Tamales are a holiday tradition for some families. Eugenio Alvarez, from Santa Rita Tex Mex Cantina, joined our Keri Bellacosa in the Good Day kitchen to show us how to make homemade tamales.
Tamale recipe
Ingredients
- 4 lbs.
masa blanca (white corn)
- 1 ½
lbs. shorting or lard for more flavor
- 1 ½
lbs. boiled potatoes mashed
- ½ cup
milk
- 1 cup
chicken stock
- 1 cup
chopped onions
- 3 tsp.
of chicken base
- 1 tsp.
black pepper
- 1 tsp.
dried thyme
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 3
Cloves of garlic
- ¼ cup
of salt
- 40
dried corn husks (soak in water and set aside for later)
Directions
- Put
milk, chicken stock, onions, chicken base, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and bay
leaves in blender. Blend on high for 2
minutes.
- In
separate large container, combine the masa, mashed potatoes the pork lard and knead by hand, then add the
mixture from the blender slowly, pouring a little in the masa, then mixing by hand, pouring a little more,
then mixing by hand. Do this until the
masa and the spices are blended very well.
Set aside this mixture in the refrigerator.
- Ingredients
for Pork Tamale filling:
- Cook a
4 lb. pork roast in your favorite way (crock-pot, roasting, stewing).
- Cool
the meat, and then pull the meat into small pieces. Put aside in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
for Authentic Pork Sauce:
- 4 cups
of boiled tomatoes
- 2 cups
of canned of mild chiles
- 2
tbsp. of Guajillo pepper paste
- 2
tbsp. of Chipotle pepper paste
- 4 cups
of chicken stock
- ½ tsp.
Cumin
- ½ tsp.
black pepper
- 4 oz.
can of chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup
chopped onions
- 2 tbsp.
canola oil
- 3
cloves chopped garlic
- 1 tsp.
salt
Directions:
- Bring
water to a rolling boil and add tomatoes for 10 minutes.
- Add
all pastes and both kinds of tomatoes to a large stock pot and blend together.
- In
separate pan, sauté onion and garlic in oil until onion is translucent.
- Add
stock and paste blend to onion and garlic.
- Place
over medium flame, add salt, pepper and cumin.
- Bring
to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Strain
mixture through a china cap.
- Add ¾
of the mixture to pulled pork and blend well. Set aside the other ¼ part of
sauce to put on tamales before serving.
To
make tamales:
- Spread
the masa thinly on a corn husk, spreading from the bottom of the husk to one
inch from the top.
- Put 2 ounces of pork
in middle of the husk.
- Fold the bottom ½
inch of husk up, then fold each side over.
- Put a dab of masa on the open end of the tamale, and lay in steam pan.
- After
you have a full steam pan of tamales, steam in oven or on the stove for 40
minutes. Serve the tamales with the
sauce on the side, or unwrap tamales and pour sauce on top with cheese and put
under the broiler for a few minutes.
