Ranee Mueller > wrote:

> Anyway, I can't imagine the tamales being any good without
> the lard. This is a dish I'd just not make for my mom,
> rather than feed it to her and pretend there was no pork in it.
> I've made them with pork and with chicken thighs, always red
> chile, though. I preferred the pork. I also used banana
> leaves for the wrapping, and made one large tamal at a time,
> rather than individual ones. Our local Mexican market sells
> fresh masa for tamales on Fridays and Saturdays, so those are
> the days we make tamal, when we do.

Lard is ultimately better, but a local producer, Primavera, makes
tamales with olive oil that are quite good. I scored a couple
dozen to serve at a party I was holding, and they
proved to be most popular.

Steve