In a 500° oven, sear three to five pounds of pork until brown, at least 20 minutes.
Cover pork with water in a large pot with 6 to 10 large, dried peppers, a couple of onions and a couple of tablespoons of cumin seeds. Simmer for three or more hours.
Cover corn husks with cold water and set aside.
Cool. Remove fat. Remove meat and peppers. Strain and measure broth.
Remove meat from any bones and shred.
Open peppers, remove seeds and strip out flesh. Add flesh to meat.
For each two cups of broth, measure cup of corn meal. Add corn meal to broth. Heat and stir corn meal/broth until it thickens and boils.
Take a corn husk, spread corn meal dough in the center, and add meat mixture. Strip 1/4 ribbons from another husk. Roll the husk over the dough and meat, sealing the meat inside the dough. Tie the ends with two ribbons.
Steam the tamales for 30 minutes. Serve with rice, refried beans, and, if desired, your favorite red or green chili sauce.
