Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Sinaloa Style Chicken Chorizo Tamales from 'Tamales'

In contrast to Vegan Jalapeno Pesto Potato Tamales from Tamales, Fast and Delicious Mexican Meals (Ten Speed Press, October 2014) by Alice Guadalupe Tapp, here's a meat filled recipe from same book.

Chicken Sinaloa Tamales

This is a great version of Sinaloa-style tamales. Sinaloa is a state in Mexico where my father was born—Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, and Acapulco are all in located in Sinaloa. These tamales are simple to make with the Super Easy Red Pasilla Chile Sauce. We offer these tamales in our shop at Christmas, as it is a traditional Christmas tamale in my father’s birthplace and a family favorite.

Makes 18 Tamales

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small to medium onion, diced
1 medium potato, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 zucchini, diced
2 pickled jalapeños, minced
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped green olives
3 or more cups Super Easy Red Pasilla Chile Sauce (page 36)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
31/2 cups Basic Fresh Masa (page 22)

Heat the oil in large pot over medium heat, add the onion, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the potato, carrot, zucchini, jalapeños, and salt and stir to combine. Sauté for 15 minutes or until the potato and carrot are barely soft. Remove from the heat and let cool. Add the tomato, raisins, olives, chile pasilla sauce, and chicken. Fold well.

Taste and adjust the salt.

Assemble the tamales (see pages 5-6), using 1/4 cup masa and 1/4 cup filling for each tamale.

Transfer to a steamer and steam for 50 minutes.

Chicken and Chorizo tamales

Super Easy Red Pasilla Chile Sauce

A simple version of the famous red chile sauce, this recipe cuts the preparation time down from 2 hours or more to 45 minutes. If you have leftover sauce, make enchiladas or chilaquiles. If the sauce is too hot, add 16 ounces of tomato sauce. If you want more heat, use New Mexico hot dried chiles instead of the pasilla chiles, which are milder.

Makes 7  Cups

1 (2-ounce) package dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded, or 4 tablespoons prepared chile paste
2 (28-ounce) cans enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Place the cleaned chiles in a medium bowl and pour boiling water to cover, place a dish on top to keep the heat in, and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes, until the chiles are completely soft. Place the chiles into a food processor or blender and process until you have a smooth paste, then add the enchilada sauce, oregano, sugar, cumin, salt, and pepper and process or blend until well combined, about 5 to 10 seconds.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the sauce, cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally to make sure the sauce doesn’t burn. Set aside to cool. The sauce can be refrigerated or frozen for future use.

Basic Fresh Masa

To make this type of masa dough, my grandmother used lard, and my mother used vegetable shortening or a combination of both. I switched to butter. Traditional cooks use even more fat than what is called for here, but I think this 1:5 ratio of butter to masa is perfect. Feel free to use your preference of lard, shortening, butter, or margarine.

Makes about 60 Tamales

1 pound butter or margarine, softened
5 pounds stone ground fresh masa (unprepared)
2 to 3 cups stock (chicken, pork, beef, or vegetable)
2 tablespoons salt (or less to taste)

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add one-third of the fresh masa alternating with one-third of the stock, then add the salt. Beat until well mixed, adding more stock if needed, turn the mixer to high, and beat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the dough resembles spackling paste.

Take a small piece (about 1/2 teaspoon) of the dough and drop it into a cup of cold water. If it floats, it is ready; if it sinks, whip for another minute and test it again. Repeat this process until the masa floats.

Note: The fresher the masa, the faster it will become light and fluffy enough for use.

(*Reprinted with permission from Tamales, by Alice Guadalupe Tapp, copyright © 2014. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House LLC. Photographs copyright © 2014 by Sara Remington)

Previous Post

Mexican Ceviche, Salmon and Scallop Ceviche from 'Mexican Flavors'

Jan 17
Mexican ceviche versus Peruvian ceviche, this recipe from Mexican Flavors, Contemporary Recipes from Camp San Miguel (Andrews McMeel, August 2014) by Hugh Carpenter, Teri Sandison, might help you decide. Salmon and Scallop Ceviche Serves 6 to 10 It’s important to use flawlessly fresh fish here. The fish is “cooked” by soaking in a lime juice bath for 3 hours. It is then tossed with extra-virgin olive oil, serrano chiles, and other seasonings. Placed on a...
Next Post

5 Minutes On Coffee Trail, Kew Gardens 'Forgotten Home of Coffee' Video

Jan 22
5 minutes and 59 seconds on Coffee trail to be exact Thanks to Kew Gardens... In addition, you might want to read (re-read) Espresso Italiano, Talking Coffee the Italian Way, my interview with Carlo Odello

Comments