Tamales Nortenos [Northern Tamales]

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

FILLING
THE TAMALES
This recipe is from northern Mexico and I think it is closer to the tamales
made in Texas. Tamales from central Mexico are thick and fluffy and are
mostly dough. This is the original recipe as it would be prepared in
Mexico, including lard. Adjust as necessary to suit your sensibilities. I
substitute Crisco for the lard. I also make this recipe using chicken in
place of the pork. Enjoy! Garry The smallest tamales of all are the
nortenos from Coahuila and Chihuahua. They are as thick as a very fat
finger and about 2 1/2 inches long. The northerners express contempt for
the large, fluffy white ones of central Mexico, which to them are all dough
and very little else--which is true of the commercially made ones. The
dough in these is almost overcome by the filling of pork in a sauce of
chiles anchos strongly flavored with cumin. Cut the meat into 1-inch
squares--it should have a little fat on it--and put it into the saucepan
with the onion, garlic, salt, and peppercorns. Barely cover the meat with
water and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and simmer the meat until it is
tender--about 40 minutes. Set the meat aside to cool off in the broth.
Strain the meat, reserving the broth, and chop it roughly. Heat the griddle
and toast the chiles well, turning them from time to time so that they do
not burn. Let them cool a little. When they are cool enough to handle, slit
them open and remove the seeds and veins. When the chiles have cooled off
they should be crisp. Crumble them into the blender jar or spice grinder
and grind them with the cumin seeds to a fine powder. Melt the lard, add
the chili powder, and cook it for a few seconds, stirring it all the time.
Add the meat and, continuing to cook, let it season for a minute or so. Add
the pork broth and let the mixture cook for about 5 minutes over a medium
flame so that it reduces a little--there should be quite a bit of sauce
left. Add salt as necessary. Make the basic dough but do not add any baking
powder. Mix the chili sauce into the dough to give it a little color. Using
the smallest husks or the large ones cut in half, spread a scant tablespoon
of the dough thinly over each husk, covering an area about 2 X 2 inches.
Put a little of the meat with plenty of sauce into the center of the dough
and fold the husk as you would for ordinary tamales. Stack the tamales in
the steamer and cook for about 2 hours. Test to see if they are done.
NOTES : Entered into MasterCook by Garry Howard, Cambridge, MA
garhow@hpubmaa.esr.hp.com or g.howard@ix.netcom.com
Recipe by: The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy ISBN 0-06-012344-3
Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V4 #043 by Walt Gray <waltgray@mnsinc.com> on
Feb 10, 1997.

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