Red chicken tamales

Bring four quarts of water to a boil, add salt and six to seven pounds of boneless chicken breast or thigh.

Add one whole onion and one head of garlic and wait for a second boil.

At the second boil skim off all the impurities that rise to the top so the chicken cooks in a clean broth.

Add six bay leaves, four whole cloves, a teaspoon of allspice berries and peppercorn, cover and cook 40 minutes over medium-low heat.

Remove the chicken, then the spices, garlic, onion and bay leaves, and reserve nine cups of the broth for the masa.

To the remaining broth add one pound of tomatillos, two chile moritas, three chile anchos and twenty New Mexico or guajillo chile pods, cleaned.

Bring to a boil and pull them out as soon as the tomatillos change colour.

Blend the tomatillos and chiles with four cups of the broth, seven garlic cloves, one and a half teaspoons of cumin seeds and salt to taste until smooth, with the lid centre off and a towel over it because the liquid is hot.

Shred the cooked chicken.

Heat a little lard or oil in the pot over medium, add the sauce, draining it if needed, and rinse the blender out with a little water or broth to get all of it; it should be neither too runny nor too thick.

Bring the sauce to a simmer, taste and adjust, and simmer another five minutes.

Remove one cup of sauce now if you want sauce in the masa, then mix the shredded chicken into the rest and let the filling cool.

Whip 12 ounces of lard or shortening five minutes on medium-high.

Mix in five teaspoons of baking powder and two teaspoons of salt.

Add a cup of maseca for tamales and a cup of chicken broth, alternating until all six cups of maseca and seven cups of broth are in.

Turn up to medium-high and mix 10 to 15 minutes until the masa is fluffy and airy.

Test it by dropping a piece into a cup of water; it should float, which shows it is hydrated and has enough lard. Rest it 10 to 15 minutes.

Drain the pre-soaked corn husks, find the soft side and spread masa on it, as thick as you like it.

Put filling down the centre, fold one end over, then the other, then fold the tail up, and wrap each tamale in parchment paper.

Line the steamer pot, which already has hot water in it, with corn husk and stand the tamales in it.

Cover them with corn husk and a kitchen towel so no steam escapes, put the lid on and cook over medium heat for one hour and thirty minutes.

They are done when the masa pulls away from the husk. Let them sit 15 minutes before serving.

Serve as they are or topped with sour cream or salsa.