Timber 2 Table - Pork and Venison Tamale Recipe

They may take a while to make, but the end result is worth it

Pork and Venison Tamale Recipe


120 Min

Prep Time


840 Min

Cook Time


10+

Servings


Medium

Difficulty

My wife loves tamales. They might be her favorite food, or at least in her top five. I'll have to agree with her, good tamales are hard to beat. But making a really good tamale takes time and some work. For that reason, when we make them, we do a huge batch at a time then vacuum seal and freeze the extras. They make a great snack or quick meal. Simply microwave or heat the sealed package in a pan of warm water.

To serve, remove the corn husk and eat either plain or with a spoonful of enchilada sauce.

We start the filling the day before we assemble the tamales and let it slow cook over 12 hours for extra-tender goodness. Use two forks or a set of tongs to shred the meat and blend the filling ingredients well before making the tamales.

Cook the meat along with the onions, garlic and green chile peppers until the roasts break down and shred.

Ingredients

Meat filling:

2- to 3-pound venison roast

2- to 3-pound pork shoulder roast

1 cup Hatch green chile peppers

1 large onion, diced

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

2 cups venison or beef broth

4 dried ancho chile peppers

Dough:

7 cups masa harina flour for tamales

4 cups very hot water

1 pound lard, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

4 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

4 cups chicken stock

16 ounces dried corn husks

Cooking Instructions

Step 1: The day before you are ready to assemble the tamales, start your meat filling by seasoning each roast well with salt and pepper. In a hot Lodge cast-iron skillet, sear each roast for 2 to 3 minutes per side to brown the surface of the meat.

Step 2: Move both roasts to the slow cooker. Add green chile peppers, onion, garlic, chipotle peppers, broth and a tablespoon each of salt and pepper. Cook on low for at least 12 hours.

Step 3: An hour before assembling the tamales, place the dried corn husks in a pan and cover with hot water. Cover the pan and allow the husks to soak and soften.

Step 4: Heat 3 inches of water in a medium sauce pan to boiling. Remove from heat and add the dried ancho peppers. Cover the pan and allow the peppers to soak for 30 minutes.

Soak the dried ancho chili peppers in hot water until soft.

Pour the pepper paste into a wire strainer and push the paste through with a spatula into the cooked meat filling. Use forks or tongs to thoroughly mix the ancho sauce into the filling.

Push the ancho pepper pulp through a wire strainer into the cooked venison and pork.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the meat filling onto the dough, spreading it in a line from top to bottom of the dough-covered area. Start rolling the tamale from the dough-covered side toward the empty side of the husk. Once the tamale has been rolled, fold the tail end of the husk up onto the filled portion. Move the rolled tamale to a pan while you continue rolling the remainder of the tamales.

Continue rolling the tamales until all the meat has been used.

Step 8: To serve, unwrap the corn husk from the warm tamale. I like to top the tamales with red enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Step 9: Pack any leftover tamales into single or family sized servings inside a vacuum sealed bag and freeze.