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Barbacoa Tamales

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker Optional, but preferred

Ingredients

  • Masa harina corn flour
  • Bouillon glaze (Better Than Bouillon Brand vegetable flavor)
  • Butter
  • Water
  • Filling (barbacoa beef)

Instructions 

  • Making The Masa Dough:
    1.Place 4 cups of masa harina corn flour in a large mixing bowl 
    2. Melt 3/4 cup butter (or another fat such as lard or shortening) and 3 cups of broth. To make the broth c,ombine 3 cups of water and 1.5 tablespoons of bouillon to a pot on medium heat.  Melt butter and mix broth until everything is mixed and melted together. 
    4.Add the liquid to the masa and mix until fully incorporated. 
    *Barbacoa Fillings Instructions listed above in text
    How to make tamales:
    These are the assembly instruction of making beef tamales:
    Preparation: Take 1 or 2 of the soaked corn husks and tear or cut them apart so that you have long strips that can be used to tie around the tamales so they do not open are fall apart during the steaming cooking process.
    Making The Tamales: (Putting the filling and dough together)
    1.Take a soaked corn husk and place 1.5 tablespoons of the masa dough near the wider end. (There is a wide end and narrow end of the husk, place the wider side on the bottom so the narrow side is above it). Use a small piece of plastic wrap and place it over the dough, spread the dough.  Don’t spread the dough all the way over the husk, leave some space on the edges on top.  Leave approximately 1 inch bare on the sides and 2-3 inches or more on the top, this depends on the size of the husk also - they vary in sizes and some are too small for this rule. It doesn’t need to be perfect its an art not a science. 
    2.Remove the plastic wrap (used to help spread the dough out more easily because masa dough tends to stick to spoons and can be difficult). 
    3.Place the shredded beef barbacoa filling in the center of the masa dough, in a skinny vertical line.
    4.Take the sides of the husks and fold one side over and then the other to make the rectangular tamale shape.
    5.Fold the narrow top down on top of the tamale and carefully pick it up to place the husk string around it and tie it off.  The open side is the top, as these will be placed standing up vertically for steaming, nothing will come out. 
    6.Prepare the large pot for steaming by adding 1.5 cups water to the bottom of the pot then placing your steamer in the pot.  
    7.Place the tamales on the steamer in a large pot standing up vertically, circling around the edge and then tracing in to the center from there. 
    8.This is done best in a pressure cooker or instant pot as it only takes 25 minutes.   Set the instant pot to high pressure and set the time for 25 minutes, secure the lid.  After the timer has gone off allow it depressurize on its own or use the release valve.  
    9.Remove a tamale, check for doneness by removing part of the corn husk and looking for it to come away from dough easily with no stick or dough residue. 
    10.Unwrap and join them with your favorite hot sauce such as Cholula, Franks red hot or Valentino!