Classics · Mexican

Chicken
Tamales

Chicken Tamales
Time
1h 15'
+ 1h 30' chilling
Diff.
hard
Kcal
320
/ serving
Servings
6
Gather 15 ingredients before cooking
Scale
Units
01 You'll need check when you have it
02 To finish last minute: ~60 min window
Step 01 of 07

Soak the corn husks

20 szt

Put dried corn husks (20 szt) in a large bowl, cover with hot water and weigh down with a plate so they stay submerged. Soak for at least an hour.

Tip
Dry husks crack when rolled. They must be soft and pliable like leather.
Step 02 of 07

Cook the chicken

600 g
1 szt
3 szt
1 łyżeczka

Put chicken breast (600 g) in a pot with halved onion (1 szt), 2 cloves of garlic (cloves) (3 szt) and salt (1 łyżeczka). Cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and keep 500 ml of the cooking liquid as backup broth.

Step 03 of 07

Make the sauce and mix with chicken

2 łyżka
400 g
2 łyżeczka
1 łyżeczka
1 łyżeczka
3 szt
600 g

Heat oil (2 łyżka) in a 28 cm pan. Add the last clove of garlic (cloves) (3 szt), finely chopped, and fry for 30 seconds. Add sweet paprika (2 łyżeczka), ground cumin (1 łyżeczka), chili flakes (1 łyżeczka), stir and immediately pour in tomato passata (400 g). Cook for 5 minutes until thickened. Shred chicken breast (600 g) with a fork and mix into the sauce. Set aside to cool.

Tip
Spices in hot oil release flavour but burn in 30 seconds. The passata must follow immediately.
Step 04 of 07

Whip the masa dough

180 g
400 g
1 łyżeczka
1 łyżeczka
500 ml

Beat lard (180 g) with a mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl mix masa harina corn flour (400 g), baking powder (1 łyżeczka) and salt (1 łyżeczka). Add the dry mix to the lard, keep beating and slowly pour in chicken broth (from cube) (500 ml) until the dough has the consistency of thick sandwich spread.

Tip
Whipping the lard before adding flour is the key — it aerates the fat so the dough turns out light. Without this step tamales are heavy as bricks.
Step 05 of 07

Assemble the tamales

20 szt
600 g

Take dried corn husks (20 szt) out of the water and drain. Lay a husk with the wider end facing you. Spread 2 tablespoons of dough in the centre to about half a centimetre thick, leaving the edges empty. Place a spoonful of chicken breast (600 g) filling on the dough. Fold the long sides over so the dough wraps the filling, then fold the narrow end up. Leave the top end open.

Tip
Don't overpack — the dough needs room to expand during steaming.
Step 06 of 07

Steam the tamales

Stand the tamales upright with the open end up in a steamer basket inside a pot. Add 3 cm of water to the bottom. Cover and steam for 90 minutes over medium heat. Check the water level every 30 minutes and top up with boiling water if needed.

Warning
If the water boils dry, the pot scorches and the tamales pick up a burnt taste. Watch it.
Step 07 of 07

Rest and serve

Remove the pot from heat and let the tamales rest under the lid for 10 minutes. The dough firms up and they unwrap cleanly. Serve straight from the husk — the husk is not eaten.

Tip
Fresh tamales are sticky inside. Ten minutes of rest is the difference between mush and structure.
Chicken Tamales
Bon appétit

How did it turn out?

Enjoy — now it's a matter of patience and a good table.

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