Tamale Girl

E had her first cooking lesson with her Nina last weekend and she learned the tradition of making Tamales. This is one food I don't see myself making in the future. This has got to be the most labor intensive food item I've ever seen. The meat is simmered for hours the previous day until it falls apart. The chile sauce is made from dried roasted chiles that have to be reconstituted, cooked, pureed and then strained thru a mill. When those two things are done, then you buy the masa from a local mexican grocer. The chile sauce is added to the meat and to the masa along with the cooking broth from the meat. The corn husks have been soaked in hot water to soften up. We were then instructed to spread the masa in a very specific way on the husks. Too much masa makes the tamale not fold up correctly, too much masa on the top of the husk makes it impossible to seal. Not enough liquid on your spreading spoon makes the masa peel off the husk. Did I mention the cramps in your hand from doing this? I was in pain after we did over 140 tamales. After they are all put together they have to steam in a special pot for over 2 hours. All thru the day E never complained. All she needed was a couple breaks for cherry limeade. Thanks Nina Corina for a really fun experience!