Christmastime is tamale-time
The abundance of great Mexican food is something our family has missed ever since moving from the Phoenix metro area back to the Pacific Northwest. Heck, my son grew up practically drinking salsa (true story). One year at Christmastime, my husband came home with tamales that his Hispanic colleagues had brought into the office. I was sold. Fast forward, years later we decided to embark on our own tamale-making family adventure. However, there’s no getting around the fact that tamales are time consuming. Lucky for me, I have my husband Ted (aka Theodoro at least when we take a Mexican vacation) to thank for taking the time to document our tamale-making process in writing and photos. Our favorite tamales are a chicken salsa verde version and although they may not be totally authentic, they are delicioso.
Watch the tamale party in action!
Many tamales are too heavy on the masa or have a thick layer of masa just on the bottom. We like a thinner layer of spicy masa surrounding the ingredients inside. In this case, small amounts of shredded chicken, salsa verde and jack cheese. This results in tamales small in size but full of flavor. Here’s my recipe, known in our home as Tamales Teddy or Tamales Theodoro.
Four main stages of tamale making
Tamales are much easier if you break the process into steps. Our version has three prep steps, two which can be done in advance, plus the fourth step which is assembly and steaming. Here’s the order:
1. Tomatillo salsa
2. Shredded chicken
3. Masa harina dough
4. Forming/rolling and steaming the tamales
Tomatillo Salsa
1 lb. tomatillos (approximately 8 medium sized)
5 serrano chilis
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
3/4 c. cilantro (chopped)
3/4 c. green onions (chopped)
Directions:
Remove skins from tomatillos and stems from serrano chilis. Rinse as needed, then place on baking sheet lined with foil.
Set baking sheet in pre-heated oven on the broiler setting and place on top rack about 4 inches from broiler. Broil until blackened slightly. Flip over tomatillos and serrano chilis and place back in oven until blackened to your likening.
Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes.
Add roasted tomatillos and serrano chilis, cilantro, green onions, and garlic to blender or food processor. Pour in juice captured in foil. Blend together to make a sauce/salsa-type texture. Do not over blend.
Set aside for making tamales. Can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.
Shredded chicken
Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 pounds)
2 cups (or more) chicken broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilis (15 oz)
1 package Lawry’s chicken taco seasoning
Directions:
Place broth, tomatoes and taco seasoning in crock pot and stir until seasoning dissolves.
Add chicken breasts and additional chicken broth as needed to cover chicken.
Cook on low for 5-6 hours until chicken shreds easily with a fork.
Keep warm until ready to assemble tamales. (And keep the liquid—it will be used in the masa!)
Masa harina dough
3 cups masa harina
2 ½ cups of the hot spicy chicken broth from your shredded chicken (this is the secret to yummy tasting masa)
1 cup lard (okay, I’ve used shortening too and that works)
1 ½ tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 ½ tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
Whisk together the masa harina and seasonings in large bowl. Add the 2 ½ cups hot chicken broth mixture from the crockpot you cooked the chicken in. (yum! All those spices will make your masa extra tasty) Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Cover until ready to use.
After the masa dough is prepared, gradually add in the salt, cumin and onion powder by sprinkling them over the dough as you mix it.
In a separate bowl, whip lard or shortening about three minutes or until fluffy. I use my KitchenAid stand mixer for this. Add the masa mixture to the lard a little at a time while mixing until well combined. The mixture should be about the consistency of peanut butter. If not, add more masa harina, water or broth as necessary.
Be advised that refrigeration causes the dough to become sticky and difficult to spread during rolling of tamales. So, while you can cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, it’s best to make the masa just before you are ready to assemble the tamales.
Now you’re ready to roll and steam the tamales!
Tamales are a fun group activity. Turn on some tunes and make it a fiesta.
Number one rule: preparation is key! And trust me, Theodoro is big into preparation.
Important: Soak corn husks in water at least two hours prior to rolling tamales to make them pliable. Soaking overnight is fine as well. After soaking the husks, pat dry with towel and stack on a plate or table. You don’t want them to be wet. You can buy husks at most grocery stores or a local Mexican or Latino market.
Next, set up your work station. We like to cover our bar or the dining table with a clean tablecloth, move the chairs and create a tamale assembly line. Make sure you have enough room to lay out all the ingredients from left to right in order of how you will make the tamales. It’s important to have enough elbow room for the tamale makers to move around. It will make the job much easier by being organized and in one place. You can assign one person to smooth the masa onto the husk, and someone else for the other ingredients. But I think it’s more fun for everyone to make their own tamales from beginning to end. Place a few wet dishcloths or washcloths on the table or small bowls of water for cleaning your hands in between touching ingredients.
Now you’re ready to get started. Separate the husks into two piles - the larger ones in one pile and the ripped or compromised ones another. Take the smaller husks and begin tearing 3/4” wide strips off the length of the husk to make tamale ties. Tie the ends of two pieces together in a square knot to make one tie. Make as many ties as you think for the number of tamales you are going to make. It doesnʼt hurt to make too many as it is always better to have excess during the rolling process. Or … cheat and use baker’s twine!
How to roll the tamales:
Lay a husk on the table or large plate with wide end away from you. Place just under 2 tablespoons of masa (or use your hands) in the middle of the husk. Spread enough masa dough to cover the upper half of the husk only, halfway across. Leave a border along the sides and leave the bottom narrow half of the “v” portion of the husk free of dough, as you are going to fold it up and over at the end. Make the thickness less than a 1/4” because the dough will thicken upon cooking. The thickness of the masa is personal preference, so if you like a lot of masa then you may want to add a bit more. After a few tries youʼll get the hang of it.
Add a small spoonful of tomatillo salsa and a sprinkling of grated Monterey jack cheese to the center of the masa dough and cover with a couple tablespoons of shredded chicken. (Note: after the masa is on the husk, you can add the chicken, cheese and salsa in whichever order you prefer.)
Grab the edge of the husk and fold the dough over itself in one half. Use the husk to close the ends of the dough to prevent the ingredients from falling out of the husk. Again, once you get started you’ll figure out how much can fit into one husk.
Roll the remaining husk into a tamale. Take the lower “v” end of the husk and fold over to cover one side of the tamale.
Tie a corn husk strip (or twine) around entire tamale. Make a square knot to seal the tamale. It does not have to be tight. Just secure.
Cooking tamales
Stand tamales in steamer basket with open ends up. Cover with damp dishtowel to retain heat, cover and steam for 45 minutes to one hour. Tamales are done when masa dough has firmed up. Remove husks and let rest for couple minutes before serving.
Storing and reheating
Tamales will last a couple of days in the refrigerator but also do very well frozen. When freezing, place cooked and cooled tamales in a freezer bag or use a vacuum seal bag. To cook a frozen tamale, remove from bag, wrap individually with a paper towel. Place in microwave and cook on high for one minute, flip over, cook for another minute, flip over and cook for 30 seconds.
Tamale making takes some patience and practice. But don’t worry if they don’t look perfect, they’ll still taste just as yummy.
And because my husband is such a good planner, here’s his grocery list.
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 c. lard
1 lb. tomatillos (approximately 8 medium sized)
5 serrano chilis
4 cloves garlic
5 serrano chilies
3/4 c. cilantro
3/4 c. green onion
1-2 cans chicken broth (15 oz.)
1/2 c. shredded Monterey jack cheese
3 cups masa harina
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilis (15 oz.)
1 package of corn husks1 package chicken taco or regular taco seasoning (I like Lawry’s)
1 1/2 Tablespoons onion powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon. salt