Tamales

  Tamales are another example of the wonderful variety of what Elizabeth Lambert-Ortiz calls “the corn kitchen” – that part of Mexican (and Central American) cookery that is based on corn.  Tamales are more complicated to make than tortillas.  At our house, we would have “Tamale Days” when the  interested participants would gather in the kitchen for a full day of making tamale dough and fillings, soaking corn husks, and steaming large pots full of tamales.  There is a fair amount of stoop labor involved in making tamales, as the fat must be whipped into a fluffy submission to make a proper tamale dough!  Our little stand mixer was not up to the challenge, and the stirring bowl would be passed from arm to arm as the girl children would work that wooden spoon as hard as we could until we finally hollered “Uncle!” and passed the bowl to my big brother, whose 210 pounds could do a whup-ass on the rendered lard/masa mixture!

  Basically, tamales are cakes of dough, filled with whatever you choose, wrapped in a corn husk and steamed until done.  There are meat fillings, vegetable fillings, and dessert tamales.  The basic dough can be flavored with broth and spices, or mixed with nuts, cinnamon and honey, depending on the type of tamale you are making.  In Central America and the southern parts of Mexico, tamales are often wrapped with banana leaves instead of corn husks.

  In this diary, I will give you recipes for basic dinner tamales with pork filling and dessert tamales.  There are an infinite variety you can make, depending on your taste and imagination.  The basic dough is simple, but requires elbow grease to make.

  The fat we used in “the old days” is a white, solid lard sold as “Estrella Blanca”.  It is guaranteed to clog arteries, impair circulation to the heart, and it has a shelf-life of forever.  For those who have access to free-range pork, lard rendered from free-range pigs would be the best.  You can use Crisco (with all its trans-fat loveliness) and some recipes even call for using corn oil.  I have never been able to acheive a proper fluffiness of the masa/fat dough using oil; unfortunately, the solid fats seem to work best for me when I make tamales.

Basic Tamale Dough

4 C Masa Harina -You can use MasTeCa, which is marketed as special for tamales, but I just prefer Quaker’s product.

2/3 C Crisco, Estrella Blanca, or rendered free-range pork lard

2 tsp salt

3 C water

1/3 C melted fat

Preparation of dough:

  In a large bowl, beat the fat/lard until fluffy.  Gradually add masa and enough water, continuing to mix to maintain “fluffiness”.  When all the masa has been incorporated, add the melted fat, and incorporate that.  You may need to add a bit more dry masa to get a dough/batter that is somewhere between a thick cake batter and a cookie dough.

Making the tamales

  While you were making the dough, you were soaking corn husks in some warm water until they are flexible.  Spread the middle of the corn husk with a layer of dough, putting whatever filling in the middle.  Be sure that you leave enough husk on each side to fold over.  Now, fold over these edges, then fold up the ends – you should have a nice little package of dough with goodies inside it.

  Put enough water in your steamer to cover the bottom about 1/4 of the way up.  Stack the tamales upright in the steamer, and cover with a cloth before putting the top on the steamer.  Bring the water to a boil, and steam the tamales about 1-1/2 hours, adding water as needed to keep the steam going.  You may check the firmness of the dough by peeling the end back.

Variations on tamale dough:

  For sweet or dessert tamales, you incorporate:

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup chopped pecans

2/3 cup raisins

into the tamale dough.  For filling, you can use shaved Mexican chocolate, honey, coconut, or whatever, and cook according to the Basic Tamale recipe. 

  When you are making pork/meat filling tamales, you can substitute broth for water, and add garlic powder (1/2 tsp) to the masa.

 Savory Pork Tamales:

7lb pork butt roast, prefer boneless

1/3 cup chili powder

96 oz. chicken broth

1 Tbs. + 2 tsp cumin

2 heaping Tbs. Garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. + 2 tsp chicken base

2 triangles of Ibarra chocolate

6 heaping Tbs. flour

3/4 cup cold water

Directions: Fill  the  pot with the chicken broth and add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, chicken base and chocolate. Heat to boiling then cover and simmer on low while you cut up the pork.Cut the pork into 1 inch cubes. Trim as much fat off as you can. I prefer chucks of tender pork in my tamales recipe instead of shredded pork. You can do it either way.Add the cut up pork to the boiling sauce. Partially cover and simmer on low for 2 hours or until pork is real tender.

When the pork is done and very tender, combine the 3/4 cup cold water and flour with a whisk until well blended.

Turn the heat up to high and when it is boiling, slowly add the flour mixture to the pork. Stir the pork continuously to avoid lumps just like you would when making gravy.

Continue to slow boil while stirring for about 3 to 5 minutes and then turn the heat off.

  Tamales can be frozen and re-heated without affecting their taste or texture.  They are one of the favorite Christmas presents I send to my Tex/Ex-patriate friends and family, as eating tamales on Christmas morning is a long-standing tradition at our respective houses, as well as in much of south Texas. 

  So, do some upper-body weight training, bulk up your shoulders and arms, and make some tamales!

Tags: Mexican food