Pulled Chicken And Corn Tamales Recipes

RED CHICKEN TAMALES (TAMALES ROJOS DE POLLO)

Steps:

• Place corn husks in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for a few hours. Drain, place on a work surface, and cover with a clean, damp towel.
• Place chicken in a pot, season with salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain chicken and shred with 2 forks.
• Heat a griddle over medium heat and toast ancho and mulato chiles until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak until soft, about 25 minutes. Combine ancho and mulato chiles, garlic, cumin seeds, and about 1/2 cup of the soaking water in a blender; blend until a thick, smooth, mole-like sauce forms, adding more water if necessary.
• Heat 1 tablespoon lard in a saucepan over medium heat and add the sauce; cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add shredded chicken and cook until flavors are combined and chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.
• Place remaining lard in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Add masa harina, chicken broth, baking powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, and beat until all ingredients are well combined. 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. Spread about 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the the corn husk, filling it up to 2 inches from the bottom and 1/4 inch from the top. Add 1 tablespoon of the chicken filling 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. Let tamales rest for 15 minutes before serving.

PULLED CHICKEN AND CORN TAMALES

Steps:

• Soak corn husks in water for 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, toast cumin, peppercorns, and oregano, shaking pan often, until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Let cool, and finely grind. Puree spices, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and chipotles in food processor.
• Roast chicken for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with spice mixture; roast until juices run clear when chicken is pierced in thigh, 30 minutes more. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper; saute, stirring often, until soft and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Add corn and tomatoes; cook until corn is soft and tomatoes start to break down, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl.
• Shred chicken meat. Add chicken, stock, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and cilantro to onion mixture. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate.
• Whisk together masa harina, remaining tablespoon salt, and 6 cups warm water.
• Pat husks dry. Set aside 34 of the best husks; peel remaining ones into ribbons to use as ties.
• Working with a few husks at a time, spread about 3 tablespoons masa mixture in center of each; mound 2 heaping tablespoons chicken filling on lower third. Fold husks over, enclosing filling; tie ends with husk ribbons.
• Place tamales in a steamer basket over boiling water; reduce heat, cover, and steam until masa is cooked and filling is hot, about 45 minutes. Slice open husks, and serve.

BBQ CHICKEN AND BEAN TAMALES

Steps:

• Soak corn husks in hot water 30 min. Meanwhile, beat next 4 ingredients in large bowl with mixer on low speed until blended. Gradually add warm water, beating well after each addition until light and fluffy. Stir in 1/2 cup beans.
• Combine remaining beans with remaining ingredients.
• Spread about 1/3 cup masa dough into 4-inch square on center of each of 12 drained corn husks, leaving about 2 inches at top of husk. Top each with about 3 Tbsp. chicken mixture. Fold over both sides and one end of each husk to enclose filling.
• Pour 3 cups water into tamalera pot or 8-qt. stockpot fitted with steamer basket. Line bottom of tamalera liner or steamer basket with some of the remaining corn husks. Place tamales, open-ends up, in tamalera; cover with remaining corn husks or damp kitchen towel. Cover with lid. Bring to boil on medium-high heat; simmer on medium-low heat 1 hour or until tamales pull away from leaves, adding more boiling water to pan and adjusting heat as necessary to maintain a gentle boil.

CHICKEN TAMALES

Steps:

• Cover corn husks with cold water; soak until softened, at least 2 hours., Place chicken, onion, salt and garlic in a 6-qt. stockpot. Pour in 3 qt. water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, 45-60 minutes. Remove chicken from broth. When cool enough to handle, remove bones and skin; discard. Shred chicken. Strain cooking juices; skim fat. Reserve 6 cups stock., For dough, beat shortening until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in small amounts of masa harina alternately with small amounts of reserved stock, using no more than 2 cups stock. Drop a small amount of dough into a cup of cold water; dough should float. If not, continue beating, rechecking every 1-2 minutes., For filling, heat oil in a Dutch oven; stir in flour until blended. Cook and stir over medium heat until lightly browned, 7-9 minutes. Stir in seasonings, chicken and remaining stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 45 minutes., Drain corn husks and pat dry; tear 4 husks to make 20 strips for tying tamales. (To prevent husks from drying out, cover with a damp towel until ready to use.) On wide end of each remaining husk, spread 3 tablespoons dough to within 1/2 in. of side edges; top each with 2 tablespoons chicken filling and 2 teaspoons olives. Fold long sides of husk over filling, overlapping slightly. Fold over narrow end of husk; tie with a strip of husk to secure., Place a large steamer basket in the stockpot over water; place tamales upright in steamer. Bring to a boil; steam, covered, adding hot water as needed, until dough peels away from husk, about 45 minutes.