Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Don't be intimidated by the look of the long recipe below. I broke it down into three parts in an effort to make it easier for you to prepare. Also, my mother and I put our heads together to make a recipe that can arguably shave off more than half the time in the kitchen when preparing this yummy dish.
Let's get down to the nitty-gritty. I added the Masa Harina dough recipe for those who want to get the real effect of making this Latino dish from scratch. However, for those who just don't have the time to put forth the extra effort in making this recipe a 2-day chore (and if I ask for a show of hands, that would probably be most of my faithful readers ...can't say I blame you, by the way.), then I will share with you a little secret weapon. That secret weapon is Melissa.
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| Look for it in Produce Aisle. Military Commissaries carry these too! |
That's right, you heard me, Melissa. If you hover over the name above, you will find that I have hyper-linked a website. Not only have I hyper-linked the website, I made sure it takes you straight to the info on Melissa's Authentic Tamale Kit! These tamale kits can be found in the produce section of your local grocery store. If they do not carry it, submit a request to your supermarket and ask them to start carrying it. The dough is pre-mixed where all you need to do is add water (or chicken broth for better flavor), and the cornhusks are already presoaked! So for all you readers out there who are too hungry to wait 2-days, go get yourself about 3 tamale kits (and three Rotisserie Chickens from the deli) and jump to Part 2 of this recipe to prepare the meat filling. You won't be sorry!
Tamales
Masa Harina Paste for Tamales
4 cups Masa Harina
2 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup lard or Crisco
2 (8 ounce) package dried corn husks
Directions:
1. Soak Cornhusks in a large bowl of water overnight. When ready to use, shake excess water off each piece of cornhusk before spreading dough.
2. In a large bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more broth as necessary to form a spongy dough. Be sure not to let dough become too thin with broth.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Adobo Rojo de Pollo
(Red Adobo Chicken)
Ingredients:
6 Ancho Chiles
3 lbs boneless chicken*, shredded (about 3 Store-bought, pre-cooked, rotisserie chickens from the deli)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp cumin
Salt & Pepper
½ 14-oz can Hunt’s stewed tomatoes
2 Tbsp Crisco (or Lard)
1 ½ cups Chicken Broth
Directions:
1. Remove and discard veins, stems and seeds of chile. Place skins of chile in a bowl and soak in hot water (about 1-cup to 6-chiles) for about an hour.
2. De-bone your chicken, and pull apart each piece, until thinly shredded. Set aside.
3. In a blender, puree chile, with the water it was soaking in, chopped onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt & pepper to taste, stewed tomatoes, and ½-cup chicken broth. Blend until smooth.
4. Heat the Crisco in a large skillet; add the puree and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Thin the sauce with remaining Chicken Broth, add the meat and simmer, uncovered, over very low heat for 30 minutes. The sauce should be very thick, almost coating the meat.
Preparing Tamales
1. Take one piece of cornhusk at a time and shake off excess water before spreading dough.
2. With a spoon in hand and cornhusk (shiny side up) in palm of other hand (narrow end of husk down by wrist and wide end by fingertips), spread the dough out evenly over the cornhusks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Press dough with spoon downward and towards your wrist; making sure to leave at least 1 ½ - 2-inch gap with no dough at bottom portion of husk.
3. Place heaping spoonful of the meat filling down the center.
4. Fold the sides of the husks in toward the center, then fold the bottom portion of husk up over the folded sides and place upright in a steamer. (To prevent tamales from falling over, place a small heat resistant bowl face down in center of steamer so that the tamales can rest upon it.
5. Take a clean, dampened dishtowel. Place it over and tucked around sides of tamales. .
6. Cover the steamer with lid and Steam for 1 ½ - 2 hours or until dough inside cornhusk is firm.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you!
Bec
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