Christmas Tamales

Chicken Tamales:

I will give the ingredients for how many I made. You can cut it down to how many you would like. I ended up with about 10 dozen chicken and 5 dozen beef. The video just shows the chicken tamales and I will give the recipe for the beef as well. Some how the last potion of the video did not tape. That is where I had to explain the rest of the process. Sorry about that.

Chicken Tamales:

10 lbs of chicken breast cooked (I boiled them in water with 2 Tablespoons of Knorrs Tomatoe Chipotle Bouillion)
After you cook the chicken let cool and shred.
Reserve the water. That is going to be the liquid to mix with the Masa.

Masa:

4 cups Masa,
1 Cup Crisco,
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt,
4 Cup Broth (reserved from cooked chicken),
2 Tablespoons Chicken Bullion,

Mix above ingredients and beat with a mixer until combined and easily spreadable.

Soak the corn husks in hot water for a couple of minutes and then dry. Place smooth side up and use 1/3 cup of masa and spread on the top half of the husk. You want to leave a little more at the top. Place a strip of green chili on top of the masa and then the chicken mixture. Fold up as shown and tie with a strip of corn husk if you wish.

Beef Tamales:

1 5 lb. piece of London Broil. (I cooked mine in a crock pot for about 6 hours. You can also grill or cook in the oven. It needs to be tender enough to shred)

Masa for Beef Tamales:

4 Cups Masa,
1 Cup Crisco,
1 cup Pace Picante Sauce or whatever kind you like,
3 cups of Broth,
2 teaspoons of Beef Broth,

Shred the beef. Mix all the masa ingredients and spread the masa as instructed above. I put a few jalapenos and olives on top and then the beef. Fold up the corn husk and then steam.

We used a pressure cooker and filled it a few inches with water, put rack in and filled it with the tamales. Make sure they are standing up and tight but not squished. If there is room around the sides you can scrunch up some foil to fill in the gaps. (Pressure cookers are kind of tricky so, read your directions that come with it, I am very new to them myself)

We brought the pressure cooker up to pressure and then turned down to medium high for 15-20 minutes. Shut off the cooker and let sit till it stops hissing. Set the pressure cooker in the sink and run cool water "slowly" over it and then open.

Take the tamales out and cool on paper towels and let cool completely before putting them into plastic bags or whatever you want to store them in. They can be frozen as well.

The other option is just steaming them in a big pot. You need to fill the bottom with a couple of inces of water, use either a rack or steamer basket, stand the tamales up as shown and steam for a little under 2 hours. You will need to keep and eye on them to make sure all your water dosen't boil off.

To reheat: You can put them in the microwave in a baggie for a couple of minutes (if they seem dry you can add a teaspoon of water to the bag, or steam them again.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• xcookage
• tamale
• recipe
• cooking
• food
• mexican

[DzzRed]

Yes, your are right they are alot of work, that's why I only do them twice a year. I usually make about 200. I use a red sauce, ancho or chili pods. I use this for pork, beef and chicken. I use about 10 pounds of meat to 15 pounds of masa. I'm not an expert, married a man who loves tamales, and I'm an irish/scottish/American Indian mix.. OK Heinz 57 :) Thank you for showing how much tine it does make tamales. It's alot of work.

[xcookage]

They are allot of work but make great gifts. I gave allot away as gifts and think people really appreciate them.

[ETWaterford]

not trying to sound racy but i always wanted to see a white persons take on making tamales and may i say they look delicious we make them with mole(its like a liquidish mix of masa and spices with meat included) though idk if you knew this but it would be easier if you used a tortilla press instead of using a spreader to put masa on the husks

however in my view the mooshy tamales are tastier especially with mole and you cant beat chicken or pork

[xcookage]

Well thank you. They were very fun to make but a lot of work. What is a tortilla press?

[HighOffMakeup]

ahahaha.. sorry for flooding ur page with questions... you didnt write down how much green salsa to put in the chicken...

[xcookage]

It was a bottle. I would say about 3 cups. You don't want the chicken mixture to be to runny. Also, I added 2 Tablespoons of chicken bullion to the masa as well. I used maybe a Tablespoon when I cooked the chicken.

[vikt0ria21]

hi im mexican so i've known how to make tamales since i was 6 i give u big koodos for knowing the right way to cook tamales because alot of ppl dont have an idea of how to make them hahaha

it looks like they came out good..

[ners85]

grat job, i'm mexican and we looove tamales not jus in X-mas we love to eat it all year!! and you did it really good!!

[max993055]

hi i love your video on tamales. i just wanted to know how long u cooked the tamales in the presser cooker and how long because that's the way i would like to make them thank you for your time and for the great videos :)

[TheMimiboo09]

i lyk pork tamales

[CCBradley777]

Hey! Thanks for posting! yes, Tortilla Press I believe would really make your job easier then spreading. Search it out online. it's like the same concept as laying a plastic baggy over your lump/scoop of masa when it's on the corn husk and rolling a rolling pin over it once or twice....Same concept, onlyeven easier. Google it.Thanks for your video! Your too wound up though, gotta live in the NOW, make life fun :) We don't know how to do that here in the states, everything becomes a chore.Cheers!

[icxcrex]

Let me clarify that I make them for that evening and breakfast. I could have made 50 or 100! With practice, you can make them very rapidly. Trust me when I say to add enough liquid to make them so that you can scoop the masa with a 1/4 cup measuring cup - flop it on there, wrap them, and squish to the thickness you wish. TADA! I will post a video showing how simply they can be made. Just in case it matters: I, too, am Mexican! :) I live in GDL, Jal. "¡No te rajes!"

[icxcrex]

Forgive me, but they are NOT a lot of work at all. I just finished making coconut tamals (tamal is singular - we need only add an "s" in English :)). I made 13 in exactly 1.5 hours from roasting the coconut to pulling them out of the steamer.

She is correct when she says to use a hand mixer - ABSOLUTELY! I like my dough a little more like thick cake batter: sticky but dry enough to remain on the spatula. Grab a 1/4 cup measure, flop the cough in there, and wrap them. I steam them for 1 hour!

[thenicoleshow]

@kepobugsy walmart sells masa and corn husks. also check your mexican aisle in the grocery store. comes in a bag similar to regular flour.

[MrManny7426]

green salsa= roast tomatillos, jalapenos,garlic..put in blender add a cup of water add salt and comino then blend for 1 min..till it gets nice and well blended..thats it! dont ever use bottle or can salsas wen u can make your own.

[MrManny7426]

bottle green salsa? thats a no! no!

[MrManny7426]

@kepobugsy u buy it in a latin american store...its comes in a 6lb bag its called 'maseca'

[kepobugsy]

where do you find the masa?