Ok, here it is. It sounds complicated, but is more time consuming than difficult, although assembling the tamales does take a little practice.
I make the filling and dough one day, then assemble and steam tamales the next day.
Dough:
2/3 cup crisco
2 cups dry corn masa for tamales*
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups room-temp broth, kind appropriate to filling
With an electric mixer, beat the crisco til fluffy. Mix the dry ingredients together and beat into the crisco alternately with the broth. When you are done mixing everything together, the dough should be very light and fluffy. Test by gently placing a pea-size blob on the surface of a cup of water. It should float. If not, beat the masa some more to incorporate more air.
Chill the dough til assembly time. This will make 24-30 small tamales.
*If you can't get the dry masa for tamales, use the kind for corn tortillas. It's more finely ground than the tamale masa, and the texture of the dough will be heavier.
Pork filling:
1 (2-1/2 to 3 lb.) boston butt roast
2 tbsp oil
1 very large onion, chopped
1/2 head garlic, chopped
1 heaping spoonful cumin seed
Meat broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Achiote paste to taste (opt)
Cook the meat til very tender, cool, and shred. Saute the onion, garlic, and cumin seed in the oil. Add the shredded meat, some broth, and seasonings. Simmer til the meat is well-seasoned and the mixture is dry. This will fill about 30 tamales. Where I live, pork is the most traditional tamale filling.
Chicken Mole filling:
1 chicken, about 3-1/2 lbs.
1 jar (about 9 oz.) mole paste -- I like La Costena brand.
2 cups (at least) chicken broth
cocoa powder and cayenne to taste
Cook the chicken, cool, debone, and shred. Gradually mix chicken broth into the mole paste to make a smooth mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, til thickened. Add the chicken and simmer til the mixture is dry. Stir often to avoid scorching. Adjust seasoning with cocoa and cayenne. Enough for about 40 tamales.
Veggie Filling:
This is not exactly traditional, but I wanted a tasty veg filling with lots of color. I actually substituted red jalapenos for the poblano this time, but I like the taste of poblano better.
a little olive oil
3 medium zucchini
3-4 scallions, including tops
1 large clove garlic, smashed
1 large poblano chili*
1/3 cup diced sun-dried tomato (not the kind in oil)
12 oz. queso fresco, crumbled
1 handful chopped cilantro (opt)
Roast the chili over an open flame or broiler til the skin is blistered and charred. Put it in a plastic bag to cool off, then slip off the skin, discard the seeds and dice the chili. Dice the outer parts of the zucchini (reserve the cores for another use) and the scallions. Saute the veggies and garlic in olive oil til they are barely tender. Let cool, then mix in the cheese and cilantro.
Makes enough for about 30 tamales.
*If you can't get poblano, substitute a not-too-hot chili of choice, or a 4-oz. can of chopped green chilies.
Assembly and cooking:
Ideally, you have a couple of friends to help with this part, and do it assembly-line style.
1 pkg. dried corn husks (I used 2 pkg for 100 tamales)
Dough
Filling of choice
A bowl of cold water
Towel for hand-wiping
A stockpot with a deep steamer basket
A couple of terry face cloths
Separate the husks and soak in warm water til pliable. Tear some of the narrower pieces of husk into thin strips for tying the tamales closed.
Place a husk rougher side down in front of you. Put a large spoonful of dough on the middle of the husk. Dip your fingers in the cold water to minimize sticking, then gently pat the dough in a thin layer to cover the middle third of the husk from bottom to top, and from one side edge 2/3 of the way to the opposite edge.
Place a small amount of filling on the dough, and fold the tamale so the edges of dough meet, and the remaining width of the husk wraps around to ensure that no filling escapes.
Fold up the ends toward the middle, and tie with strips of husk around the girth of the tamale. Tie securely, but not too tight because the tamales will expand a little as they cook.
When you have made enough tamales, line the steamer basket with a layer or two of leftover husks and fill the basket with tamales placed standing on their ends. Put some water in the bottom of the stockpot, but not so much that it is deeper than the bottom of the steamer basket. Put a couple of pennies in the water, add the basket of tamales, and put the terry facecloths on top of the tamales to absorb condensation from the lid.
Steam, tightly covered, for about an hour and a half, using the lowest heat possible to still maintain steam. The pennies will stop rattling if the pot goes off steam, or boils dry.
Test a tamale for doneness by unwrapping it. The husk should come away cleanly and easily from the tamale. The dough should flake apart easily with a fork and not be soggy or heavy. If it is, try steaming the tamales some more, checking at 20 minute intervals.
Tamales freeze well. You can heat them in the microwave or oven, or a dry iron skillet which gives the tamales a wonderful toasty flavor.
Ann in TX
(1/2/01)
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