If you grew up in a Latino household, chances are it's not the night before Christmas that gets you excited, it's the night before Christmas Eve. The reason? Tamales! For many Latinos, Christmas Eve is known as Noche Buena'and is a big family day. I remember Christmas Eve at my grandmother’s house, tamales on the table, and Christmas presents at midnight. My parents can remember back-in-the-day (pre-kids)going to Midnight Mass, then attending the Christmas dance, and afterward heading back home early Christmas morning and eating a breakfast full of tamales.
Tamales are as regional as road maps.
Tamales may be sweet or savory, wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves. Sweet tamales are filled with fruit. Savory tamales are filled with pork, chicken, turkey, fish, cheese, or any combination of the above. At my grandmother’s house, we had savory somewhat spicy pork tamales wrapped in corn husks. For years I’ve tried to copy her recipe. My grandmother does not make her tamales from any written recipe. She, like most experienced cooks, goes by the touch, feel, and taste as she prepares her culinary masterpiece.
The following is a close version of my grandmother’s recipe for pork tamales. It is time-consuming but well worth it!
Put the ancho pods in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes or more until soft, then remove the stems and seeds and coarsely chop. Reserve the soaking liquid.
Let cool and carefully transfer the mixture to a food processor and process adding reserved soaking liquid as needed until smooth. Pour blended mixture through a fine mesh sieve and transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Prepare the Husks
Fill a stock pot with warm water and corn husks and soak overnight. Just before you’re ready to make your tamales, rinse husks and dry well and, if too wide, cut in half. Set aside.
Prepare the Pork
Cut pork shoulder into small (1-2 inch) pieces. Add garlic, pork pieces and spices to a large stock pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook over low heat for about 3 hours or until meat is tender. Remove meat and shred. Let meat cool and refrigerate overnight. Reserve pork broth.
The day of
Prepare the Masa
Beat 1 lb. lard with mixer or by hand until light. Add salt and fresh corn masa. Add in the chili mixture little by little until a dark pinkish color, and to taste. Beat with heavy duty mixer or knead like bread with a little pork broth, until dough is light. The dough is ready when a small amount floats when dropped in a glass of water.
Prepare the Pork Filling
Heat some lard in a heavy saucepan. Add a cup (or more, to your taste) of the blended ancho chili mixture to lard and simmer until sauce slightly thickens. Add some salt to taste. Now add shredded meat and both and cook for about 20 minutes. You may want to add more of the blended chili mixture to your liking.
Fill the Corn Husks
Put some of the masa in the center of the corn husk. With the back of spoon, spread the bottom 2/3 of corn husk evenly to edges. Line plenty of pork meat down center. Fold side of corn husks toward center, overlap. Now fold top (without masa) down and set aside on platter until ready to cook. Continue these steps until all masa and pork filling is used up.
Steam Tamales
Bring 3-4 cups of reserved pork broth to boil in a steamer. Place tamales with folded side down in steamer standing upright. Cover tamales with moist corn husks and a clean moist dish towel. Put lid on steamer and steam for 1 ½ hours or until husk can be easily peeled from the dough. Add more broth as needed to continue steaming being careful not to pour broth on tamales.
Steaming tamales without a steamer basket requires a setup that lifts the tamales above boiling water and also allows steam to penetrate them. You can use a metal colander or an overturned bowl in a pot of boiling water with chopsticks balanced on top. You can also grill or pan fry tamales.
Make a delicious masa tamal, top it with a dose of salsa and enjoy. If it is not delicious, perhaps the masa lacked a pinch or two of the basic ingredients. Masa for tamales can be made with or without baking powder. It helps the dough rise and it gives tamales a lighter texture.
If you don't have lard, vegetable shortening is an ideal substitute. Made from hydrogenated vegetable oil, vegetable shortening has the same congealed, gel-like consistency and white hue as lard and emulsifies just as easily into corn masa.
The big three ingredients are masa, lard and beef. The masa and lard will make the base of the tamale dough, in a ratio of 5 pounds masa to 1 pound lard. The beef will make the filling, and should weigh 5 pounds before it gets cooked to every 5 pounds masa.
The process of nixtamalization gives masa harina a savory flavor that you won't find with cornmeal. You can use cornmeal to make cornbread or pancakes, but stick with masa harina to make tortillas and tamales, otherwise they won't have the signature toasted corn flavor you expect.
How to Steam Tamales in a Pot with Aluminum Foil. If you don't have a steamer basket then you can use aluminum foil with a heat-proof plate to steam your tamales. What you would do is make a full large balls of scrunched up aluminum foil and place them inside your pot to create a layer of aluminum foil.
You can make a snake or balls of foil to arrange on the bottom of a lidded pot to be able to elevate a heatproof plate or bowl above the surface of your simmering liquid to create a steamer.
To check your water level and avoid a scorched pot, place a penny below the steamer basket and fill with water. It should rattle while the tamales are cooking.
The secret to getting a soft, plush filling that pulls away from the sides of the corn husk as it cooks is always using a fat. Traditionally, these tamales are made with pork lard or vegetable shortening, but some modern recipes have also substituted canola or vegetable oil.
One pound of masa is enough for half dozen of tamales-30 lbs is 15 dozens of tamales. (Masa is that stuff that looks like mashed potatoes in the photo. Should be creamy or fluffy will spread well on the ojas). Chile sauce: It is worth it to make your own, but a little time-consuming and messy.
Made from vegetable oils — often soybean, cottonseed, or palm oils — vegetable shortening is a vegetarian alternative to lard. Introduced as Crisco to consumers in 1911, it became a popular "healthy" choice, though research now shows there isn't too much difference between the two when it comes to nutrition.
Dress your smothered tamale with shredded cheese, sour cream, diced tomatoes and onions, or any of your other favorite chili fixin's. Chili is most often served with heavier types of tamales filled with ground beef, pork, or cheese.
One pound of masa is enough for half dozen of tamales-30 lbs is 15 dozens of tamales. (Masa is that stuff that looks like mashed potatoes in the photo. Should be creamy or fluffy will spread well on the ojas). Chile sauce: It is worth it to make your own, but a little time-consuming and messy.
The salt is optional as a lot of authentic recipes don't add salt. I do as I prefer the flavour, but don't feel you have to. Put the masa harina in a bowl and pour over the water. Sprinkle in the salt if adding.
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Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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