Chicken and Salsa Tamales
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Have you ever made tamales? In Latin cultures, tamales are a big part of the celebration, and why not? With a little practice, they’re easy to make.
A simple corn dough with a flavorful filling is wrapped up in a corn husk or a banana leaf and steamed. But that’s just the beginning. The flavor and filling combinations are limitless and range from spicy to mild, sweet to savory, and everything in between. Most are made with a ground corn dough called masa, mixed with shortening, oil or butter and a little water or stock. The dough can be plain or mixed with flavoring such as corn, peppers or onions. Fillings can be anything from meat or cheese to vegetables or salsa to fruit or chocolate. Dried cornhusks are soaked in warm water to become pliable enough to wrap around the tamales. You don’t really need any special equipment to make tamales, but an electric mixer is a big help and you’ll need a pot with a steamer insert to steam the tamales.
Tamales are the perfect party food- inexpensive, make ahead and everybody loves them. Grab some friends and have a tamale making party. Send everyone home with some tamales to stash in their fridge or freezer. They keep in the fridge for 5 days, and they can be frozen for up to 6 months. They can be easily reheated for a quick meal.
If you feel ready to try a batch, visit Crisco.com for more tamale recipes.
Directions
1.COMBINE shredded chicken and salsa in large bowl; mix well.
2.PLACE flour, shortening and salt in large bowl. Heat chicken broth to boiling; add to flour mixture and stir until a dough forms. Stir in corn and cheese.
3.DRAIN corn husks and dry with paper towels. Lay 2 husks lengthwise on work surface, the two cut wide ends halfway overlapping each other in the center. Spoon 2 tablespoons dough into center of corn husks; pat into a 4 x 2-inch rectangle. Top with 2 tablespoons chicken mixture. Pat another 2 tablespoons dough into an oval; place over chicken mixture. Press down slightly to flatten. Fold top and bottom ends of husks over filling. Roll from side edge to completely enclose. Wrap in foil. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 23 additional tamales.
4.REMOVE basket from steamer pot. Fill pot with about 1-inch water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Arrange tamales in steamer basket, standing upright. (If basket is too large, use a ball of aluminum foil to fill extra space.) Place basket in steamer pot. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low and cook 30 minutes or until dough is set. Add additional boiling water to steamer as needed. Allow tamales to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Remove tamales from foil. Unfold husk to open.
| Yield: | 2 dozen |
|---|
What's Needed:
3 cups cooked, shredded rotisserie chicken meat
2 cups prepared fire-roasted tomatillo medium salsa or your favorite prepared salsa
3 3/4 cups instant corn masa flour
3 tablespoons Crisco® Baking Sticks All-Vegetable Shortening OR 3 tablespoons Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 (8 oz.) package shredded Mexican cheese blend, (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels or frozen corn, thawed
48 dried corn husks, soaked in water 30 minutes
Recipe brought
to you by Amy Tobin
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