Tamales

2 - Packages of Ojas De Maiz
2.79 - Pounds of Tomatillos
1 - 5 Pound Gaud Masa
1.28 - Pound Jalapeno Peppers
3 - Full Chickens
1 - Giant Tamale Pot
7- Hours

This, along with some old myths and legends is what you need to make a whole lot of tamales.

Last night I went my friends moms house, who is from Mexico City, to make tamales. I love tamales so when I had the chance to learn how to make them I had to go for it.

First you take the chickens and start boiling them with some onion garlic and salt. While that is happening you take the Gaud Masa, (Crushed corn, lard, salt, other stuff), and scoop it all into a big bowl. Add 2 parts water and stir. This part is tricky you want to in the beginning stir it around like brownie mix, but as soon as it gets soft and a smoother consistancy you need to actually whip it. This process is supposed to be done with your hands, but I used a really big spoon. You whip the masa for 45 min or until your arm falls off. The real way to know when it is done is you drop a piece into water and if it floats you are done. Actually though the longer you go the better your tamales will be and whoever starts the stiring process has to finish it otherwise it will not be good.

Once the masa is whipped you rinse off all the ojas de maiz, the corn shuck the tamale is wrapped in, all the time watching the chicken. Next you prepare the Tomatillos, little green tomatoes. These tomatoes are specifically for the type of Tamales that we were making. There are many different types of tamales, basically red green and sweet. We were making are tamales with salsa verde. So you clean off and boil the tomatillos again with onions garlic and salt. You then twist the stems of the jalapenos to make them mad so that they will be spicier. They are then thrown into the pot with the tomatillos.

While the tomatoes and the jalapenos boiled the chicken was cleaned and then shredded. The tomatillos were then done. You can tell they are done by the color that they change and they become very very soft. Put them in a blender with the onion and garlic that was boiling in the pot add some salt and liquefy. The same is done with the Jalapenos and then they are mixed together. A separate pot is used to heat up a thin layer of oil, any kind, and then the peppers and tomatillos are thrown in. When this happens there is a loud whoosh and what looks as though it is all going to come flying out of the pot, but it does not. If this does not happen, if your oil is not hot enough, you might as well start over because it will be no good any more.

The salsa is then cooked and is ready once it is cooled. It is then mixed with the shredded chicken and always use a healthy amount of salsa because it is what is keeping the chicken from being to dry.

Then on to making the tamales you take a healthy spoon full of the masa and spread it directly in the middle of the ojas de maiz and then make a indent inside that and put the salsa chicken mix, kind of like mashed potatoes and gravy. You then fold over the two sides trying to get the masa to surround the chicken. Then one more fold at the bottom.

After about 65 of those you bless them,(Very Very important part), and then you put them in the tamale pot. The tamale pot has levels inside it so you put water up to the first level, then a tray sits inside of the pot above the water. You stack the tamales on an angle always pointing up. You can just keep laying tamale upon tamale as long as the open end is facing up. When all are inside start the steaming. When you hear the water boil that means you have one hour.

An hour later you check, if they just fall of the side of there wrapper they are done, if any part of it sticks then 15-20 minutes more.

Mine took a total of 2 and a half hours, I forgot to bless them. The end result though was 65 delicious tamales and a great time learning. I cant wait to make them again, but it will not be for awhile.