Cookbook:Tamales

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Cookbook | Recipes

This recipe yields about 50 tamales.

[edit] Ingredients

[edit] Spices and seasonings mix

• ½ cups corn oil
• 6 tablespoon chili powder
• 3 tablespoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoon ground cumin (comino)
• 1 tablespoon (or less) black pepper
• 2 tablespoon salt

[edit] Masa mix

• 4 lb bag corn masa
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 3 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 cups of corn oil (add only when indicated!)

[edit] Meats and miscellaneous

• 1 pork roast (6-8 pounds)
• 1 large chicken (5 pounds)
• about 50 corn husks/shucks

[edit] Equipment

• a large capacity steamer
• measuring cups
• tongs
• measuring spoons
• a draining spoon
• a spreader

[edit] Serving (optional)

• salsa

[edit] Preparation

[edit] Cook and shred pork roast

1. Cut the roast into fist-size chunks.
2. Put the chunks into a pan and cover with water.
3. Simmer for about 2½ hours or until it becomes really tender.
4. After the meat is really tender, take it out of the broth to cool. Save at least a quart of the broth, as you will need it for the Masa!
5. After the roast chunks are cool enough to handle easily, shred them with your fingers. Try to remove and discard the fat as you go. If you have cooked the roast chunks thoroughly, it will be easy to shred into small pieces with your fingers.

[edit] Cook and shred chicken

1. Cover the chicken with water in a large pot.
2. Simmer for 2 hours or until the chicken is done and tender.
3. Take the chicken out of the broth and allow the chicken to cool. Save at least a quart of the chicken broth!
4. Remove and discard the skin. Take the chicken meat off the bones and shred the it into very small filaments. Discard any large chunks of fat.

[edit] Combine pork and chicken

1. Combine both meats in very large pan.
2. Mix together, making sure that the meats are thoroughly combined and mixed well.

[edit] Add the spices and seasonings

1. Mix the "Spices and seasonings mix" from section 1.2 in a small pan and warm on the stove. Do not cook the oil and seasonings mix, but just gently warm on the stove.
2. When the oil and seasonings mix is warm, pour over the meat and mix with your hands until it is completely distributed through the meat. It takes 10 minutes to get the mixture completely uniform.

[edit] Make the corn masa dough mix

1. Start with 2 lbs. of the Masa flour.
2. Skim the fat off the broth that you saved from the pork and chicken. Throw the fat away, and save the broth.
3. Warm the broth from the pork and chicken up. Don't get it hot, just nice and warm.
4. Put the 2 lbs. of Masa in a large bowl.
5. Add the "Masa mix" in section 1.3, excepting the corn oil, to the Masa and mix until it is completely incorporated.
6. Add 2 cups of corn oil.
7. Begin to slowly work in 2 quarts of the warm chicken/pork broth, about a cup at a time. Work the mixture with your hands to make dough. Slowly add the warm broth one cup at a time as you continue to work the mixture with your hands. If it is too dry, add enough warm water to get it right for spreading. It should be about like thick peanut butter. If it is too thin, add more Masa; if it is too thick, add more broth or warm water. Thick peanut butter is the consistency you are trying for.

[edit] Prepare the corn shucks

1. Soak the shucks in a sink full of warm water for about 2 hours.
2. Carefully separate them when they get soft. Try to not tear or damage the corn shucks. It is easier to make the tamales if the shucks are in one piece.

[edit] Build the tamales

1. Once the corn shucks are soft, take a few at a time out of the water, shake the water off, and lay them on the counter on a towel.
2. Pick up a shuck, lay it across the palm of your hand with the small end toward your fingers. Scoop up about ½ cup of the Masa dough with a spatula, then smear it on the shuck.
3. Cover about left 2/3 of the shuck with Masa and leave 1/3 on the right uncovered. Similarly, cover the bottom 2/3 of the shuck, and leave the top 1/3 uncovered. You need to leave the top and side uncovered so you can fold it up later. Lay them out.
4. When you have covered 5 to 10 of the shucks with Masa, take about 1 tablespoon of meat and lay it on the masa about 1 inch from the left edge.
5. Starting on the left side (the side where the Masa dough goes all the way to the edge), roll the tamale all the way to the right edge. Now, fold the top of the shuck over like an envelope and lay tamale on the counter with the fold on the under side. Roll the next one the same until all your shucks with masa on them are rolled.

[edit] Cook the tamales

1. Add about 3 pints of water to the pot, then start stacking the tamales upright until full. The envelope end of the tamal will be on the bottom, the open end of the tamal should be on top. Continue to fill the pot. The tamales need to pack tight enough that they do not fall over and begin to unfold.
2. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cook for at least 2 hours.
3. Check water several times and add more if it is getting low, as you do not want to boil it dry.
4. Add more water as you need to.
5. If you believe that the cooking is finished, take one tamal out and leave it on the counter for about 5 minutes to test. Unwrap it and it should be firm, with no raw masa.
6. When the cooking is finished, remove all the tamales and let them cool on the counter, then put in bags for the freezer, 6 to a bag.

You can save the tamales in the freezer indefinitely if they are vacuum-sealed. If you use Zip Lock bags, they will stay for up to a year in the freezer.

[edit] Source

• A humorous, detailed, and photo-documented description of Tamal preparation

This material is copyrighted by Paul McWhorter, but written permission was obtained to reproduce it in Wikibooks under the condition that source link and credit is provided. A copy of this permission may be obtained from Cluster.

• Another humorous, detailed, and photo-documented tamal recipe, which isn't copyrighted by anybody (Archived text content of this site which is currently unavailable).