It’s the holiday season and a great excuse to make a whole bunch of tamales to enjoy while celebrating. My family, especially my daughter and I, love tamales. Several years ago, I decided to make sure I had a satisfying recipe. It took a couple tries to get it where I wanted. It’s not a complicated recipe necessarily, but as in all things, getting the details correct and then being able to recreate the recipe consistently is often the most difficult part.

The first version I made was dryer than I wanted, although they were delicious. Eventually I made a dough for the tamales that pushed softness as far as I could and still holds a shape when cooked. Honestly the fillings are just an afterthought to me. It really doesn’t matter because it will be delicious if the dough is great. Simple fillings are often the best way to go, like roasted poblano peppers and a little cheese, pork cooked in salsa verde until extremely tender, beef cooked with dried chilis. A side of salsa is of course an added bit of deliciousness that pulls it all together.

The history of tamales goes back to 7000 BC, and possibly farther back as part of the Aztec diet. They are calorie dense and travel well in their corn husk shell. They were offered to the gods in ancient times and are now often a part of Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.

The fillings for tamales have endless possibilities. I have had dark chocolate, strawberry, blueberry and many other delicious, sweet tamales. My personal favorite is cheese filled eaten with fresh tomatillo salsa, and my daughter’s is pork chili verde filled with my avocado salsa.  

Pork chili verde

• 1 pound pork shoulder
• 1 poblano chili, stem and seeds removed,
• 1 white onion, diced
• 6 tomatillos, peels and stems removed
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed- omit if you don’t want heat
• 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder
• *Salt and pepper to taste

1. Add everything to a pot with just enough cold water to not quite cover everything and cook at 350 degrees until pork is fork tender
2. Let cool 30 minutes, remove pork, and carefully shred the meat. Do not over shred.
3. Place sauce in blender or food processor and blend smooth.
4. Combine pork and sauce. Reserve as filling.

Tamales

• 1 cup tamale masa
• 3/4 cup hot tap water, more as needed
• 1/4 cup pork lard
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dried corn husks

1. Combine everything but the corn husks and use a paddle mixer or hand mixer to blend smooth.
2. Add enough water to make the dough soft but not sticky. This may take a couple of times to genuinely understand properly.
3. Let rest 30 minutes covered.
4. Soak corn husks in water for 30 minutes. Drain.
5. Open a husk, top side toward you.
6. Spread a thin layer of masa dough on top. The amount is up to you. Make it once for fun to understand.
7. Top with a small amount of the filling.
8. Fold one side, then roll to the other side.
9. Fold the small end toward the top side.
10. Place in a pot, with the fold down. Often a steamer base is used, or crumpled aluminum foil as a small barrier.
11. Repeat, until everything is used.
12. Add 4 cups of cold water to the pot. Cover. Bring to a boil and simmer 90 minutes.
13. Let rest 1 hour.
14. Eat immediately with your favorite salsa or put in freezer bags to enjoy at your convenience.

About

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.