making masa at home-I have questions!

[Emerald]

I have been wanting to make my own Masa for tamales at home ever since watching Alton Brown making masa (nixtamal) on tv.
I do have a few questions tho and am hoping that maybe someone here has made it before and has good advice about it.
1. Can you use any kind/color or mixed colors of Indian corn?
2. How hard it is really?
3. One site said that pickling lime is the same as slaked lime and another site said that it is not. So which kind of lime have you used.
4. If I can not find any dried corn husks for wrapping my tamales, can I just dry and use the husks from sweet corn?
And last but not least- I would love to have any of the recipes that you find good with home made masa.
I am trying to recreate a nice venison tamale meal that one of my aunts. She is gone now and no one has found or remembers the recipes and the only thing that I haven't figured out was the masa, and I do have the ingredients on hand now, but am a bit scared about doing it!

[dogwoman]

mexicanfood.about.com/od/tortillasandbreads/ht/nixtamal.htm

The page has a link for tamale dough recipe.

MAKING MASA

Time Required: 2 hours to 24 hours, depending on what you will be using it for
Here's How:

1. Prepare
Measure out 3lbs or 2 quarts of dried corn, 4 quarts of water and 5 tablespoons slaked lime.

2. Mix
Mix water and lime in a large nonreactive pot. Turn up heat to "high" and stir constantly until lime is thoroughly dissolved.

3. Cook
Add corn to pot and remove any kernels that float to the top. Bring water to a rolling boil, then turn down heat to let it simmer. See #8 for cooking times.

4. Soak
After simmering for the appropriate amount of time, cover the pot and turn off the heat. Allow the corn to soak in the heated water. See #8 for soaking times.

5. Rinse and Remove
Drain corn in a large colander and rinse under water using your fingers to rub the corn, removing all traces of lime. If you are making hominy, it will be necessary to remove the hulls at this time. The hulls are the little brown tips, and you can just rub them or pick them off.

6. Additional Rinse
Put the hulled corn into a large bowl and cover with lukewarm water. Allow to soak for 5-10 minutes while moving the corn around with your fingers. Repeat. This will ensure the lime is washed away.

7. Drain
Drain the finished corn through a colander and you now have nixtamal.

8. Cooking and Soaking Times-
* Tortillas- Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let soak overnight.
* Tamale Dough- Boil for 15 mintues, then let it soak for 1 1/2 hours.
* Hominy- Boil for 15 minutes and let it soak for 15 mintues.

9. Process or Grind
To make tamale dough or dough for tortillas, you will need to grind the nixtamal. The food processor can be used for tamale dough, but it won't grind it fine enough for tortillas. You can use a grinder, or a metate y mano to grind it very fine for tortillas.

Tips:

1. Make sure to remove all of the lime or your masa will be sour and taste badly.
2. For hominy, remember to remove the hulls.
3. Follow the cooking and soaking times because they differ depending on what you are going to be using it for.
4. Be very careful with the lime as it is caustic and can cause bodily harm if ingested in large quantities. It is in the same family as lye.
5. If you have trouble finding lime, try the pickling supplies section of your local grocer. It may be called pickling lime.

What You Need:

* Dried Corn - Feild, Dent or Hominy
* Lime- "Cal", Slaked Lime, Calcium Hydroxide (Not Quick Lime or Calcium Oxide)
* Water
* Food Processor or Grinder
* Non-Reactive Pot (Stainless Steel or Enamel)

[Emerald]

Thanks Dogwoman! I only have some red corn that is mostly flint but sometimes a few of the ears will have dents in them- I was thinking that it might make a nice pink masa for venison tamales! But will have access to more dent corns of many colors. I will let ya know how it turns out! Maybe I will take pictures like I did for the bacon that I made and put them up so we can share how easy/hard it ended up being. I know that many of the odd projects that I decide to do end up not being as hard as they sound, so that others can try without feeling lost.

[Emerald]

Ok I got to the tamal stage of masa, but am thinking of getting my grain grinder out and take it down a bit so I can make some tortillas- I have some pictures but it might take me a day or so to get them all up. Using the food processor did work fine to grind the corn down to the tamale sized grind, and I think that it will make the masa go thru the grinder better. The corn I used was some old stuff that I picked about 3 years ago and put in a big bag for the squirrels and never remember to put out for them, it was old and dry so the resulting masa seems quite dry, almost fluffy. I did take just a bit and add water and a pinch of salt and flatten it out and dry fried it in a heavy pan and the flavor is just beyond great! It even is a bit soft after cooking and will easily fold around taco meats! and the Flavor is what I remember my aunt's to taste like! so I am totally pleased. I will update in a while! ;D