Shredded Pork Tamales

Pork Preparation:
7 lb pork shoulder on bone
2 large onions
4 large carrots
4 stalks celery
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 large cloves garlic
15 – 20 whole black peppercorns

Filling:
2½ lbs cooked pork shoulder
2 large onions, diced
8 oz Hatch Diced Green Chiles (or more to taste)
½ - ¾ c Pendery’s Original Chili Blend (source: Pendery's )
¼ c minced garlic
2 T lard or oil
½ - 1 c pork broth
kosher salt

Masa:
1, 1 lb package corn husks
1½ c lard, divided
6 c Masa Harina de Maiz (corn masa)
1 T kosher salt
5½ - 6 c pork broth

Pork Preparation:
Cut onions into quarters and separate sections. Cut carrots and celery stalks into 3” lengths. Place all in the bottom of a very large stock pan and add smashed garlic cloves and the parsley, including stalks. Place pork shoulder on top of vegetables, fatty side up, and cover with water until submerged by 1”. Add peppercorns, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 7 – 8 hours, until pork is tender and falls apart. (Should yield about 3½ lbs of very lean meat. Use the extra meat for other purposes at a later time.)

Carefully remove pork and vegetables from pot, reserving all fluid. Discard vegetables. Allow the pork to sit until cool enough to handle and pull the meat from all fat and bones, shredding the meat as you do so. Refrigerate until needed.

Strain pot liquid through several layers of cheesecloth and colander, reserving fluid. Cool and skim excess fat from the broth. Discard fat and refrigerate pork broth until needed.

Filling:
Dice onions and sauté with minced garlic in lard or oil until soft and translucent. In large bowl, combine pulled pork, onion and garlic mixture, green chiles (with liquid), and Pendery’s Original Chili Blend. Combine all with hands until all ingredients are well distributed. Add pork broth until filling is well-moistened but not runny. Adjust seasoning to taste and set aside.

Masa:
Soak corn husks in hot water overnight to soften. Drain well, removing excess silk. Melt ½ c lard in small pan and set aside. In large bowl, beat lard until very light and fluffy. Combine masa and salt. Alternately add masa mixture and pork broth to whipped lard, mixing well after each addition until consistency is that of a very thick cake batter or very soft wet cookie dough. Slowly beat in ½ c melted lard and combine well.

Assembly:
Using a spatula, spread a generous golf-ball size portion (2 - 3 Tbs) of masa down the center of the wide end of each husk. (Use a #30 or # 24 ice cream scoop.) Place 1 – 1 ½ T pork filling down center of masa. Roll the husk over the filling, allowing plain part of husk to wrap around tamale. Fold bottom (narrow) end up to hold the tamale together and place upright in a steamer basket, folded end down. Continue until all masa and filling is used.

Cooking:
Place tamales upright in steamer rack, using extra husks to fill in spaces and keep tamales upright. Do not pack too tightly. Cover the tops of the tamales with extra husks to protect against dripping water. Place steamer rack above gently boiling water, cover and steam for 2½ - 3 hours, until tamales are firm and fall cleanly away from the husk. Watch water so pot doesn’t boil dry and maintain the water level so that it does not boil up to the bottom of the steamer rack.

Notes:
Any excess pork freezes very well for later use in Chile Rellenos, Cuban sandwiches, or any other recipe calling for pulled pork. The pork broth is excellent for cooking beans as well, and you'll have plenty extra. The amounts of seasoning in the tamale filling are not cast in stone. The amount of chili blend called for allows the flavor of the pork to still shine through, but if you want a spicier tamale or have a favorite chili blend, go wild!