Green Chili, Chicken & Cheese Tamales

Don't use butter instead of lard; the texture is too soft and it won't cream properly. If you must substitute, use vegetable shortening.
- Ready In:
- 4hrs
- Serves:
- Yields:
- Units:
6
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ingredients
-
Wrapping
- 6 ounces corn husks
-
Filling
- 1 lb cooked chicken meat, shredded
- 8 ounces canned diced green chiles
- 10 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
- 2 jalapeno peppers, diced
- 1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 scallions, sliced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
-
Dough
- 6 cups masa harina
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup lard, room temperature
- 3 -4 cups low sodium chicken broth
directions
- Fill a large bowl or pot with warm water. Put the corn husks in the water and weight them down so they stay immersed.
- Combine all filling ingredients. Set aside.
- Combine masa, baking powder, and salt.
- In a standing mixer, beat the lard until it becomes light and fluffy.
- Gradually mix in dry ingredients.
- Slowly add chicken broth just until a soft dough forms.
- To assemble the tamales, put a spoonful of dough on the smooth side of a corn husk, smooth it down to a thin layer (1/8"-1/4" thick), and put a smaller spoonful of filling on the dough. Bring the two sides of the husk together so that the dough rolls around the filling and the husk overlaps itself. Fold up the bottom and tie it with a bit of string or a strand of corn husk.
- Set the tamales open end up in a steamer or colander. Put the steamer in a large pot with some water in the bottom. The water musn't touch the tamales. Cover tightly and steam over medium heat for 90-120 minutes.
- Once cooked, tamales can be kept in the freezer. To reheat, put in a microwave-safe bowl, cover, and cook on high for about one minute per tamale.
MY PRIVATE NOTES
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RECIPE MADE WITH LOVE BY
@Abby Falck
Contributor
@Abby Falck
Contributor
"Don't use butter instead of lard; the texture is too soft and it won't cream properly. If you must substitute, use vegetable shortening."
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I have never been a big tamale fan, but my 15-year-old daughter decided she wanted to make tamales for her cooking night. I was a bit apprehensive as I had only made tamales once before and I remembered it being a big hassle. These were time consuming, but not difficult and the results were very tasty. The filling is very flavorful and kept the tamales from being bland as others I have had. Preparation took us about 2 hours including cooking and shredding the chicken, making the masa, and assembling the tamales. Probably would have been faster with more experienced cooks. It makes a lot of tamales - we got about 34 - so having leftovers to freeze for another night helps make it worth the effort. We served them with tomatillo salsa and black beans on the side.1Reply
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