This is an authentic 'Mexican' recipe, taken from immigrants of that distant land. But like most 'traditional' <add your nationality here> recipe, it is not the only way to fix this dish. I.e.- How many 'real/authentic' Italian spagetti recipes are there? Roughly one per Italian. So, having said that, let's eat!

Meat Filling: Simmer roast in water, with 1 crushed clove of garlic, until it shreds easily with a fork. Crock pots are great for this. Remove the meat and chill the remaining stock in order for the fat to congeal. Skim the fat when it is hard enough to lift out with a serrated spoon. Shred meat. Set aside.

Remove seeds, stem and veins from the chilies and soak in hot water until soft. Put chilies, remaining garlic, cumin and 1 cup stock in blender/food processor and puree. Pour puree over meat and heat until well mixed. If result is too dry add very small amount of stock. If too watery, simmer until thicker.

Masa Wrapping: Place corn husks in sink and fill with hottest water available from tap. Soak until soft. Hand mix masa, baking powder and shortening in large bowl until well mixed. Add stock until mixture is a smooth Thick paste.

Making of the Tamale: Spread soft corn husk out on flat surface. Using back of a large spoon, spread a thin layer of masa on inside of corn husk. Add ~1 tsp. Meat and wrap. Layer of masa must be wide enough so that when you wrap the corn husk around the meat, that it completely covers the meat.

Cooking of the Tamale: Place an aluminum pie plate in the bottom of a 2 qt pot. Add about a 1/2" of water to pan and place tamales in a circular pattern on top of the pie plate, oriented like spokes of a bicycle wheel. Place a damp towel over tamales and cover. Cook/steam on med. High until masa is flaky. Extra tamales freeze very well.

Chile-Heads Digest V2 #281

From the Chile-Heads recipe list. Downloaded from Glen's Mm Recipe Archive, http://www. Erols. Com/hosey.