Tamales

The masa spread over only two-thirds of the husk, leaving a clear border to fold, so nothing escapes in the steamer.

Chicken. Not vegetarian — contains chicken, chicken stock, lard.

Ingredients

the masa

• 1 kg masa, as on its own page
• 300 g lard
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 250 ml chicken stock, warm

the filling

• 600 g chicken, poached and shredded
• 400 ml salsa verde, as on its own page

the wrapping

• about 40 dried maize husks

Method

1. THE MASA IS SPREAD OVER ONLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE HUSK, LEAVING A CLEAR BORDER TO FOLD. That border is the whole engineering of a tamal and it is what people get wrong. A husk is roughly rectangular, and the masa goes in a layer about five millimetres thick over the wider two-thirds, stopping a good two centimetres short of the long edges and a third of the way down from the narrow end. The filling goes in a line down the middle of that. Then the long sides fold over -- masa meeting masa, sealing itself -- and the empty narrow end folds up underneath. Masa spread to the edges cannot seal: the fold is masa against husk, it slides open in the steamer, and the parcel fills with water.
2. THE LARD IS BEATEN WHITE AND LIGHT BEFORE ANY MASA GOES NEAR IT, and the test is a teaspoon dropped in cold water. It must FLOAT. Three hundred grams beaten alone for five or six minutes takes in a great deal of air, and that air is the only leavening a tamal has -- the baking powder is a small help and no more. A mixture that sinks steams into a dense, heavy, greasy tamal, and there is no second chance once forty of them are wrapped.
3. THE HUSKS ARE SOAKED UNTIL COMPLETELY PLIABLE, which takes longer than expected. Thirty minutes in hot water, weighted down with a plate so they stay under. A husk that is still stiff at one end cracks along the fold, and a cracked husk leaks. They are patted dry before use -- water on the inside face stops the masa sticking to itself at the seal.
4. THEY ARE PACKED UPRIGHT AND TIGHT, OPEN END UP. Standing in the steamer basket shoulder to shoulder so none can fall over, with the folded end down and the open end uppermost. Laid flat or packed loosely, the masa slumps out of the fold while it is still soft.
5. THE TEST IS ONE UNWRAPPED, NOT THE CLOCK. An hour and a quarter is about right and varies with how tightly the steamer is packed. The masa must come away from the husk CLEANLY; if it smears, they go back for fifteen minutes. And the sacrificed tamal is eaten, not returned.
6. The husks covered with hot water, WEIGHTED with a plate, and soaked 30 MINUTES until completely pliable. Patted DRY.
7. The lard beaten alone with an electric whisk 5 to 6 MINUTES until white, light and roughly doubled.
8. The salt and baking powder beaten in, then the masa added in five or six additions, beating well between each.
9. The warm stock worked in a little at a time to a soft mixture that drops heavily from a spoon.
10. A TEASPOON DROPPED INTO COLD WATER: it must FLOAT. If it sinks, beat another 3 minutes and test again.
11. The shredded chicken turned through half the salsa verde.
12. One husk laid out, smooth side up, wider end towards you.
13. 3 tablespoons of masa spread over the WIDER TWO-THIRDS only, about 5 mm thick, stopping 2 cm short of the long edges.
14. A line of the chicken laid down the middle of the masa.
15. The LONG SIDES folded over so MASA MEETS MASA, then the empty narrow end folded UP underneath.
16. Packed UPRIGHT and TIGHT in a steamer, folded end DOWN, over 5 cm of boiling water, and covered with spare husks.
17. Steamed 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES, the water topped up twice from the kettle.
18. ONE UNWRAPPED to test: the masa must come away from the husk CLEANLY. If it smears, another 15 minutes.
19. Served in their husks with the rest of the salsa verde.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes