It's time for Christmas Tamales
This is a project your entire family can work together to make
Chef Omar Rodriguez, the head chef at my Mexican restaurant Oyamel in Washington, DC, makes tamales for Christmas every year, and it’s a great dish to share with your family. What I like about making tamales is that they are a project. It will take up an afternoon or maybe even a whole day, but that’s why I think they are the perfect food for the holiday when you hopefully have more time to spend in the kitchen without stress. If your kids are home, or you have family visiting you can set aside a day to dedicate to tamale-making together. I hope you will give it a try…tamales can be a bit tricky but don’t be discouraged. With a little practice, you can turn out amazing looking homemade tamales and you will be so proud that you made them together!
A few notes about tamales from Chef Omar. First of all, there are two main styles…tamales from Southern and Central Mexico are typically wrapped in banana leaves and made with the same finely ground corn dough as tortillas. After they are steamed, the dough texture is smooth and delicate, similar to that of thick pasta. Tamales in the North of Mexico (and Texas) are wrapped in corn husks and made with coarsely ground corn dough, so after the tamales steam, they have the fluffy, coarse texture of muffins. This recipe is for those Northern style/Texas tamales because this is where Omar is from!
To make our tamales at Oyamel, we use fresh masa that we actually nixtamalize and grind ourselves. You don’t need to do all that, but you can buy ground masa in any local Latin market and at some grocery stores. Be sure to check the label of the masa to make sure you are purchasing the actual masa sin preparar para tamales (the unprepared corn dough made from nixtamalization).
The best way to tell if you have the correct masa is to look at the ingredient label on the bag. The masa you want to buy has only corn, lime, and maybe salt. There will be no lard, stock or other ingredients in the masa!
Authentic Mexican tamales are made with real lard but you don’t need to, you can substitute vegetable shortening. For the filling, it’s also up to you, really it can be whatever you have leftover from your dinner or whatever your favorite meat may be. This year, Oyamel is making tamales with pork or chicken for to-go orders—if you’re in DC, make a reservation or an order to try our version!
The broth for the salsa can be changed as you like, for example if you are using beef as your filling, you may want to use a beef broth for the salsa for a better flavor. The meat does not have to be shredded…it will end up breaking the meat apart when combined with the salsa.
And here’s a video of Omar shaping the tamales to help you get an idea of how he does it!
Tamales Norteños (North Mexico/South Texas Style Tamales)
Makes 60 tamales
For the salsa:
Canola oil
4.5 ounces dried ancho chiles
1 ounce dried guajillo peppers
1 ounce garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon black peppercorn
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 ½ cups chicken broth
2 ounces manteca (Mexican pork lard) or vegetable shortening
½ tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
For the dough:
2 pounds yellow masa
4 ounces manteca or vegetable shortening
1 cup chicken broth
⅓ cup salsa
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
To prepare the tamales:
1 8-ounce package dried corn husks (about 60 leaves)
2 ½ pounds cooked chicken
3 cups salsa
Place the corn husks in a large stockpot or pan and cover completely with warm water. Soak for 30 minutes or so until softened.
Make the salsa: Warm 3 cups of chicken broth in a small pot then set aside off the heat. In a separate medium pot, bring a pot of water to a boil. Using gloves, seed and remove the white pith from the ancho and guajillo chiles. Remove the pot of water from the heat and add chilies. Allow chilies to rehydrate in water for 10 minutes, then remove and add to a blender. In a small sauté pan, heat a teaspoon of oil and toast garlic until lightly brown. (There is no need to cook the garlic through; you only need light caramelization on the outside for more flavor.) Toast cumin seeds and black peppercorns in a small dry sauté pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute, constantly shaking the pan so they don’t burn. Allow to cool slightly then grind in a spice grinder. Add the rehydrated chilies, toasted garlic, spices and 3 cups of warm broth to a blender and blend until smooth. Warm up a medium sauté pan and add the manteca. Once it begins to smoke, add the chili puree and fry for 5 minutes, using a spatula to constantly move it around so it won’t burn. You are looking to get rid of the raw garlic taste and thicken the puree slightly. Season with salt and reserve.
Make the masa dough: Whip the manteca with the paddle attachment on a stand mixer for about 5 minutes on medium-high speed. (You want it to be light and fluffy.) Turn off the mixer, take a small pea sized ball of manteca, and place it in a cup of water. If it sinks, continue whipping 1 minute at time until it’s well aerated. If the manteca floats, it is ready for the masa to be added. Lower the speed to lowest setting then alternate adding in the masa and salsa. Add salt and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cover the mixing bowl with a damp paper towel and refrigerate until ready to use.
Prepare your filling: Toss the chicken and salsa together in a large bowl. Really massage the salsa into the chicken; this will prevent drying. You are also trying to break the meat apart slightly. (In general, you want enough sauce to coat and flavor the filling, but not so much that the filling is really juicy/watery).
Assemble the tamales: To assemble the tamales, lay the soaked corn husk on a flat surface, like a plate or cutting board. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop about ¼ cup of masa on the soaked corn husk. Add about 2 tablespoons of your filling to the center of the masa. Carefully fold the corn husk in half vertically and gently press downwards creating a flat rectangle. Fold the flap of husk underneath itself then gently press. Fold the top (skinny) end of the husk down about 2 inches to enclose one end of the tamal. (One end of the tamal will be exposed, and the other will be folded over.)
Steam the tamales: Add water to the bottom of a stockpot. Lay the tamales horizontally in your steamer basket. Steam until the tamales are hot and cooked through and the masa separates easily from the corn husks, about 50 minutes. Remove from the steamer carefully and serve immediately. You can also refrigerate in a tightly sealed bag for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Exquisite! yum!
Omar is not only one of the best chefs out there, he is a wonderful human being.