How did you cook the pork and what seasonings did you use in the meat mixture? There are lots of recipes out there and I have sort of combined them and do my own but first I put the pork butt into a big pot of water. It will cook quicker and more thoroughly if you cut it into pieces...they don't have to be real small just big pieces. In the pot I toss a chopped onion, some garlic and some cumin and a little chili powder, salt and pepper...Cook until tender and then I cool and shred the meat and remove all the fat. A lot of people like the fat but not me...I take out as much as I possibly can...after it is shredded, I pulse it in my food processor and then I taste the seasoning and adjust it to what I want it to taste like...usually add oregano, salt,pepper,onion garlic, lots of cumin and chili powder ...You can also just buy a package of tamale seasoning in my area...It's very good just not hot enough...we like ours spicy....Ok then I brown the meat, usually I have to do this in batches and then I make a little roux with some fat and flour and then I thin it like gravy with some of the broth from when I boiled it..just so that it is nice and moist but you want it to be mostly meat and not soupy or wet...not gravy...that's the meat..I make my tamales in stages even when I am not sick and this is the first stage. I store it in the fridge till I am ready to put them together. Also, did you not tie them and if not how did the corn husk not come undone after you rolled them? Well I have never seen a real tamale tied...I think that comes from the food network and all the fancy chefs ...truthfully I just roll them up and stack them like you see in the bowl and they stay tight...I just use a big pasta pot to steam because that is all I have but the big tamale pots are not expensive and every year I say I am going to buy one and never do ...You can use your water bath canner to steam them as long as you can raise them up above the boiling water...If the pot isn't full of tamales, then I wad up enough aluminum foil to hold the tamales up straight. One year I made so many I used my big nesco roaster to steam them. I steam mine for about 90 minutes but it really depends on the thickness of your masa...I make mine about 1/8 inch thick but many people put 1/2 in theirs... Here are the two recipes that I have used and that a friend shared with me and some notes as well...I never use beef but they are very good. You can also buy/make chicken tamales in my area and they are wonderful as well but I just love pork. I use lard because that is traditional but you can use oil or a lot of people use very little fat and mostly broth for the tamale dough... Tamales Filling: 8-pound Boston butt pork roast 10-12 garlic cloves 1 1/2 cups chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste) Cut pork roast into chunks and boil with salt in water until done (approximately 1 1/2 hours). Reserve broth. Grind pork and garlic cloves into large pan. Add chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper and "massage" into meat until color is even. Masa dough: 4 cups instant masa harina 3 cups pork broth 2 cups warm water 1/2 cup chili powder 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper Mix all ingredients in bowl until smooth. 3 or 4 packages corn husks Soak husks overnight (at least 3 hours) in warm water. Separate and clean. To make tamales, spread a generous amount of masa mixture in center of husk, but toward one end. Use the back of a spoon to spread. It doesn't have to be even or "pretty"-it evens out pretty well while cooking.Put about 2 tablespoons of meat mixture along the center of the masa. To roll, pull the side edges of the husk together and fold just above the tamale and wrap. Fold the "tail" up. Place rolled tamales in pot with steamer grate in bottom. Open end should be up. (Laying the pot on its side to fill makes it pretty easy and pot should be at least 8 inches deep). Fill pot until fairly full so that when upright, tamales do not shift. If you don't have enough to fill the pot, use crumpled aluminum foil to hold tamales upright. Carefully fill pot to about 1 inch below top of tamales with remaining pork broth and warm water. Cover and cook on high until bubbling. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the husks peel away from the husk easily. The recipe said 45 minutes but that hasn't ever been enough for mine. Tamales Filling: 2 pounds lean, boneless beef, pork, chicken or venison 3 tablespoons cooking oil 1/4 cup flour 1 1/2 cups water 2 beef bouillon cubes 1/2 cup canned green chilies, chopped 4 large cloves garlic, minced 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 2-3 tablespoons ground chili pepper 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1/4 cup tomato sauce 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper In a saucepan, cook meat in water until tender. Grind meat; brown in hot oil. Sprinkle flour over beef while stirring. Dissolve bouillon cubes in water and add to beef. Add remaining ingredients in order listed. Cover and simmer 45 minutes. Masa dough: 1 1/2 cups lard 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 4 1/2 cups masa harina 2 2/3 cups warm water....I use broth....makes them richer In a large mixer bowl, beat the lard and salt until fluffy. Mix together masa harina and water and add to lard mixture, beating well until the ingredients are combined. To assemble tamales: To soften corn husks, soak them in warm water for several hours. Place 1/4 cup tamale dough in center of each husk and spread it into a rectangle. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the meat filling down the center of the dough. Lift the sides of the dough to the center and press dough edges with fingers to seal, then finish by putting the edges of the husk together and folding around the masa, folding up the "tail" at the end. Cover and steam tamales over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours. Yield: 6 dozen. One more thing....the masa recipe for the first recipe makes a much lighter masa filling than the second one in texture as well....so I really like that texture for the masa the best....I buy masa at Wal-Mart and truthfully I use the recipe on the bag for my masa dough... These are notes from a friend of mine regarding making tamales Making tamales is not difficult but it does take a little time. The meat and chili filling should be made the day before you assemble them. For assembly it is best to have at least two people. This recipe can be halved. If you dont plan to freeze them you can also eliminate the parchment paper wrap. I never did this until the past few years. It does make a difference in storage. I have used this to teach with and it is very similar to what I was taught as a kid. Because we make so many I have found it very convenient to use my large electric roaster. Tamales Filling 5 pound pork butt 5 pound beef blade 4-6 cloves garlic 2 large onions, chopped 2 tsp. cumin 2 tsp. Salt 4 oz. Hot dried New Mexico chiles or c. ground or to taste 4 oz. Mild dried New Mexico chiles or c ground or to taste 4 T. oil 4 T. flour 2 cloves garlic, pressed 1 tsp. ground cumin, or to taste 1 tsp. Salt Place meat in separate pots to cook. Cover with water, skimming foam from the surface as it cooks. Add half the onion, garlic, cumin and salt to each pot. Reduce heat and simmer until very tender 2 to 3 hours. Drain and save broth. When cool shred meat with fingers or a fork. Mix pork and beef together. Red chile Wearing rubber gloves remove stems and seeds from the chiles. Rinse, put in pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until soft about 20 minutes. Remove chiles from pan and reserve water. Using tongs, place 1/3 of chiles in a blender add one cup of the chile water and puree. Put through a colander or sieve pressing until all bits of peel are removed. Process the rest of the chiles in the same manner. In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the 4 T. flour. Stir over medium heat until browned. Do not scorch the mixture. Add the puree, pressed garlic, cumin and salt and simmer for five minutes. The puree will be very thick. Add the remainder of chile water or broth until the consistency of tomato sauce. Combine shredded meat with red chile and refrigerate overnight. Next day 10 pounds of wet masa 2 pounds of lard 1 or 2 packages of dry cornhusks 1 jar of green or black olives, optional 1 can sliced jalapeno, optional raisins, optional Note If wet masa is not available in your area you will need a large bag of dry Masa Harina and follow the directions on the package. Put the cornhusks in hot water. Remove silk or debris. Let soak for one hour. Shake water from husks and dry on paper towels. Using a mixer, whip lard in a mixing bowl until it is light and fluffy. Remove from bowl and divide into thirds. Divide masa into thirds. Using the mixer blend 1/3 of masa and 1/3/ of lard at a time. After all three batches are mixed put it in a large bowl and using your hands mix well. Slowly add small amounts of warmed reserved broth until you reach an easily spreadable consistency. Add a little salt if needed. Assembly Hold the corn hush in the palm of your hand pointed end toward you. Spread about two tablespoons of masa on the top part of the husk, leaving about a one-inch border all around. Put two tablespoons of the meat mixture on the top of the masa. If desired top meat with an olive, a couple of raisins and a strip of jalapeno. Bring up both sides of the husk, press them together and then fold over the top to make an envelope. At this point you can leave your packets as they are or place in parchment paper and fold into another envelope covering the whole tamale. Tamales can then be frozen on a flat cookie sheet then placed in ziplock bags for storage. Note. It may be necessary to overlap cornhusks to be large enough to fold. Steaming tamales Stand tamales on end on a rack over water in a large pot. Cover with additional corn husks. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat cover and steam at least two hours or until the masa pulls away from the husk easily. If the tamales are cooked fresh not frozen they should cook in one hour. You can see that the recipes are basically the same and there are many others out there as well but keeping it simple is good for me....I'm 70 and even in good health don't have the stamina I used to have. They are fun to make and fun to eat. I love having them in the freezer...I use them in Tex Mex casseroles, when we have chili I put a couple in a bowl and add the chili ...I just run them under the faucet to wet them, wrap in a paper towel and nuke them and they taste like I just made them. This morning I made them for breakfast, nuked 3 each, covered with warm chili gravy and cheese and for my husbands I topped with two over easy eggs and more chili gravy....He was groaning with pleasure cause he said it was so good.<?B>

I have convinced myself that this whole best by ...sell by stuff is a scam...a serious scam. Sell before..what does that mean? Sell before and keep forever? Best by....what does that mean ..but OK after? Like Ann I like "packaged on" as an indicator but that doesn't men the butcher didn't have it on his counter for three days in 90 degree weather before he packaged it!!! At best all these darn labels are erring on the conservative side....so I easily add a day or two...actually I ignore the whole darn thing and go by smell and sight. Somehow my Mom lived without those labels and try as I may I can't find any information that would suggest people are getting sick hand over fist on any of our Canadian or American butchered meats.. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is BS!!!

We're in TX (over an hour NW of San Antonio) and the co-op I buy free-range, organic chickens from charges $3 per pound. We don't eat pork very often, but I checked the website of the people we buy our grass fed beef from, and here are the prices: PORK -------------------------------- Unfortunately, we haven't found a way to effectively pasture pigs in this area. But rather than raising them in pens with concrete floors, our pigs grow up outdoors on the land. However, we don't have adequate wooded areas to provide tree roots, nuts, etc. Since pigs are not ruminants, they are supplemented with some grain. That being said, we think this "transitional" pork is a big step ahead of the conventionally-grown pigs, and we think you'll agree once you try this clean pork. Ground pork ($4.10/lb) -- If you'd rather make your own sausage, here's the foundation; it's great for stuffed bell peppers and other places where you want a change from ground beef (1 lb) Pork sausages -- Can't beat them in the morning or evening (see Beef Sausages above if you don't want pork) Pork breakfast sausage ($4.20/lb) -- Available in both MILD and HOT forms, it's great in the skillet or oven; free of nitrites and MSG spices. Spices include salt, red & black pepper, sage, and brown sugar (1 lb) Pork fresh German sausage ($4.90/lb) -- Throw a link on the grill and make everyone happy; since these links are not smoked, they require a bit more time to grill, but they are free of nitrites and MSG. Spices include salt, black pepper, and garlic (1.3 lbs) Pork smoked German sausage ($4.90/lb) -- Same ingredients as the fresh version, but they're already smoked/cooked; they have nitrites, however, but no MSG. Spices include salt, black pepper, garlic, and sodium nitrite (1.3 lbs) Pork bratwurst ($4.90/lb) -- Similar to German, but replaces garlic with subtle caraway, nutmeg, & marjoram; no nitrites or MSG. Spices include salt, pepper, caraway seed, nutmeg, and marjoram (1.3 lbs) Shoulder roast ($4.00/lb) -- Also called a Boston Butt, this is a very balanced roast, much like a beef pot roast (3-4 lbs) Shoulder steak ($4.20/lb) -- Cut from the best part of the shoulder, these steaks are considered the economy (budget) pork chop (2 steaks per pkg, 1.25 lbs) Spare ribs ($3.90/lb) -- A bigger slab than the baby backs (3 lbs) Country-style ribs ($4.50/lb) -- These are the common grilling ribs and more economical than baby backs (2-3 lbs) Baby back ribs ($8.70/lb) -- Nothing like a slab of these babies slathered with a rub or some thick BBQ sauce (3-4 lbs) Ham -- Bone-in ($4.90), cured, & smoked; just heat a few hours and enjoy (8-12 lbs) Ham steaks ($5.00/lb) -- If you like the smoked flavor but want something smaller than a ham, here's your answer; these steaks are similar to pork chops, but they're smoked and ready to eat (12-20 oz) Pork cutlet ($4.20/lb) -- Cut from the center of the ham, these are similar to beef cutlets and perfect for schnitzel (1.5 lbs, 4 cutlets per pkg) Pork loin roast ($5.00/lb) -- Roast that is similar to a beef prime rib if you left the rib bone in, but it's chock full of pork chops instead (2-3 lbs) Prime pork ($6.00/lb) -- Boneless pork loin that would normally be cut into chop; stacked together in a group of 3, it's like a pork version of beef prime rib (3 lbs) Pork chops (3/4", 2 chops per pkg, 1 lb) Sirloin chops ($5.70/lb) -- This bone-in chop is the pork loin roast cut into chops Bone-in ($6.00) & boneless chops ($6.30/lb) -- We save only the best for your grill. The bone-in chop includes tenderloin along with the bone, while the boneless chop is a butterflied center cut Bacon, seasoned/raw ($6.90/$5.20 per lb) -- Right from the belly; it's relatively lean and nitrite-free as well; you can get it seasoned (a few spices) or raw (also known as side pork); try our beef bacon if you can't eat pork but still love bacon (1 lb) Bacon ends ($6.90/lb) -- Nitrite-free just like our bacon, hunk it into green beans, kraut, etc. This is the last part of the belly where it gets too small to send through the slicer, but it's still the same quality (1 lb) Pork tenderloin ($8.00/lb) -- The whole loin, similar to the beef tenderloin (1 lb) Neck bones ($1.50/lb), ham hocks ($3.30/lb) -- Maybe you remember these from your childhood; often used in soups, stews, or a pot of beans (1-2 lbs)

I find it really interesting - and sometimes totally baffling - the different names for the same thing/same name for different things in various parts of the country. They sure require different cooking techniques. A brisket in any Texas grocery store bears no resemblance to a "brisket" in a rural NJ grocery store. Have never, ever seen tri-tip here. Jasdip's Cottage Roll (if the picture of a Maple Leaf one I found is any indication) isn't smoked but one that grandmamary_ga might buy in Cincinnati or perhaps Cleveland would be smoked. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that we DO have Taylor Ham LOL? Thank you so much for the responses - like I said, I find regional differences in food fascinating.