BajaNomad

Very good, and easy, pollo tamales

Santiago - 12-25-2012 at 08:58 AM

We are new to making tamales and decided to jump in this year. A lot of fun. This recipe was by far the best of the three we tried.

Chicken Tamales
Stuffing Mixture for 15-20 tamales
• 5 or 6 tomatillos, husked, rinsed
• 4 3-inch-long serrano chiles, stemmed, sliced in half long ways
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 rotisserie chicken
• 2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 dried guajillo peppers, cut into small pieces and soaked in liquid (water, tequila, etc) for 1 hour

Place the tomatillos on a baking sheet under the broiler for 5 or 6 minutes until burned spots start to form, flip them over, add the serranos and return to the broiler for another 5 or 6 minutes. When done, place tomatillos and all peppers in a processor with the juices from the baking sheet along with the garlic and process to a smooth puree.
In a sauce pan, heat the oil, add the puree and bring to a soft boil for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, uncovered to reduce.
Meanwhile, pull the meat from the chicken, discarding the bones and skin (well, scarf the skin when SWMBO is not looking). Add to the sauce pan after the reduction time and cover, simmer under low heat for 30 minutes to an hour. Drain, reserving the excess liquid for the Masa mixture below, and return to the sauce pan under very low heat or put in refrigerator if assembling the tamales later.

Masa Mixture for 15-20 tamales
• 4 cups MaSeCa instant corn masa mix
• 3 tps salt
• ½ tps galic powder (no salt)
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 cup corn oil
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth, includes the saved broth from above. This is important as the masa takes on a great flavor from the cooked broth.

Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix. And the corn oil and mix, hands work the best. Add the broth, ½ cup at a time and mix until you get the consistency of cookie dough.

For other tamale-making newbies, a video of the assembly/steaming process is here: http://www.youtube.com/embed/QSrErYAWT9Y

David K - 12-25-2012 at 08:59 AM

Merry Christmas Jim!

DENNIS - 12-25-2012 at 09:32 AM

No mention of Corn Husks, but I prefer parchment paper. The only reason the Azteks didn't use parchment paper is they didn't have any.
I've made about a billion tamales in my life......most untraditional was peanut butter and jelley. XLNT.

DENNIS - 12-25-2012 at 09:51 AM

Here ya go.....just to make life a little bit easier in Tamalandia:

http://shop.walshpaper.com/category.sc;jsessionid=42DF7A1356...





.
By the way.......some will assume that Corn Husks impart a distinct flavor to tamales, but I can assure you they don't. If you detect a certain flavor because of the husk wrapping, that is only taking place in your mind.....not your mouth.
Want proof? Soak a piece of husk in water to make it pliable, then chew it to a pastey consistency. Try at that point to discern a flavor....any flavor.
It ain't there.



.



[Edited on 12-25-2012 by DENNIS]

willardguy - 12-25-2012 at 10:52 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
No mention of Corn Husks, but I prefer parchment paper. The only reason the Azteks didn't use parchment paper is they didn't have any.
I've made about a billion tamales in my life......most untraditional was peanut butter and jelley. XLNT.
XLNT tamales, who could forget?

DENNIS - 12-25-2012 at 11:01 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by willardguy
XLNT tamales, who could forget?


I love those things. Still buy them at Vons. It's the mystery goo inside that keeps me coming back. I've been trying to figure out what it is all my life.
Jack In The Box tacos have something similar. Love them too.

desertcpl - 12-25-2012 at 11:36 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by willardguy
XLNT tamales, who could forget?


I love those things. Still buy them at Vons. It's the mystery goo inside that keeps me coming back. I've been trying to figure out what it is all my life.
Jack In The Box tacos have something similar. Love them too.





many years ago, when I was working down town LA, we used to go to Tommys, one of my favorite thing was these tamales covered with Tommys famous chili


http://www.originaltommys.com/index.php

DENNIS - 12-25-2012 at 12:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by desertcpl
many years ago, when I was working down town LA, we used to go to Tommys, one of my favorite thing was these tamales covered with Tommys famous chili




That's probably what prompted XLNT to come out with their own chili.