Diva's Tamales

Diva’s Memories of Recipes Title: Diva's Tamales
Ingredients (using 6 pounds of meat = 10 dozen tamales) 3 pounds pork roast 3 pounds beef roast 2 large onions 4 cloves garlic 1/4 to 1 cup chili powder or more (depends on heat of chili powder and spice tolerance) salt and pepper cumin 8 cups masa harina 2 cups shortening or lard Corn husks (2-3 packages for full recipe) Day 1: Cook meat pork or beef, or both cooked separate in a large slow-cooker filled with water, an onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook for the day, I do 12 hours on low. After the meat is cooked (so that it shreds easily), remove from pot, set aside meat and liquid to cool separately. Season broth mixture to taste with chili powder, cumin and salt. Shred meat finely with two forks (you can even chop it after shredding), and store covered in refrigerator separately from broth. Soak corn husks in water overnight. Day 2: Rinse & clean corn husks thoroughly then rain well and pat dry. Remove meat and liquids from refrigerator and add a small amount of broth to moisten meat, but it should not be runny. For every 2 cups of masa harina (meal), add 1/2 cup of shortening or lard, 1 tsp. of salt, and enough chili powder to make a pretty pink dough. Add the broth mixture a little at a time to masa and mix with your hands to get a smooth, spreadable consistency.  Assemble the tamales: spread masa about 1/8 inch thick on corn husk with fingers, leaving about 1/2 inch border along the sides and 2 inch border along the top and bottom of husk. Use about 2 Tbsp. of shredded meat to fill the tamale. Fold masa sides until they overlap. Fold bottom of husk up, left side in, top side down and right side in tie top and bottom with string or a thin slice of corn husk. Place them top side up in a steam tightly and steam fresh tamales for 15-20 minutes or until masa is no longer sticky. You can store in freezer then steam frozen tamales for 20 minutes as needed.
Variation: Serve with Diva's Pork Chili.  Can also make with either all beef or all pork.