Authentic Mexican Instant Pot Tamales From Scratch – In the Kitchen With The Real Ezekiel

Meat for filling
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Black pepper, to taste
6 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon dry oregano
3/4 cup reduced sodium broth
3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to taste
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dry adobo seasoning

COOKING THE MEAT
1. Season pork with salt and pepper
2. Heat instant pot on saute mode. Add a little oil to bottom of pot and brown pork on all sides.
3. Remove pork from pot and pour in broth scraping browned bits off bottom. Turn pot off
4. Using a sharp knife, insert blade into pork, cutting small holes and insert garlic slivers all the way in so you no longer see them.
5. Season pork generously with cumin, adobo and oregano all over
6. Return pork to instant pot. Add bay leaves and chipotle peppers
7. put pork in instant pot and cook on manual for 40 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release 8-10 minutes and then fast release the remaining pressure.
8. After pressure has released, remove bay leaves. Shred pork using two forks and combine well with the juices that accumulated at the bottom. Adjust salt and cumin as needed to taste.
*This can be frozen until you are ready to make tamales. This can also be consumed as a dish of its own.

Sauce
6 – 10 Guajillo chiles, seeded and deveined
1/2 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 white onion finely chopped
4 Cloves of garlic
3/4 teaspoon cumin
6 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 bay leaves
Sea Salt to taste

MAKING THE SAUCE
1. Soak the chiles in hot water to soften. RESERVE the water for later.
2. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the tomatillos with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Drain well. At the same time, saute the garlic and 1/2 the onion together to cook them down and sweat out the flavors. do not burn. Reserve the other 1/2 the onion.
3. In a blender or food processor, combine the chiles, the tomatillos, half of the chopped onion, the garlic, the cumin and 1/2 cup of the chile water. Blend until smooth. Add more water if important.
4. In a deep, heavy frying pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the remaining onion. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add the chile puree and bay leaves and let sizzle for a few seconds. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occassionally, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 15 minutes. Stir in the shredded meat, season with salt and cook until the sauce becomes thick and a little dry about 20 minutes. If it becomes too dry, add a little broth.

TAMALES
50 Corn Husks
2/3 cups lard or veg shortening
3 cups masa harina
2 cups chile pod water
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups of reserved chili water
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste

PREPARING THE MASA
1. Rinse the corn husks and soak in very hot water until pliable, about 15 minutes.
2. In an electric mixer, beat the lard or shortening until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the masa harina, baking powder and salt and mix well.
4. Stir the liquid (broth and reserved chili water) into the masa harina mixture, one cup at a time. Add more broth if too dry.
5. Beat for at least another 10-15 minutes. The dough should be very light. Taste and add more salt if important.
6. The masa is ready when a spoonful of it, dropped into cold water, floats to the surface

PREPPING THE TAMALES
1. Drain the husks and pat dry. Line up the husks, masa and meat on a work surface.
2. Hold a husk in the palm of your hand, with the pointed stop on your wrist. Spread 1 tablespoon of the dough in the center of the upper half, leaving a margin on all sides.
3. put one rounded teaspoon of the meat filling in the center of the dough. Fold the sides of the husk over the filling and bring up the pointed stop until even with the cut or cupped stop. If desired, tie the open stop with narrow strips of soaked husks.
4. Repeat for all tamales.
5. put one cup of water in the insert of the instant pot. put in a vegetable steamer basket.
6. put each tamale vertically in the steamer basket, folded side down.
7. Cook on manual for 35 minutes. Once finished, fast release and allow tamales to cool to touch before opening to eat.
8. Serve with sliced limes and fresh pico de gallo if desired… for added depth of flavor, serve with fried eggs!