Red Chile Pork Tamales, Nuevo León Style Recipe

1¼-pound pork loin
½ medium onion, chopped
2 cups water
2 ounces (about 4) whole dried anchos, stemmed, seeded, and rinsed
1 ounce (about 4 to 6) whole dried cascabel chiles, stemmed, seeded, and rinsed
2 garlic cloves
¾ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lard
½ cup sliced green olives
¼ cup raisins
6-ounce package dried corn husks
1 cup lard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 cups masa harina
3½ cups water, or more as needed

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To prepare the filling, place the pork and the onion in a medium-size baking dish and cover with the water. Bake for approximately 1¼ hours, or until the meat is cooked through and pulls apart easily. Remove the pork from the stock. Set the meat aside to cool for a few minutes and refrigerate the stock. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
When the pork has cooled enough to handle, shred it fine, either with two forks or in a food processor (the plastic dough blade on some models makes especially nice shreds) and transfer it to a medium bowl. Strain the stock, skimming any fat from the surface. If the stock doesn’t measure 1½ cups, add water to make 1½ cups of liquid. Reserve the pork and the stock.
Place the damp chiles in one layer on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for about 5 minutes. Watch the pods carefully so as not to burn them. The chiles can have a little remaining moisture. Remove them from the oven and transfer them to a blender. Add the garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and reserved stock and Purée the mixture. You will still be able to see tiny pieces of chile pulp, but they should be bound in a smooth, thick liquid. Strain the chile sauce.
Warm the lard in a heavy saucepan over high heat. When the lard has melted, add the chile sauce, being careful as it sputters and splatters. Stir continuously, until the most insistent sputtering subsides, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of chile sauce for the dough and pour the rest over the meat. Stir the olives and raisins into the meat. Reserve the mixture.
In a deep bowl or baking pan, soak the corn husks in hot water to cover. After 30 minutes the husks should be softened and pliable. Separate the husks and, if needed, rinse them under running water to wash away any grit or brown silks. Keep them covered with water until you are ready to use each one.
To prepare the dough, beat the lard in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Pour in the reserved sauce, sprinkle in the salt and baking powder, and beat until combined. Mix in half of the masa harina and half of the water. If your mixer is powerful, continue using it to blend the dough. If not, switch to a sturdy spoon or your hands to avoid burning out the mixer’s motor. Add the remaining masa and water and keep mixing until smooth. When well blended, the masa should have the consistency of thick cake batter. Add more water if needed for the preferred consistency. Keep the dough loosely covered while working.
To assemble the tamales, use approximately equal amounts of masa and filling. To make 2½ dozen 3-ounce tamales, use 2 tablespoons of masa and 1½ tablespoons of filling for each tamale.
Hold a corn husk flat on one hand, smooth side up. (You may, depending on the size of the corn husks, need to overlap two husks to form one tamale. Spread the dough over the husks together, just as if they were one.) With a rubber spatula, spread a thin layer of masa across the husk, but not to the edges. Top with filling spread more thickly through the dough’s center, stopping short of the dough’s edges. Make sure that the dough’s edges meet to enclose all of the filling. Secure the tamale by folding the wrapper over or tying it. Repeat the procedure until all the filling and masa are used.
Place the tamales in a steamer, packing loosely in crisscross directions, or stand them on end. Allow enough space between them for the steam to rise effectively. Cover the pot and cook over simmering water for about 1 to 1¼ hours until the masa is firm and no longer sticks to the corn husk. Unwrap one tamale to check its consistency. If it is still doughy, rewrap it, return it to the pot, and continue steaming for a few more minutes.
Tamales should be eaten warm. The husks are usually left on when tamales are served without a sauce, to be removed by each guest before eating.
Regional Variations: These tamales come from Nuevo León, but they aren’t the only style you find in northeast Mexico by any means. Another tasty version combines anchos and guajillos in a pork filling laced with cloves, allspice, and cinnamon. Other cooks mix the same ingredients into miniature cigar-shaped tamalitos. Tampico, Tamaulipas, produces gigantic ancho and pork tamales with fresh corn-studded masa, wrapped in banana leaves, that can measure nearly 3 feet in length.