Tamales - eating them and making them - are a Christmas tradition all through Mesoamerica and the American Southwest.
Recently, led by Jason Grow, a bunch of us spent an afternoon putting together tamales. It was so much fun, it made me think there really is no reason why New England shouldn’t abandon the gingerbread-house making business and start embracing tamales as a Christmas tradition. Which project would you rather choose, one at which eggnog is traditionally served, or tequila?
I speak with a loose tongue when I say tamales are fun to prepare, because, in truth, I didn’t do much. Jason Grow, my authority on all things Mesoamerican (watch his video making Posole and homemade tortillas), arrived at my house with his wife, Sarah, and three daughters, Matilda, Maisie and Jemima. They came bearing buckets of already prepared Chile Con Carne, a vat of Red Chili Sauce made from authentic New Mexico Red Chili Powder so earthy and complex it tasted holy. And they brought manpower and knowhow.
Within minutes the kitchen became base camp for tamale making and Jason was at the stove heating the chile, and asking me to retrieve the corn husks, my only job besides pouring Tequila. Sarah quietly directed from behind the front lines.
Jason began mixing the water into the masa harina to make it just crumbly, and ready to accept the lard. He beat the lard to light and fluffy in the mixer, and then incorporated it into the masa to make a beautiful shining dough.
He roasted the chilis for the chili and cheese filling.
I’m going to stop here and lay out the recipe:
1. prepare the fillings - we - I mean, Jason, prepared two: the meat filling and a roasted chili/cheese filling. See the recipes for each.
2. prepare the dough, made from masa harina and lard, which will wrap around the filling. All will be inside the cornhusk, and eventually steam.
2. soak the corn husks. This took a minimum of 20 minutes, but they could probably soak longer.
3. Make a pile of “tying strips” for the Tamales by ripping off 1/3 inch wide strips lengthwise from the corn husks. In the end you will have a pile of soaked husks, and a pile of strips of soaked husks that you’ll tie them with.
4. Set up your steaming arrangements. We used a fish poacher which worked beautifully and we were able to steam almost 30 at a time. We also used a colander set over a pot of boiling water covered with a lid. That worked pretty well, also.
Lay everything out: Pile of corn husks. Strips for tying. Dough. Fillings.
Lay the corn husk down in front of you, the narrow end being the closest. Take a little pile of the masa dough, maybe enough to cover the palm of your hand, and pat it onto the center of an opened, soaked corn husk. Lay a smaller pile of either the cheese or meat filling in the center of the dough, and sort of push the dough on top and around the filling, so it basically encompasses all.
Fold the bottom of the husk up onto the filling, and fold the centers in. Then fold the top down, and secure with one of the many ties you have made by ripping 1/3 inch-wide strips down off a husk. Tie a knot.
There isn’t a true science to this; it’s about securing the thing shut, so if your strips are too short, tie two together. Or tie one around the top and another lengthwise, like a package.
Call in the tamale-tying hands.
Arrange the tamales all in the steamer, cover and steam for approximately an hour.
The tamales tying and assembling so happily united the generations the eating part felt like a bonus. Certainly, the Southwest knows something we don’t know about surviving Christmas. (- and nobody makes fun of tamales the way they do fruitcake.) I just saw a recipe for a tamale-stuffed Turkey; maybe next year for Thanksgiving....
The Recipes
Chile Con Carne Para Tamales (Chile Meat Filling)
yield 6 cups
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds beef or pork, stewed and shredded
2 tablespoons lard
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup red Chile Powder
2 cups meat broth
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
Combine meat and lard in a large skillet and fry meat at medium heat until browned. Add the flour to meat and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the chile powder, broth, and seasonings to the meat. Cook at medium heat for approximately 30 minutes, stirring constantly until the mixture has thickened.
Cheese and Chili filling for Tamales:
Ingredients
8-10 Anaheim Chiles
3 cups grated monterey jack cheese or Queso, Mexican cheese
Instructions
Roast the chilis. Put into a paper bag until they steam, and it is easy to remove the skins and seeds. Chop roasted chilis into 1/2 inch pieces. Mix with grated cheese.
Masa for Tamales
Working with Masa is like learning about a whole new food if you’re from New England. It’s niximilated corn flour - meaning it’s been treated with lime, and therefore its enzyme inhibitors have been broken down, and the niacin in the corn made available - and so Masa is nutritious, for one. For two, it’s just kind of fun to put your hands in. Add water, which you have to do, and it isn’t a dusty, sticky, lumpy glob, the way wheat paste is; Masa and water become a glowing, soft mass, like really light play-dough.
To make the masa de maiz, which is the word for the dough-part of the tamales, it just gets more interesting. You whip lard - the way you would cream butter for a cake - in a mixer, so it is a beautiful glycerine white mass, which you fold into the masa and water pile. This is texturally one of the most satisfying thing your hands and eyes can know.
Ingredients
6 cups masa harina
5 cups warm water or chicken broth
2 cups lard or shortening
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
In a mixing bowl combine masa and warm water. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes or so to let the masa soften.
In a separate bowl, whip lard or shortening until fluffy. Add the lard to the dough a little at a time while mixing until well combined.
The mixture should be about the consistency of peanut butter. If not, add more masa or more water.
Red Chili Sauce
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil or lard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp. oregano
1-2 cups chili powder
2 cup chicken broth
salt to taste
Instructions
Saute garlic and oregano in oil. Blend in flour with a wooden spoon. Add chili powder and stir. The chili powder burns easily, so watch it. Stir in water to reach the desired consistency.