Beef Tamales Part II: Assembly & Cooking

Okay, so you have your beef in red sauce ready, and it's time to assemble the tamales.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MASA:
Masa (or dough) is a dough made of cornmeal that is seasoned. If this is your first time making tamales, I highly recommend you go to a Latin supermarket and buy some prepared masa. It's already mixed and seasoned, and will take ALL the guesswork out of it.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOJAS:
Hojas are corn husks that you can buy in a bag at most supermarkets. Before you assemble the tamales, you must rinse the corn husks in a large bowl. Keeping the husks in the bowl will make spreading the masa easier for you.
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Hojas
Masa
Beef & Sauce
Olives (optional)

1) Hojas have a rough and smooth side. Find the smooth side and spread your masa. Go from the top to just below down the husk.

2) Spread the beef and red sauce in a strip down the middle.

3) If you are going to place an olive or other item, place it in the center.

4) Fold over one side of the husk.

5) Fold over the other side.

6) Flip the tail of the tamale up.

7) Place standing up in a large container.
(this is the icebox from my fridge.

NOTE: I like to freeze my tamales partially before bagging them into half-dozens. It makes for cleaner storage. Don't let them get too frozen or else the husks will freeze together.
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COOKING (sorry, I will eventually add pictures of this.)
NOTE: This is not a process you can put on the oven and forget about. You will have to make sure you pay attention and check on the tamales or else they will burn.

1) Make a cone out of aluminum foil.

2) Place cone in the center of a heavy pot or dutch oven.

3) Place tamales upright around the cone.

4) Add enough water to coat the bottom. If you add too much water the tamales will be soggy and that is probably one of the grosses things on the planet EVER.

5) Take another piece of aluminum foil, and place over the tamales.

6) Cover with a well-fitting lid.

7) CHECK YOUR TAMALES! You will have to check about every 15-30 minutes to make sure there is enough water in the pot or else your tamales will burn. Want to know what that smells like? BURNED POPCORN.  Your tamales will be ready when the masa starts to pull away from the husk.
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TA-DA!!!!!

There you have it folks! You can serve these with beans and Spanish rice for dinner, or you can have them with salsa and scrambled eggs for breakfast (which is my preferred method of consumption). So if you have the patience, give these bad boys a try.