Step 1

Make filling: Bring 3 qt. water to a boil in a 6- to 8-qt. pot over high heat. Meanwhile, cut beef into 2-inch chunks, trimming any large chunks of fat (it’s OK to leave some). Add beef to water along with 1 whole onion, 6 garlic cloves, 3 allspice berries, the bay leaves, and oregano, and reduce heat to medium. Return to a boil, then boil meat uncovered for 15 minutes, skimming off foam with a wide metal spoon.

Step 2

Add 1 Tbsp. salt to beef. Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer beef until it’s very tender when pierced with a fork, about 2 hours.

Step 3

Meanwhile, if you’re filling the tamales on the same day as cooking the beef, separate corn husks and rinse of any debris or silks. Place husks in a large bowl and soak in hot water weighted down with a couple of plates until husks are soft, at least 1 hour. Otherwise, wait to soak the husks until the day you fill the tamales (see Step 9).

Step 4

While the beef is cooking, rinse dried chiles. Cut off stems, using kitchen shears (no need to remove seeds; they’ll be strained out later). Put chiles in a large saucepan. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer chiles uncovered until they’re softened but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Transfer chiles with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside. Discard cooking liquid.

Step 5

With a slotted spoon, transfer cooked beef from broth to a large bowl. Let stand until cool enough to handle, then tear into shreds. Pour broth through a fine strainer into a separate bowl. Measure broth and add water if needed to make 10 1/2 cups. Season broth with salt to taste if you like. Cover broth to keep warm; discard contents of strainer.

Step 6

Working in batches if needed, add soaked chiles to a blender container along with 3 cups of the reserved beef broth, 2 garlic cloves, the coriander, remaining 9 allspice berries, and 1 tsp. salt. Blend until smooth. Pour and then rub sauce through a fine strainer into a bowl. Discard contents of strainer. You’ll have about 3 1/2 cups chile sauce; set aside.

Step 7

Slice remaining onion lengthwise into strips and slice fresh jalapeño lengthwise into thin strips. Heat oil in a 4- to 5-qt. saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 2 garlic cloves, the onion strips, and fresh jalapeño strips and cook, stirring often, until onion begins to soften but not burn, 4-5 minutes.

Step 8

Add shredded beef and continue to stir. Set aside 1 cup red chile sauce for masa and add the rest, about 2 1/2 cups, to the beef. (Save any extra sauce for other uses.) Stir beef mixture until evenly distributed; then cover and simmer for 15 minutes to blend flavors, reducing heat if meat starts to stick. Remove garlic. Season with salt to taste if you like. (At this point, you can cool, cover, and chill the beef filling up to 1 day; use it cold. Also cool and chill the remaining beef broth; reheat until warm to touch before making the masa. And chill the reserved 1 cup red chile sauce; reheat to room temperature before using.)

Step 9

Soak corn husks if you made the filling ahead (see step 3). Make masa: Place lard in a bowl of a large stand mixer (preferably at least 5 qt.) fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until lard looks light and silky and resembles whipped marshmallows, about 15 minutes, scraping inside of bowl occasionally.

Step 10

Add masa harina, remaining 1 Tbsp. salt, and the baking powder and blend on low speed until mixture resembles wet sand. Slowly add 7 1/2 cups beef broth and the reserved 1 cup red chile sauce, scraping sides of bowl to mix well. Continue mixing on low speed until masa is fluffy and spreadable, 15-20 minutes. To check if masa is ready for spreading, drop a small piece of masa into a glass of cold water. If the masa floats, it’s ready. If it sinks, continue mixing and repeat the test every 5 minutes. Save any remaining beef broth for other uses.

Step 11

While the masa is mixing, prepare vegetables for tamales: Peel carrots and potatoes and cut into sticks about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide.

Step 12

Assemble tamales, ideally with several people (someone to spread masa, another person to add fillings, and another to fold tamales). Drain water from corn husks. Choose the largest husks. Open up a corn husk on a work surface with the pointy edge facing you. Spoon 1/3 cup masa into the center. Holding the husk at the straight end with one hand, and using a soup spoon with the other, spread masa on the wide part of the husk into a rectangle that extends about two-thirds of the way from the flat end to the pointy end, leaving a 1/2-inch border clear along the straight edge to avoid any masa spilling as it steams, and about 1 inch clear on the sides for easy wrapping.

Step 13

To the center of the spread masa, add a loosely packed 1/4 cup beef filling in a band, and then a carrot strip, a potato strip, an olive, and a slice of pickled jalapeño on top of the meat. Fold one side of the husk snugly towards the center (but not too tight, as the masa expands during cooking). Fold the other side of the husk snugly towards the center, making sure the sides are well overlapped. Then fold the pointy edge up, making sure the sides don’t spread open, so as to prevent steam from getting into the tamales. (The straight edge will be open.) If any husks get filled but then are difficult to fold up, you can double-wrap the whole tamale with another husk. Repeat with the remaining masa and filling. (At this point, you can wrap each tamale in parchment paper, then freeze in zip-top bags up to 6 months. Freeze any leftover masa in an airtight container up to 3 months.)

Step 14

Cook tamales: Fill a 32-qt. tamale steamer with water to the fill line (at least 1/2 inch under the position for the steaming rack), then add rack. Arrange tamales in steamer on the rack with the straight (unsealed) edges upright, touching each other but not packed, so there’s room for steam to circulate. (If you don’t have a tamale steamer, use a large pot, a least 10-qt. size. Add 1 inch water, set a steamer basket or flat metal colander in place at least 1 1/2 inches above the bottom of the pan, and cook tamales in batches.) Cover tamales with any remaining corn husks and 2-3 clean kitchen towels to help contain some of the steam.

Step 15

Place steamer over medium-high heat, cover with lid, and bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low so the water is constantly boiling to circulate the steam. Set timer for 1 1/2 hours (or 2 1/2 hours if tamales are frozen). Have a kettle with hot water nearby to add to steamer as water evaporates (check by pushing aside the towels and corn husks on top with a long wooden spoon). Pour in hot water as needed, adding it slowly against the side of the pan to make sure it does not spill on the inside of tamales.

Step 16

Turn off heat. To check that tamales are done, unwrap one partway; the masa should no longer stick to the husk. Let tamales rest in steamer, covered, for 20 minutes. Carefully remove a tamale with tongs and place on a plate. Unwrap and check again for doneness; the husk should come off easily. If it doesn’t, bring the water back up to boiling, steam tamales another 30 minutes, and let them rest again. Cooked tamales can also be frozen in zip-top bags up to 6 months.