Christmas Tamales

Ingredients

• 3 lb pork loin
• 4 lb white corn masa
• 9 oz lard
• 10 oz carrots
• 7 oz green beans
• 1 lb potatoes
• 1 head of garlic
• Sweet peppers
• 2 1/2 cups rice
• 2 lb banana leaves
• 1 tbsp La Favorita Achiote
• 7 oz onion
• Salt to taste
• Salsa Lizano to taste

Directions

1. Preparation
2. Cook the meat with plenty of water, garlic, salt, onion, and sweet pepper, so that the meat doesn't get too soft.
3. Set aside a cup of the broth, cook the rice the way you normally do, and add the achiote.
4. Separately, cook the potatoes, also with garlic and salt, until they are very soft.
5. Making the masa
6. To the sifted masa, add the melted lard and the potatoes blended with the meat broth, and the potato water if needed. If it needs more salt, you can add it.
7. Preparing the vegetables and the meat
8. Cut the carrots into rounds, the green beans into thirds, and the meat into small pieces.
9. Sauté the onion, add the carrot, the green beans, the Salsa Lizano, the broth, and finally the meat. Let it boil briefly, then take it off the heat.
10. Cut the sweet pepper into strips and keep it aside.
11. Assembling the tamales
12. Cut the banana leaves to the size you like.
13. On the leaves, place masa, rice, the vegetables with a piece of meat, and the sweet pepper. Fold the leaves and tie them tightly.
14. Cook for one hour over high heat.