Description
This authentic Mexican recipe for homemade tamales is straight from Mexico. Tamales are stuffed with a spicy tomatillo sauce with poblano chiles and cheese – delicious! In Mexico, Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheese is used, but those cheeses are hard to find here, so you can substitute with Monterey Jack. [Originally submitted to Allrecipes.com.mx]
Ingredients
- corn husks
- 10 ounces poblano peppers
- 1 ¼ pounds fresh tomatillos, husks removed
- 11 ounces lard, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 ½ cups masa harina
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¾ cups chicken broth, or as needed
- 2 ½ cups sliced Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
- Place corn husks in a bowl
- cover with boiling water
- and soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain
- place on a work surface
- and cover with a clean
- damp towel.
- Line a heavy cast iron grill pan or griddle with aluminum foil and place over high heat. Arrange poblano peppers in a single layer on top. Grill until chiles are blackened
- turning as necessary
- 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer into a resealable plastic bag and let them steam
- 10 to 15 minutes. Peel off skin
- seed
- and cut them into strips.
- Place tomatillos in a pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook until they change color
- about 5 minutes. Drain and place in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Heat 1 tablespoon lard in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent
- about 5 minutes. Add blended tomatillos and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil
- reduce heat
- and simmer until flavors are well combined
- about 5 minutes. Add poblano peppers and cilantro and boil for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool
- about 10 minutes.
- Beat remaining lard in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add salt and continue beating for a few minutes. Add masa harina and baking powder and beat well until combined. Add chicken broth
- 1/4 cup at a time
- until the dough has a smooth and workable consistency that is not too wet
- similar to cookie dough. Test if the masa is ready by dropping a small ball of masa into a glass of cold water; if it floats
- it’s ready
- if not
- keep working the dough a little longer.
- Select 1 wide corn husk or 2 small ones. Spread about 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the corn husk
- filling it up to 2 inches from the bottom and 1/4 inch from the top. Add 1 tablespoon of the tomatillo sauce and a piece of Monterey Jack cheese in the center of the masa mixture. Fold sides of husk together
- one over the other. Fold the bottom of the husk over the seam of the 2 folded sides. Repeat with remaining husks.
- Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add tamales with the open side up and cook until filling is heated through and separates from the husk
- about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let tamales rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Prep Time: 1 hr
Cook Time: 1 hr 43 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 58 mins
Servings: 24