Traditional Corn Husk Tamales Recipes

TRADITIONAL CORN HUSK TAMALES

Steps:

• To prepare chile paste:.
• Break caps off all red chiles and shake seeds out. Soak red chiles in hot water until soft. Blend or process chiles into a paste using a small amount of water in which they were soaked to help it move in the food processor or blender. Put paste through a sieve to remove the skins. Throw skins away. This may be made way ahead of time and refrigerated until you make the tamales.
• To prepare meat:.
• Use the cheapest roasts you can find! Try to cook the meat the day before assembling tamales, keeping it in the refrigerator until tamale-making time. Cut meat into large chunks. Cover meat with water in a very large pot. Add 6 to 12 garlic cloves and 2 or 3 tablespoons salt. Cook meat, covered, for 3 hours or until meat is tender and falling apart. Remove meat from juice and shred. SAVE THE JUICE. Mix meat sauce with the meat.
• To prepare meat sauce:.
• Melt 2/3 cup lard or Crisco and add 2/3 cup flour. Boil for 2 minutes. Pour over shredded meat and mix. Add chili paste, one cup at a time, to taste. Add 1 tablespoon of cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• To mix masa:.
• Place 12 pounds masa (room temperature) in a very large pan and mix with 1 1/4 cups lard or Crisco, 2 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons baking powder, 1 cup chile paste and 2 cups meat broth.
• Mix with hands. Add more meat broth (about 1 cup). Add more chile paste for color if desired. Work all ingredients together with hands for about 10 minutes. The dough is ready when a small lump floats slowly to the bottom of a glass of water.
• To assemble tamales:.
• Soak corn husks in hot water until soft. Using the larger husks, place each husk waxy side up (ribbed side down). Spread masa onto each husk out to the wide edge. Place a small portion of meat in the center of masa. (You may place a stuffed green olive on the meat if you care to.) Roll husks and fold back, wide sides to center, then tapered flap up.
• Set a wire rack or vegetable steamer in the bottom of a large kettle. Put water in kettle just up to the bottom of the rack or steamer. Set tamales in kettle standing on end. Pack them in, allowing room for expansion of masa as they cook. Steam for about 20 to 40 minutes, or until masa pulls away from corn husk easily.

EASY CORN TAMALES

Steps:

• Working in batches, add the corn kernels to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale. Add the egg, salt, and baking powder. Mix to incorporate. Add the flour and pureed corn and mix until blended and forms a loose smooth dough.
• Put a corn husk lengthwise in front of you with the wide side closest to you. Spread 3 tablespoons of the dough all over the bottom half (wide side) of the corn husk, leaving about a 1-inch-wide border on the left and right sides. Pick up the 2 long sides of the corn husk and bring them together. Roll both sides of the corn husks in the same direction over the filling.
• Repeat with remaining corn husks and dough. Arrange the tamales, seam side down, in a steamer and add 1/2-inch of water. Cover with a tight fitting lid, bring to a simmer and steam for 1 hour, adding additional water, as needed to maintain 1/2-inch of water in the pan. Remove the tamales from the steamer to a serving platter and serve.

TRADITIONAL TAMALES (PORK)

Steps:

• In a 5 qt Dutch oven, bring pork, water, onion, garlic and 1 1/2 salt to boil.
• Simmer covered, about 2 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender.
• Remove meat from broth and allow both meat and broth to cool. (Chilling the broth will allow you to easily remove the fat if you desire to do so).
• Shred the meat using 2 forks, discarding fat.
• Strain the broth and reserve 6 cups.
• In a large sauce pan, heat the red chili sauce and add meat; simmer, covered for 10 minutes.
• To make masa beat shortening on medium speed in a large bowl for 1 minute.
• In a separate bowl, stir together masa harina, baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt.
• Alternately add masa harina mixture and broth to shortening, beating well after each addition. (Add just enough broth to make a thick, creamy paste).
• In the mean time, soak corn husks in warm water for at least 20 minutes; rinse to remove any corn silk and drain well.
• To assemble each tamale, spread 2 tablespoons of the masa mixture on the center of the corn husk (each husk should be 8 inches long and 6 inches wide at the top. If husks are small, overlap 2 small ones to form one. If it is large, tear a strip from the side).
• Place about 1 tablespoon meat and sauce mixture in the middle of the masa.
• Fold in sides of husk and fold up the bottom.
• Place a mound of extra husks or a foil ball in the center of a steamer basket placed in a Dutch oven.
• Lean the tamales in the basket, open side up.
• Add water to Dutch oven just below the basket.
• Bring water to boil and reduce heat.
• Cover and steam 40 minutes, adding water when necessary.
• To freeze these for future meals, leave them in the husks and place them in freezer bags. To reheat, thaw and wrap in a wet paper towel and reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes for one or two or re-steam them just until hot.

CUBAN TAMALES

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook and stir pork in hot oil until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Pour 1/2 cup white wine into saucepan and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
• Stir 2 cups water, 5 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 beef bouillon cube, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and black pepper to pork mixture. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, partially cover the saucepan with a lid, and simmer until pork is very tender, 1 to 2 hours. Transfer pork to a bowl and reserve cooking liquid.
• Heat remaining olive oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir chorizo and cooked pork in hot oil until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir onion, green pepper, and remaining minced garlic into chorizo mixture; saute until vegetables soften and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add remaining white wine, olives, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, and remaining bouillon cube; cook, stirring frequently, until flavors combine, about 5 minutes more.
• Pulse corn and 1 1/2 cups reserved pork broth together in a blender or food processor until mixture has a thick and chunky consistency. Stir corn mixture into pork-chorizo mixture.
• Reduce heat to medium and stir masa harina, sugar, vinegar, and salt into pork mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture has a hearty cornmeal porridge-consistency. Season with salt and remove from heat.
• Make a pocket out of one corn husk and fill 3/4 full with pork mixture, leaving a top flap. Wrap another husk around the filled pocket. Fold top flap over the pocket. Tie twine length- and width-wise around the tamale several times so that packet is secure, but has room for filling to expand during cooking. Repeat with remaining husks and filling.
• Fill a pot with 2-inches of water; bring to a simmer. Place tamales upright in simmering water, cover the pot, and cook, adding water as necessary, until filling is hot and set, about 40 minutes. Cool tamales until completely set, at least 3 hours.

SWEET FRESH CORN TAMALES RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Remove the husks and silk from the corn, reserving the tender green leaves for wrapping.
• Using a large, sharp knife, remove the kernels from the cob and place into a high powered blender. Blend the kernels until smooth and then pass the corn puree through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl to let the excess liquid drain.
• Place the strained corn puree in a clean bowl and stir together with the sweetened condensed milk, cane sugar and cinnamon. Slowly drizzle in the masa until a thick batter forms.
• Place a bamboo steamer over a pot of boiling water.
• Place a corn husk on a flat surface with the pointed end away from you. Spoon about ½ cup of the corn puree into the middle. Snugly fold over the two long flaps like a business letter, then fold over a few inches of the pointed end of the husk, creating a little bit of tension so that the tamales don't flatten while steaming. Repeat with the remaining filling and husks.
• Carefully lay the tamales in the steamer in a single layer, working in batches if necessary. Cover the steamer basket and cook the tamales until they are slightly firm, about 15 minutes.
• Enjoy!