Homemade Tamales Recipe

🧂 Ingredients

• 4 1/2 pound chicken broken down into individual breasts

  thighs, drums, and wings
• 6 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
• 2 peeled yellow onions cut into wedges or slices
• 16 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 cups chicken stock

  water, or vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 seeded ancho chiles
• 3 seeded guajillo chiles
• 5 Roma tomatoes

  cut in half
• coarse sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
• 40 to 50 corn husks
• 2 cups lard
• 6 cups finely found masa
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 cups chicken stock

Instructions

• 1 Filling: Season by seasoning the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper.
• 2 Next, add the 3 tablespoons avocado or olive oil to a rondeau pot over high heat
  until it begins to smoke lightly. Place the chicken skin side down and then turn
  the heat down to medium high.
• 3 Sear the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until well browned on both
  sides. Set it aside on a plate.
• 4 Add 1 peeled yellow onion, 10 garlic cloves, and 2 bay leaves and sauté for 3 to
  4 minutes or until the onion is well browned. Pour in the chicken stock and
  season it with salt and pepper.
• 5 Place the chicken back in the liquid, place on a lid, and cover over medium heat
  for 1 hour. Once the chicken is very tender, remove it from the liquid and set
  it to the side on a plate.
• 6 Strain the chicken stock into a pot and set the liquid to the side. Add the
  onions and garlic from the strainer to the plate with the cooked chicken.
• 7 Add the rondeau pot back to the burner over high heat and add 3 tablespoons of
  avocado or olive oil and heat until it begins to lightly smoke.
• 8 Next, add the onions and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes or until well browned. Stir in
  the garlic and cook just until fragrant, which takes about 30 to 45 seconds.
• 9 Now sprinkle in the cumin and toast for 1 to minutes before adding in the chiles
  and tomatoes. Sauté the vegetables together for 2 to 3 minutes, and then add
  back in half of the strained chicken stock. Simmer over medium heat for 10 to 15
  minutes or until the chiles are softened.
• 10 In the meantime, bone, skin, and shred the chicken with your fingers or using
  forks. Keep it aside. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend on high speed
  until it is smooth.
• 11 Pour the red sauce back into the pot, adjust the seasonings with salt and
  pepper, and the shredded chicken and mix to combine. Remove it from the heat and
  set it aside to cool.
• 12 Tamales: Add the husks to a large container and cover it completely with cold
  water and let it sit overnight. You can also cover it in hot boiling water and
  let it sit for 1 hour to soften. Strain the husks entirely and set them aside.
• 13 Add the lard to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on high speed
  for 5 to 7 minutes or until it becomes light and fluffy.
• 14 Stop the mixer and add in the masa, baking powder, and salt, and mix on low
  speed.
• 15 While it is mixing, begins to slowly pour in the remaining warm 4 cups of
  chicken stock until it is mixed in. You may need to wait a minute or two in
  between adding in the chicken stock to ensure it is mixed in.
• 16 Once the dough is combined it should be very soft and slightly stick, like the
  consistency of peanut butter.
• 17 Take about a half cup of the masa dough and spread it to the center of a husk
  making about a 5” x 5” size. Be sure to leave about 1” inch at the top and
  several inches on the bottom parts of the husk. Watch the video to see how to do
  this.
• 18 Add about 2 tablespoons of the chicken filling to the center of the masa that is
  spread out on the husk.
• 19 Fold the husk over until the masa completely encases the filling. Next, fold the
  husk over one more time and then fold the bottom part of the husk up.
• 20 This is optional, but you can then tie a thin piece of husk around the tamale to
  help it hold in place although it will hold fine and is not needed. This seems
  to be more for aesthetics.
• 21 Place the tamales open side up into a steamer basket until it is filled up. Put
  a damp kitchen towel over the tamales and place them in a large pot with water
  that is below the basket and cover with a lid, and steam for 1 hour to 1 hour
  and 15 minutes or until cooked through.
• 22 Remove and rest for a few minutes before serving.

Nutrition Info