Cooking Up Mexican
Posted
Sun, 02/01/04
Last
night I couldn't sleep, so I did some heavy-duty cleaning around the
house. By two o'clock, I was still wide awake so I started making
homemade flour tortillas. Awhile back I purchased the
Quaker Oats
brand of Harina Preparada, a flour tortilla mix that only
needs water and a bit of kneading. Since I know homemade tortillas
are one of Wilbert's favorite foods, I cooked a double batch. By the
time it rolled around to three o'clock this morning - when I was
feeling the affects of no slumber – the tortillas began to take on
odd shapes. I lost patience with the rolling pin and my limited
counter space, so rather than nicely round tortillas some looked
like Christmas trees with little indents on one end, or long
diamonds and fan. However, they all tasted divine. The pre-mixed
Harina Preparada is perhaps the easiest way to make "homemade"
tortillas while retaining the original flavor they're supposed to
have.
Quaker Oats also has a variety known as Masa Harina de Maiz, which is a corn flour mix mainly used for tamales. Wilbert's mother has made homemade tamales her entire life (as detailed in my article Tamales), but typically uses the Maseca brand of prepared corn flour. I browsed through the special web site Quaker has set up for their Mexican mixes, and found a recipe for tamales that is not unlike my mother-in-law's:
Tamales (Quaker)
Overnight Preparation
1/2 LB dried corn husks
Pork Filling
Masa Batter
Overnight preparation: Place cornhusks in large pan; cover husks with hot water. Set aside and allow to soften overnight at room temperature, or for six to twelve hours. Do not drain until just before assembly of the tamales. Combine pork and the 2-1/2 quarts water; simmer thirty-five to forty-five minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving broth. Refrigerate pork and broth in covered containers.
Pork Filling: Cover roasted chiles with boiling water; soak twenty minutes. While chiles are soaking, skim fat off top of reserved pork broth; set aside. Break meat into fine shreds. In a large skillet, heat two tablespoons shortening and cook onions and garlic until tender. Add meat and one teaspoon salt, mixing well. Drain chiles; place in blender container along with oregano, cumin, cloves and one cup defatted pork broth. Blend until smooth. Stir in blended chile mixture into meat; simmer for fifteen minutes.
Masa Batter: In large bowl, beat 2/3 cup shortening until fluffy. In medium bowl, combine Masa and one teaspoon salt. Alternately add Masa and broth to shortening, mixing well after each addition. Gradually beat in 1/3 cup melted shortening, mixing to consistency of thick cake batter.
To assemble: Spread two tablespoons Masa batter in center of each husk. Spoon one tablespoon meat filling lengthwise down center of Masa; fold husk over filling, allowing plain part of husk to wrap around tamale. Fold bottom end up over enclosed filling.
To Steam: In steamer or four-quart Dutch oven, place rack two inches above gently boiling water. Arrange tamales upright in steamer basket. Do not pack tightly as tamales will expand during steaming. Fill in spaces with extra corn husks to keep upright. Cover top of tamales with additional husks; cover, steam two-and-a-half to three hours or until tamales are firm and fall away from husk.
To Serve: Unwrap tamales from husks and discard the husk. Serve plain, with mole sauce or your favorite Mexican sauce. Yield: 3 dozen.
If you have ever made homemade tamales before, then you realize what a long process it is. My mother-in-law traditionally prepares large batches during the Christmas holidays using beef, pork, leftover turkey and chicken, and makes enough to freeze plenty.
However, if you do not own a Dutch oven, the following will also work (quoted from my article Tamales):
After the husks are filled and rolled, they need to be steamed. Professional home steamers work well, but might not hold a lot of husks at one time. Wilbert and Elva used a large pot, filled about halfway with water. Wilbert purchased a collapsible steamer basket to set down in the water, but it was not submerged. Arrange filled husks with the folded-side up, and fit them snugly so they stand upright together. Once the basket is filled, cover and start boiling. Depending on the thickness of the Masa, the tamales can take anywhere from one hour to ninety minutes to cook. To test doneness, take one of the tamales from the pot and try removing the corn husk. If the husk removes easily, the tamales are done. If the Masa is still sticking to the husks, they need to be cooked a bit longer.
To try my mother-in-law's recipe for Tamales, click here.
Very good eats . . .
Tags: Entrees;
Food Articles;
Mexico
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