Tamales aren’t just a weekend project. They’re also an excellent party project. The best tamales I’ve had were when someone’s family prepared dozens to serve at weddings, baptisms and baby showers. You don’t need a special occasion to make a mountain of tamales, though. They refrigerate or freeze beautifully and can be popped into the steamer for a fast lunch or snack.
A traditional, portable Mexican meal, tamales consist of a meat or vegetable filling coated in masa de maiz, or ground corn dough. They are then wrapped in cornhusks, tied and steamed, cooking the dough and warming the filling inside. Forming the tamales can take a bit of practice, but after a few tries, you’ll have a system down in no time.
A quick note on masa: International and Mexican groceries have multiple types available. The coarse-ground varieties are designed for tamales, while the finer grinds are used to make tortillas. Be on the lookout for instant masa for tamales (sometimes called tamal flour), and if you decide to use regular masa instead, follow the package instructions.
We created two fillings for this project: pulled pork and black-eyed peas. Try them both or create your own with leftovers. Tamales are a great way to use up remnants from last night’s roast chicken, the odd vegetable or two in the crisper, or a lonely can of beans. Mix any prepared filling with a salsa to provide acid and salt and brighten up the mild, warm masa.
Gather a small group of those friends you’ve desperately needed to catch up with, soak a few cornhusks and start folding. After an hour or so of productive effort and some good gossip, fetch a few cold beverages and settle down to dinner.
The Shopping List* 1 lb. dried black-eyed peas
2 to 3 carrots
2 to 3 celery ribs
2 medium onions
13 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. chipotle pepper paste
1 banana pepper
2 to 3 limes
10 dried guajillo chiles
9 cloves roasted garlic (DIY here http://www.saucemagazine.com/blog/?p=33425 )
¼ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. dried oregano
2 lb. boneless pork shoulder
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
3 cups instant masa
1 cup bacon fat or lard
30 cornhusks
Queso fresco
Hot sauce
*This list assumes you have olive oil, baking powder, salt and pepper at hand in your kitchen. If not, you will need to purchase those items, too. The Gameplan Day 1: Prepare masa. Soak black-eyed peas. Marinade pork butt.
Day 2: Make black-eyed pea filling. Roast pork shoulder. Fill and steam tamales.
Pulled Pork Filling Makes 2 pounds
½ cup chipotle pepper paste
10 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
1/3 cup water
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 lb. boneless pork shoulder
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• Day 1: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pepper paste and garlic until chopped. With the machine running, stream in the olive oil. Add the water, lime juice, salt and pepper and purée until it is smooth. Set aside.
• Use a sharp knife or meat tenderizer and pierce the pork shoulder all over. Place it inside a large zip-top bag and pour the marinade over the meat. Seal and turn the bag to completely coat the pork. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
• Day 2: Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the pork sandwich in a large roasting pan and pour the marinade over it. Let rest 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Cover the meat with foil and roast 4 hours, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork reaches 185 to 195 degrees and the meat pulls apart with a fork.
• Let rest until cool enough to handle. Use two forks to shred the meat and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour any remaining pan juices over the shredded meat. Add the cilantro, stir, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Leftover pulled pork will keep, refrigerated, up to 1 week.
Black-Eyed Pea Filling Makes 3 cups
1 lb. dried black-eyed peas
1 cup roughly chopped carrots
2 to 3 celery ribs, cut into 3-inch pieces
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. chipotle pepper paste or tomato paste
½ cup finely chopped banana pepper
1 cup Guajillo Sauce (recipe follows)
Zest of 1 lime
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Day 1: In a large stockpot, cover the black-eyed peas with 6 inches of water and soak overnight in the refrigerator.
• Day 2: Drain and rinse the beans. Return them to the stockpot and cover with 2 to 3 inches of water. Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves and chipotle pepper paste and stir gently. Bring the beans to boil over high heat, them reduce to medium and gently simmer 1 to 2 hours, until the beans are tender and have a creamy consistency. Skim off any foam using a slotted spoon.
• Drain the beans; remove and discard the vegetables and bay leaves. Let cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together 3 cups black-eyed peas, the banana pepper, Guajillo Sauce and lime zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Any leftover beans can be stored, refrigerated, in their cooking liquid up to 1 week.
Guajillo pepper sauce Makes 1 cup
10 dried guajillo chiles
9 cloves roasted garlic (DIY here)
½ cup roughly chopped onion
Juice of ½ lime
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. dried Mexican oregano
• Day 2: Bring 1 to 2 quarts of water to a boil over high heat. Place the dried chiles in a medium metal or glass mixing bowl, then cover with the boiling water, weighing the chiles down with a plate. Let the chiles rehydrate about 20 minutes, until softened and cool enough to handle.
• Remove the chiles and discard the water. Stem and seed the peppers and place them in the bowl of a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and purée until smooth.
• Use a fine-mesh sieve to strain the sauce into a bowl. Discard any solids.
Masa Makes about 3 cups
3 cups instant masa
1½ to 2 tsp. kosher salt
1½ tsp. baking powder
1 cup bacon fat or lard at room temperature
2 cups plus 2 to 3 Tbsp. water
• Day 1: In a mixing bowl, stir together the masa, salt and baking powder. Add the bacon fat and mix until thoroughly combined. Drizzle the water in a little at a time until the dough is light and fluffy but holds its shape when pressed together like damp sand. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Day 2: Fluff the dough a fork and add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough holds its shape again.
Tamales 20 to 24 tamales
30 cornhusks
3 to 4 cups Masa (recipe above)
Black-Eyed Pea Filling (recipe above)
Pulled Pork Filling (recipe above)
Queso fresco
Hot sauce and lime juice for serving
• Day 2: In a large stockpot, bring 6 to 8 quarts of water to a boil.
• In a large mixing bowl, separate the cornhusks from each other. Pour the boiling water over the husks to cover, weighing them down with a plate. Rehydrate at least 1 hour.
• Remove several narrow husks and tear them into ¼-inch wide strips. Place them back in the water to keep them supple while wrapping the tamales.
• Remove 1 husk from the water and flatten it lengthwise on a clean work surface. Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons masa on the top half of the husk in a ¼-inch layer, leaving ¼ inch of space at the top and 1 inch on either side.
• Place 1 tablespoon Black-eyed Pea Filling or Pulled Pork Filling in a line down the center of the dough. Add a pinch of queso fresco.
• To wrap, use the left side of the cornhusk to roll the masa dough over on itself and seal the filling inside the dough. Do not roll the husk up inside the masa. Roll the right side of the cornhusk over the left and wrap tightly to create a tube. With the seam facing up, fold the bottom third of the cornhusk up over the filling. Secure the tamale with a double-knotted cornhusk tie or string.
• Repeat with the remaining cornhusks.
• Place a steamer basket in a large stockpot filled with 1 to 2 inches of hot water. Line the tamales open-side up in the steamer basket. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and steam 20 to 25 minutes, until the masa starts to pull away from the sides of the wrap.
• Serve the tamales with hot sauce and a squeeze of lime juice. Tamales will keep refrigerated up to 1 week.
-photos by Michelle Volansky
This article appears in June 2015.