Addie Broyles THE NEW YORK TIMES| Telegram & Gazette
AUSTIN, Texas — Time to pull out the tamaleras, crank up the Christmas tunes and get your hands in some masa.
Although many of us eat tamales year-round, December is when the corn husks really fly as groups of friends and family across the country gather for tamaladas, an assembly line-style tamale production that doubles as a party.
Usually, one or two people spread the masa in corn husks that have been soaking in water, while others place the filling inside. A third folds the flattened masa around the shredded, stewed or braised meat (or beans, or vegetables, or even chocolate or strawberry jam) and makes the small package in which the tamale will be steamed.
With all those steps — not counting making the masa or the filling — it's no wonder that many people prefer to buy tamales by the dozen, either from restaurants or friends or in the neighborhood.
Chef Rene Ortiz of the Austin-based Fresa's Chicken al Carbon comes up with all kinds of ways to take the traditional tamale up a few notches, but he's just as happy eating the black bean and white queso tamales of his youth in San Antonio or the Moroccan-inspired pine nut, currant and braised beef tamales his Portuguese grandmother used to make.
For instance, he likes to toast about 10 percent of the masa harina — corn flour, often just called Maseca, the name of the most popular brand — to boost the flavor. ''With a slow toast, you can get a nice nuttiness.'' (Just don't cook it too much or the granules will harden and won't absorb the liquid you add later.)
Alice Guadalupe Tapp, the author of ''Tamales'' (Ten Speed Press, $18.99), who runs a tamales shop with her daughter in Southern California, says that the most traditional fat, pork lard, is often what people associate with tamales, but that she's grown to prefer butter or, when making vegan tamales, soy bean margarine.
Another option is olive oil, but you should freeze it for a few days to give it the right consistency for whipping and incorporating into the masa, Tapp says. Whipping any fat with a handheld or stand mixer will help keep the tamales from being too dense, and many cooks choose to season the masa at this stage.
Not all cooks use baking powder as an additional way to keep the masa light, but if you do, you can add it to the masa or when whipping the fat. A tip from Ortiz if you are using baking powder: Your filling should be a little wetter than if you don't because the lighter masa will absorb more liquid while steaming and could dry it out.
Tapp also prefers fresh masa, which is sold at Mexican grocers, but if you can't get it, nearly all supermarkets have the drier masa harina, which requires more liquid than the fresh masa. (Masa preparada, on the other hand, is masa that already has fat incorporated into it.)
When adding the liquid, watch for the moment the masa can pass the fingerprint dimple test. ''As soon as I can get a fingerprint out of it is where I want to be,'' he says.
Another way to tell if you've hit the right ratios is dropping a small ball of the masa in water. If it floats and bobs, you're ready to start spreading it in the husks or banana leaves. (If it sinks, it needs more liquid.)
Ortiz tends to use shortening to allow the flavor of the corn to come through, but other times, he'll prepare fancy infused oils and fats, like one with star anise, vanilla and clove to complement a white corn flour masa. You can also season the stock with ground chiles, cumin or garlic powder.
Steaming is really the only way to cook tamales. You can buy the traditional cooking vessel, a tamalera, at many grocery stores.
There are lots of ways to rig up a steaming contraption that would allow the tamales to stand upright as they steam, Tapp says, including balls of tin foil topped with a hole-poked aluminum pie plate, steamer baskets, colanders or other racks to hold them above the water line.
Chicken and Chorizo Tamales
1½ pounds ground chicken
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
1 tomato, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound pork or beef chorizo
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon ground thyme
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
4 cups basic fresh masa (recipe below)
In a skillet over medium heat, lightly brown the chicken in the olive oil for 15 minutes. Add the onion, tomato, and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the raw chorizo, cumin, oregano, thyme and pepper, stir to combine, and cook for an additional 15 minutes, mixing and incorporating the chorizo as it cooks. Add the cilantro and cook for a final 2 to 3 minutes. Place in a bowl and allow to cool.
Assemble the tamales, using ¼ cup masa and ¼ cup filling for each tamale. Transfer to a steamer and steam for 55 minutes. Makes 12-18 tamales.
— From ''Tamales'' (Ten Speed Press, $18.99) by Alice Guadalupe Tapp
Basic Fresh Masa
1 pound butter or margarine, softened
5 pounds fresh masa (unprepared)
2 to 3 cups stock (chicken, pork, beef or vegetable)
2 tablespoons salt (or less to taste)
Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add one-third of the fresh masa alternating with one-third of the stock, then add the salt. Beat until well-mixed, adding more stock if needed, turn the mixer to high and beat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the dough resembles spackling paste.
Take a small piece (about ½ teaspoon) of the dough and drop it into a cup of cold water. If it floats, it is ready; if it sinks, whip for another minute and test it again. Repeat until the masa floats.
Note: The fresher the masa, the faster it will become light and fluffy enough for use. Refrigerate for up to three days. Makes about 60 tamales.
— From ''Tamales''
Pork Tamales
For the dough:
3 chili peppers
2½ cups chicken broth, divided
4 cups instant corn flour, such as Maseca
2 teaspoons baking powder
1½ teapoons chili powder
1½ teaspoons salt
¾ cups butter, softened
For the pork filling:
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon red pepper powder
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds pork loin roast (deboned)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Prepare the dough: Cook the chili peppers in the microwave on high in a glass container with half a cup of broth for two minutes, or until tender. Strain. Remove stems. Puree in a blender or food processor.
In a big bowl, combine the pepper puree with the other two cups of broth and the corn flour, baking powder, chili powder, salt and softened butter (the mixture will be coarse). With your hands, knead the mixture until you get a soft texture. Let the dough set.
Prepare the pork: Combine the salt and the dark brown sugar, chili powder, cumin powder, red pepper powder and freshly ground black pepper. Rub mixture evenly on the pork. Place the pork in a Dutch oven and brown in hot oil at medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cover the pot and bake for 3 to 4 hours or until the pork is tender.
Remove the pork from the pot, and set aside the juices that were released. Let it cool slightly. Shred the meat with a fork. Cook the pork juice at medium-high heat for 15 minutes, or until reduced by half. Add the shredded pork to the juice, mixing it all well.
Make the tamales: Divide the dough evenly into 24 corn husks. Press each portion on a husk, forming a small rectangle and leaving a border of at least half an inch in three of the sides and a bit more on the corners. With a spoon, spread evenly 1 to 1½ tablespoons of pork mixture on one side of the dough. Join the long ends of the husk, pressing to close. Fold the sides of the husk on top of the other and tie with a strip of corn husk. Steam for 35 to 40 minutes.
— Recipe from PorkTeInspira.com
Addie Broyles writes for the Austin American-Statesman. Email: abroyles@statesman.com.
