Category: Christmas Traditions

Ancho chile sauce, Christmas Traditions, How much masa equals how many dozens of tamales, Latino culture, Latino Family Traditions, Masa for Tamales, Pork Tamales

Five Important Ingredients for the Best Tamales

Mona Alvarado Frazier

It’s a special time of year for Latino families throughout the country and the Americas.

Two weeks before Christmas is the time to pull out the Tactical Tamale Plan. After going through this ‘document,’ we found out that there’s a snag in the production. Our tamale masa connection is MIA, so I’ve had to post a Facebook request for prices for a pound of masa preparada.

The week before and after Christmas is usually tamale making time. Our tamale making fest is this weekend.

Although we may be Latinos we don’t all make the same kind of tamales. Mexicans, Ecuadorians, Guatemalans make different kinds of fillings, use coverings other than corn husks-ojas, tie and steam or boil the tamales in various types of utensils. 

My family stretches from first generation to third generation Mexican American Latino.We don’t do fancy tamales, only two types: pork in red chile sauce which we call “Red ones,” and Anaheim Chiles, cheese and tomatillo sauce, that we call the “Green ones.” However, I will experiment (on my own) with a Vegan one filled with vegetables or lentils. But this post concentrates on what I believe are the important ingredients for the best tasting pork tamales. 

Beverages from wine to champurrado, several spoons or butterknives, cheese/cracker plate, veggie plate,Christmas cookies, favorite aprons, tamale pots, and music need to be assembled before one starts spreading the masa. 

The amounts of ingredients aren’t listed because they vary with how many dozens of tamales you make. Just do a search for “how to make tamales,” and several recipes will spring up. 

Ingredients: 

  1. Pork Shoulder, pork butt, or loin. Boneless is best but more expensive. Roast with garlic cloves, salt, oregano, onions. Trim any fat, cut into one inch squares. (The one in the photo above is too chunky).
  2. Well kneaded masa: for a 4 pound bag of Masa Para Tamales* use
    3 tablespoons paprika
    3 tablespoons salt
    3 tablespoons chili powder
    3 tablespoons garlic powder
    2 cups vegetable oil
    2 quarts pork broth *SKIP this step by buying Masa Preparada (prepared dough) from a Mexican grocery store or bakery. One pound of masa is enough for half dozen of tamales-30 lbs is 15 dozens of tamales.(Masa is that stuff that looks like mashed potatoes in the photo. Should be creamy or fluffy will spread well on the ojas).
  3. Chile sauce: It is worth it to make your own, but a little time-consuming and messy. The deep brown red color of the sauce in the photo above is just right. We use several dried Ancho chiles (called Poblano’s too), remove stems and seeds, soak them and garlic cloves for 30-45 minutes in 3 cups of hot water. Place all in a blender with two cups of the water, give it a whirl, and add salt. Heat two teaspoons of vegetable/olive oil into a large saucepan, add two teaspoons of flour into the hot oil and stir until browned. Add the chile from the blender. Simmer until thickened. Add the cubed pork meat into the chile. Let it simmer together for 30 minutes or so. (You can take a short cut and use Las Palmas red chile in a can also). 
  4. Corn husks or ojas. Remove the cornsilk and soak them in a large pot of warm water until soft. Costco, Winco, Smart & Final and most Mexican supermarkets have these dried in packages. The cheapest are not the best, often small, and full of holes.This is a good job for the kids. Drain and blot them dry.
  5. The best for last: You must share chisme (gossip), joke, laugh, sing, tell stories, reflect on the past,  while around the assembly line of spreading the masa, spooning in the pork and chile, and wrapping the tamales. You must teach anyone over five years of age how to do something to help the tamale makers. 

Our motto:  No Help, No Eat. Of course this does not include guests.

While the tamale pot steams the dozens of tasty tamals grab your favorite beverage, relax on the couch and chismear with your favorite person.
 
 

 Or watch one of my favorite holiday films, like “The Christmas Story,” and laugh with the kids.

Build some memories as you prepare your holiday treats.Christmas comes and leaves so quickly.







Christmas Traditions, Family, Latino family tradition, Mexican Cooking, Tamales, Wine and Tamales

The Tactical Tamale Plan

Mona Alvarado Frazier

It’s tamale making time. The season is just like Christmas. You look forward to the joyful day with some trepidation. Why? Because of the time it takes for planning, buying, wrapping, steaming. See, just like Christmas.

After Thanksgiving my family, including my brother, sit down and draw up our tactical tamale plan. First we have to decide on a day. Who’s working, who’s not, who’s traveling, and all that. This is how the initial conversation starts:

1. How many pounds of masa do we need? We did 35 pounds last year, not enough. Yeah, not enough green tamales, let’s make more of those, and less of the red pork. No, more red, less green. Let’s do chicken ones. NO, stay traditional. How about sweet? Hmmmh, we stink at making sweet, let’s buy those. We need a vegan recipe (for the vegan son). Forget that, do those on your own. Okay, okay, let’s get back to how many pounds of masa.

2. We decide on 40 pounds: 10 lbs. red pork, 20 lbs. green chile, and 10 lbs. of chicken with tomatillo (mom makes a disgusting face like she’s throwing up-she hates chicken). Phone rings. Add 5 more lbs for nephew who can’t join us but will pay for additional tamales. Use pork shoulder, lean but not too much. How many dozens does 40 lbs. make again? Geez, this year someone write that down, please.

3. Where are we buying the masa preparada? L.C’s is $1.79, forget that, it’s masa not dark chocolate. But it’s smooth and covers the ojas so well. No, last time there was a fight in the line, ‘stas loca. Women rolling on the floor for a bag of masa.  P.V’s is $1.19. Heck no, it’s crowded 24/7 and we have to masarle (knead lard into it). What about your neighbor with the bakery? Okay bro, that’s your job.

4. Who’s making the chile? You? Maybe next year. Ancho? Poblano? New Mexican? Okay, Ancho.

5. How many can’s of green chile’s, how many pounds of Monterey Jack cheese? Buy the shredded one, not the 5 lb blocks. Who cares if they cost a little more, if you buy blocks you’re shredding the stuff.

6.  Olives, no olives? Some olives, yes, some.

7. Ojas from P.V’s? They’re a good price but the cornsilk is still on them and some are too little, we got to piece them all together and stuff. Winco in Fresno has  ‘pre-soaked’ ojas? No me dijas. And they’re big and pretty? Yeah, they’re all evenly cut and no cornsilk, soak for 10 minutes. Really? Buy us those.

8. We’re starting at 9 in the morning because that means 10. Make sure everyone does the prep work before we get together (8 pairs of eyes shift to the one who insists on buying cheese in a giant block).

9. What kind of munchies? The baked Brie at Costco is the bomb, would go well with Ramos Torres Vino Tinto. Bring a Cabernet, don’t forget white for mom. Somebody better bring salad too. Who’s bringing the See’s Nuts and Chews and Peanut Brittle? We gotta eat, those tamales take three hours to cook. We need to put the first batch in the tina (see above photo) by noontime, 1 o’clock by the latest. Remember, everyone over the age of 5 spreads. No work, no eat.

10. Redo all of the above two more times before December 15th.

The conversation is exhausting. Imagine the shopping and set up. On the appointed day we suit up in our various aprons and lay out the various utensils we use to spread the masa on the ojas. We inevitably have the argument of butter knife versus spoon as the best utensil for a smooth application, who spreads the best, who’s taking too many breaks along with the family gossip and remembrances of previous years of tamale making.

Someone starts a pot of beans and throws in onion and a jalapeno for flavor. We spread, fill, fold, and stack at least four tamale pots. After the first batch is done, we unroll, sample, and decide if they need to steam longer or not.Time to make some Mexican rice to go with the meal. The kitchen is filled with the earthy smells of nixtamal corn, spicy chile, garlic and roasted chicken. We’re done with eating salad, brie, and crackers.

Few things are a better sight to see than steaming tamales unrolling onto a plate with just the right amount of pork in red ancho sauce enclosed with a layer of masa that is not too thin and not too thick. They go well with  Tempranillo, Malbec, or Vino Tinto.

After a couple of pots of tamales are ready, we sit down with throbbing feet, red sauce stained aprons and sore backs. We fill our plates and wine glasses too. We count our blessings, say a prayer and dig in. Hard work, but like Christmas Day, it is so worth it.

photo by robjtak