You know in the Princess Bride how they are able to make it out of the forest alive because they learn all of the different tricks of the forest i.e how to spot quicksand, slay an R.O.U.S, etc.? Well that's how I feel about making tamales. They are not easy, but if you learn a few tricks, they are a delicious treat!
Here are some simple tricks I discovered while making up some tamales for a dinner party. Bless my friends hearts for being being so appreciative of my first attempt.
1. Do not attempt to make tamales on a week night! Tamales take time to prep and cook, especially if you are making salsas and other side dishes. I would strongly suggest making them on your day off with a few friends or family members (that is the tradition in Mexico).
2. Make lots. The next time I make tamales I plan on making around 2 or 3 dozen and freezing some. If you're going to go through the work, you should at least have some leftovers for when you get a hankering for tamales!
3. Don't be a perfectionist! My virgo roots show up the most when I'm cooking, I want everything to look and taste phenomenal, so I was very worried about how my first batch of tamales was going to turn out. Would they be too doughy, would they fall apart, would they look awful...you get the picture, but when I pulled those lovely little corn packages out of the steamer, my tamales looked good! And they tasted wonderful. They might not have been as perfect as the the kind you get on the side of the road in Mexico, but with home made salsa, they hit the spot!
4. Make your own salsa! You will never be able to find that awesome taqueria salsa in a jar. Below are two recipes that get you pretty close!
Salsa Roja
8-10 dried Guajillo chile pods
5-6 dried arbol chile
2 cups diced fire roasted tomatoes (if you don't have any saved from summer, you can used canned and it will be just as good as long as they are fire-roasted)
2 tbsp. chopped green onions
a ton of chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
1 fresh tomatoe diced
Soak your dried chiles in 2 cups of water for at least an hour.
Blend chiles in food processor.
Add cilantro, green onion, fresh tomatoes, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Voila, awesome taqueria style salsa!
* I would definitely recommend making two batches if you are a salsa lover like me. We had 8 people over last night, and don't have a drop of salsa left this morning! This is fairly spicy, but should be ok for most people (sorry Mom, this is probably too hot for you!)
Jalapeno salsa
8-10 jalapenos chopped and seeded
3-4 cloves of garlic
ton of cilantro
1 cup of water
salt and pepper to tast
Chop and de-seed jalepenos (unless you want extra heat) and toss in food processor with garlic and cilantro, salt and pepper to taste.
*I'm not sure what region in Mexico this recipe comes from, but I really like it. The taqueria down the street has it and it is just killer on a breakfast burrito. I'm still trying to perfect the recipe and will try post changes as I work on it.
Tamales Recipe ( this is my take on the tamale recipe from "The Complete Mexican, South American and Caribbean Cookbook" by Jane Milton, Jenni Fleetwood and Marina Filipelli. Everything I've made from this cookbook has been amazing!
I made just a few changes!
Masa dough
10 corn husks
6 tbsp. vegetable shortening
2 cups masa haina
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 cups broth( for chicken tamales I used the liquid I boiled the chicken in. Same could be done for pork or beef, or you can use veggie both for vegetarian tamales
Filling
Two chicken breasts
TBSP. cumin
1/4 cup onion
TSP. salt
1/2 cup queso fresca, crumbled
3 cups water
Begin by begin by bringing water to a boil with the two chicken breasts with cumin, onion and chile powder. Let boil for 10 minutes then reduce to low for two hours. Remove chicken and shred saving liquid for the masa dough. Mix chicken with crumbled queso fresca
Soak corn husks in hot water for 15 minutes to soften
Put shortening or lad in bowl and beat until light and fluffy
Mix masa , baking powder and salt in sepate bowl then slowly beat in to shortening/lard alternating adding broth and masa mix
Lay softened, drained corn husks on board and spread 1/4 cup of masa dough, leaving a small border on all sides, add 2 tbsp. of filling, fold one of the longer lengths of the filling to cover it, then repeat with opposite end, close the package by folding over the remaining sides to make a neat package and tie with baking string or strip of corn husk
Place the tamales in steamer basket over boiling water and steam for 1 hour.
Serve with assorted salsas, guacamole, refried beans and spanish rice and an iced cold tecate!
Cheers!
