Tamale Night

Ladies the Tamales were amazing!!! Thanks again Lizabeth for treating us to a great evening. We learned you can use almost any good meat mixture as a filling. Sarah, please post your Cafe Rio pork recipe!! :-) That would be amazing with these. here's the recipe.

1 package corn husks - separate and soak in water for 10 minutes

Red filling:

1 pkg pasilla chilies
4 tomatillos
1 can chopped tomatoes
cumin

bring salted water to a boil, add chilies and tomatillos. Let sit until soft. Put all together in blender with a little water and blend until smooth.


Green filling:

4 anaheim chilies
2 tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
1 small onion
a little water
salt to taste

chop ingredients in food processor until small chunks. Make a gravy with chicken broth, onion and flour.

I'll add, you can probably add meat to either of these sauces. Chicken or pork would be my preference.

MASA:

4 c masa
4 c water with bullion cubes or broth from meat
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 1/3 c. lard (yes you can find this in the grocery store - sometimes by the ethnic food)

mix all ingredients together in a mixer or using a hand mixer.

Dry corn husks (should be soft and malleable) spread masa thinly across corn husk from side to side and leave a little room on top and about 1/3 of the bottom of the husk. This will allow you to pinch the top closed and fold the bottom and tie. After spreading masa, place filling about 1/4 c. in center of husk. Roll husk over filling and pinch top and fold over bottom of husk to close. repeat until all filling and masa and husks are gone.

Steam 2 hours in steaming basket so that the tamales are not sitting in water. Note: when steaming place a dish cloth over the opening of steam before putting lid on. This will help to keep condensation off the tamales.

makes 3 1/2 to 4 dozen tamales. best when cooled, then reheated. that way they set up all the way.

Here's a video I found on youtube on how to spread the masa etc.

http://www.monkeysee.com/play/12314-tamales-how-to-assemble-and-cook-your-tamales

When using chicken use 2-4 chicken breasts. Boil and shred and add to the sauces.