A Little Dab of This & A Little Dash of That

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Tamale Day!

     In honor of "the run for the roses"; or heck just because it's not raining gonna be making some tamales today.  Despite taking a little time, they're fun to make, and there are always gobs to put in the freezer for quick snacks, meals, or entertaining in the warmer days ahead.  (Hey, asking for warmed days ahead can't hurt.)

     In case you didn't see my previous post of Turkey Mole Tamales, I am reposting the recipe.  I have also added it to my Recipe page.  Today, I will be making chicken tamales instead, so just changing out the turkey for chicken. 
    
For the Tamales, you'll need:
Corn husks -Ahead of time; soak 50 husks in hot water for 2+ hours.  You can do this in a large pot, or in your kitchen sink.

4 cups of Masa
Mix and knead masa with 1 tablespoon of salt
Add to this 2/3 cup melted lard or bacon fat.  It's okay, you won't be eating it all at once.
Then add 2-3 cups of stock; adding and mixing by hand a 1/2 cup at a time.  I had turkey on hand, but chicken stock would be fine.  The consistency you are aiming for is for the masa to stick together when you grip it in your hand.  Cover with a wet towel until ready to use.

For the filling:
3 cups of shredded turkey
1 cup of Queso Fresco
1cup of Salsa Verde
1/2 -3/4 cup of prepared mole

Process in a food processor, just a few pulses till ingredients are mixed and resemble a chunky paste.

To assemble:

Flatten out a husk on work service (cutting board).  At times you'll need to use 2. 
Spoon out 2 1/2 Tbls of masa mixture onto husk; flatten into a rectangle about 2x3x 1/4 thick.  
Top with about 1 tablespoon of turkey mole mixture.
To roll up: fold up what will be the bottom; then with the side closest to you, carefully roll until masa forms a tube completely covering turkey mix and husk covers all.  Fold down top.  Place in steaming pan on end.

Steam for an 1 hour.  Enjoy plain or top with sauce and cheese.  Can be stored in freezer for 3 months in freezer bags.  To re-steam,  just take from freezer and steam for 20 minutes. 

Hope you enjoy them as much as we have.

Enjoy your Saturday!



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