Some of the best tamales you'll ever eat! Moist and spicy and packed with flavor.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
Bring a large pot of water or tea kettle to a boil.
Loosen the corn husks and lay them flat (or as flat as possible) in the larger casserole dish.
Pour enough of the hot water over the corn husks that they will be submerged when you place the second casserole on top.
Slowly add 1 cup of the liquid, stirring to combine. At this point I use my hand instead of a spatula. Continue to add up to 1 ½ cup liquid, incorporating it into the masa, but don't let it get too "wet". Work the masa into a dough. If it seems a little dry, that’s o.k., because the filling will add some moisture.
In the smaller mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken, green chile (with any chile liquid), and cheese. Mix to evenly distribute ingredients.
Add chicken mixture to the masa. Using your hand, evenly incorporate the chicken mixture into the masa. Mixture should be just a little moist and smooth, and easy to spread. If not, add 1 to 2 Tbsp. of water.
The assembly goes relatively fast when you have a second person. One person places the masa batter on the corn husk, wraps and folds, while the second person ties. So at this point see if you can recruit someone for about 15 minutes.
Drain the corn husks. Select two of the narrowest corn husks to create the tamales ties. Tear the husks into thin strips about ¼ inch wide.
To make a tamale, use a spatula and place about ½ cup masa mixture lengthwise down the center on the wide half of the husk. (Don’t place the masa too far down the husk, because, after closing the tamales, you’ll be folding the bottom half of the husk up toward the top half in order to tie close.)
Wrap the corn husk over and around the tamale filling and gently press to flatten just a bit. At this point you’ll have a tapered cigar looking shape with the wide end fat and happy with masa.
Fold the lower, unfilled portion of the corn husk upward to lay against the filled portion. Wrap one of the corn husk ties around the center of the tamale and tie a knot.
In the steamer basket, place the tamales, somewhat vertical, in the steamer with the opened end up. If the tamales do not fill the steamer enough to stand relatively straight, use of few of the extra corn husks to wrap around the circumference of the steamer to help hold them.
Spread a couple of the extra corn husks across the top of the tamales. This keeps water from dipping off the lid into the open end of the tamales.
At this point your tamales should be done. However, if, when you unwrap, the tamale mixture is sticking to the husk, then return to the steamer and steam another 10 minutes. NOTE: Some of the cheese may melt and stick to the husk, so make sure it is the masa that is sticking, not the cheese.
Keep the tamales wrapped until ready to serve.
Chicken - Use leftover chicken, roasted, rotisserie or smoked or use a 12.5 ounce can of cooked chicken. If you use canned chicken, reserve the liquid and use for the masa, but hold back on the salt until the end. Canned chicken broth can be very salty.
Roasted Green Chile - Use freshly roasted, frozen or canned. If the chile has a lot of liquid, cut back on the masa liquid by a couple of tablespoons and use the chile liquid.
Masa Liquid - Use all water or all chicken broth or half broth and water.
The pictures in the instructions show how I set up my smaller steamer for 12 - 14 tamales. When I make a double batch or more, the big steamer comes out.
Tamales Toppings - Eat straight from the steamer or top with Green Chile Sauce or Green Chile Tomatillo Sauce.
March 2018
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen