I didn’t grow up eating tamales like many people did, but as I have gotten older, I sure have developed a taste for them. I usually buy them off someone in a parking lot (my mom hates this), or occasionally I order them when out to eat. But I always thought it would be fun to give making them a shot. Thankfully, the women I hang out with are also adventurous in their cooking and didn’t mind getting together for about 5 hours to make 60 or so tamales. A huge plus was that two of them have made these with their family before, so we turned to them for their recipes and all of their tips and tricks. I cannot say that I am an expert because I have only attempted these twice, but to our credit, they were some of the best tamales I have ever had.
If you decide to make these I suggest enlisting a few friends to help you because it’s a lot more fun with wine flowing and when you don’t have to do all of the work. This recipe was something we collaborated on via the Internet and family tips. Hope that you give it a shot; you won’t be disappointed.
I highly suggest heading to BuyLow Supermarket in Long Beach (4700 Cherry Ave Long Beach, CA 90807), because you are able to find most everything that you will need there. You could make your own masa if you would like, but we went ahead and bought it already prepared.
Shopping list
– 3 large cans whole green chilies
– 6 cans whole corn
– 6 cans sweet cream corn
– 4 cans diced jalapenos
– Big block of jack cheese
– 3 fresh yellow wax chilies
– 2 tomatoes
– 1 can enchilada sauce
– Box of Inter-fold Deli Wraps (wax paper sheets)
– Box of freezer plastic bags
– 2 large bags of hojas (this is what the tamales are wrapped in—corn husks)
– 10 pounds of prepared masa fina (this is the dough for the tamales)
First things first: the hojas. These need to be soaked for two hours in hot water so that they aren’t too dry to fill and then eventually steam. If you just want to let them soak overnight in room temp water, you can go ahead and do that, too. Then you want to take the prepared masa and put it in a big bowl; we stirred in the can of enchilada sauce to give the masa fina a little bit more color.
Then we went ahead and got started on the chopping. Once you have drained the cans of whole green chilies, go ahead and slice them into four pieces—about the thickness of a finger. You will also want to slice the jack cheese about the same size. For the tomatoes, you can just do a rough chop because this will just be mixed in for color. Then do the same with the yellow wax chilies.
Now let’s drain! Go ahead and drain the 6 cans of whole corn, the diced jalapenos, and 3 of the cans of the sweet corn (you don’t HAVE to do this but I just think the tamale cooks quicker and isn’t as wet at the end of the process). Put all the chopped veggies and the canned goods into a pot on the stove and heat it thoroughly.
While the filling is heating, you should probably get started on sorting out the hojas. You will want to pat them all dry, and then one by one, put them in a pile with the right side facing up. This was the hardest part for me, but you want to have the side that you will be putting the masa on facing up, so that once they are cooked, the masa easily comes off of the hoja. The way my friend told us to decide on the correct side was to slide your fingernail across it, and the rougher side should be on the outside, and the smoother side would be where you want to place your masa and your filling. Once you have these all set up, you are ready to go.
Our tamale leader told us to use the back of a spoon while layering the masa onto the hoja. You want to have the masa to be about 1/4 inch think and very even so that when they steam, certain parts aren’t under or overcooked. If you spread it too thick, it will be difficult to roll up with the filling added, and it will squeeze out onto your hand or counter. If you make it too thin, you will have the filling falling out in the steamer. You want the masa to cover the hoja from side to side and to the bottom, leaving an area at the top about 1 1/2 inch. Once you are happy with your masa, you put on a stick of cheese, one piece of green chili, and about a teaspoon of filling down the center. You will then want to fold the bottom up and then one side over the other.
We then wrapped each of the tamales in wax paper and bagged them in Ziploc bags so we could freeze the ones that we would be eating at a later date. While you finish your tamale prep, keep the bags standing up so that the filling does not fall out of the tamale. This made about 75 tamales. You could make more or less, but I say the more the merrier; they keep in the freezer, and I’m sure friends and family will be hitting you up for some.
When you are ready to steam these babies, you could pull out your tamale steamer if you are fancy like that, or go ahead and take out your biggest pot-lid-and-steamer-insert-pasta-drainer-concoction-made-out-of-tinfoil and get started. Take off the wax paper and stand the tamales upright (I use a pasta drainer, and I do about 4 tamales at a time). You do not need a lot of water in your pot, but you do want to keep a close eye on the water level and continue to add to it so that you don’t end up burning the bottom.
Each time I have steamed tamales, it has taken a different amount of time. I am sure it depends on the water, how many tamales you are steaming, and the filling. Mine take from 45 – 90 minutes. The way you can tell if they are done is by removing one with tongs, laying it down, and attempting to open it. If the masa easily comes away from the hoja, then maybe let it cool for a second and dig in.
Hope you find this helpful, and if you do make tamales any time soon, I hope you let me know about. I cannot wait to get home tonight and eat a few!