and I started to rig something up using disposable foil cake pans, but instead I splurged and bought this steamer basket at Wmart for $5.97 plus tax. It fits my second largest soup pot perfectly and it has legs tall enough to keep the tamales out of the boiling water (about 2" tall).
So, I am all set for making tamales today. If all goes well we will be having some for Sunday dinner. I will have photos on Monday!
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