Tamales are a tasty family tradition for the holidays
The great thing about family recipes is that they usually result
in a taste that can’t be found in a restaurant or a store. The bad
thing is that family recipes sometimes don’t involve an actual
recipe, which means it can be hard to recreate without the key
players
– namely, the family members who have been making the meals for
years.
Tamales are a tasty family tradition for the holidays
The great thing about family recipes is that they usually result in a taste that can’t be found in a restaurant or a store. The bad thing is that family recipes sometimes don’t involve an actual recipe, which means it can be hard to recreate without the key players – namely, the family members who have been making the meals for years.
That’s the case with the gnocchi and polenta that my mom’s side of the family makes. There is a lot of testing things for the right texture, smell and taste. And that is certainly the case with the tamales that my father’s side of the family makes.
I’ve made tamales with my dad’s family for a few years, and I’ve made them at my house with a few helpers a couple times. But there is something that is lost in the translation when I do them on my own, partly because there is no actual recipe.
There are three key components to making my family’s tamales. There is the shredded beef filling, the sauce that goes into them and is served on top of them and the masa, or tamale dough. The overall flavor of each component comes from a trifecta of spices that are popular in Mexican cooking – California chili powder, cumin and ground oregano.
This year my immediate family and I decided to make some tamales on our own, inviting a few friends over to help out with the process. My mom and I felt perfectly comfortable with getting the meat and the sauce right, but it’s always been the masa that is the hard part. It has to be just the right consistency to spread easily across the corn husks and to cook up moistly.
Tamale-making is a long process. It was about eight hours from the time we mixed up the sauce and started on the masa to when the last batch of steamed tamales came out of the pot. And that doesn’t include the eight hours to cook the rump roast in a crock pot, and the hour to shred it by hand the night before.
When my helpers arrived, I took them through the basic anatomy of our tamales. First there are the corn husks, which need to be soaked in warm water to make them soft and pliable, and then need to be dried off so the masa will stick to it. The masa, again, needs to be just the right consistency to spread it and though it might sound easy to spread dough on a corn husk, it’s not. I was designated the permanent masa spreader as everyone else found their dough breaking apart as they spread it out to the edges of the corn husks.
The next step on the assembly line is someone to put the filling in. It consists of the shredded beef, black olives and a tomato sauce seasoned up with spices. Then a second husk is put over the top, and the last person on the line ties the ends of the tamale to keep the filling from dripping out. And then we usually have one person as the gopher, who can run out for tamale emergencies such as buying a new batch of corn husks if we end up with a bad batch.
Ideally, there would be several people at every spot. But unfortunately, we only had enough for one person per station. The job is a slow one, a messy one, but ultimately a rewarding one when the first batch of freshly steamed tamales comes out of the pot. The texture of the masa was a little off and some of the tamales were a little sloppily held together when some of the ties came off in the process. But the flavors were spot on, and that’s all that matters to the family and friends who will receive some of the tamales throughout the holiday season.
For anyone who wants to try making tamales, but would like a recipe to help things along, here is one from the “Mexican Cooking Made Easy” recipe book.
El Zorro’s Tamales
8 corn husks, washed and dried
2 c. shredded beef, pork or chicken (prepared however you like)
½ c. slice black olives
2 c. corn tortilla flours
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 c. warm water (or broth from the meat)
Prepare the filling by mixing beef and black olives. Prepare the dough by beating the shortening until it is fluffy. Mix in corn flour, baking powder, salt and water until the dough has a spongy texture.
Spread an eighth of the dough on each corn husks, down the center or each husk, flatten to about 2-inch from tip of the husk to 1-inch from bottom. Put in some of the filling and then fold the dough to fully enclose the filling. Fold up the husk ends and wrap it loosely around the tamale. Place the seam-side sown under a damp towel under they are ready to steam.
Steam tamales. Serve warm. They can be frozen and reheated.
The meat filling can also be replaced with cheese and green chiles.
