11/15/2022
Amigos, as you gather with loved ones for the holidays, just want to let you know that we miss you and continue working on seeing you again in 2023. We'll miss celebrating with you and making tamales and wanted to share ways you can enhance the magic of the season by adding Chispa – a special spark – to your dinner table.
The key to adding this special spark is using authentic Mexican ingredients that you can find at Hispanic grocery stores and many grocery stores.
Here's our tamale recipe that you can make and can tweak for tamales that the whole family will love. Let us know how they turn out!
Tamales
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Servings: 10-12
40 dried corn husks
water
3 packages Cacique Pork, Beef, Chorizo or vegan meats
1 medium onion (about 1 cup), minced
8 pounds basic tamale dough, at room temperature
3 packages (10 ounces each) Cacique Oaxaca Cheese /vegan cheese, cut into 1/2-inch strips
tamale steamer
Sour cream and your favorite salsa for serving
In large bowl, cover corn husks with boiling water and soak at least 1 hour. Remove excess water and pat each husk dry.
In large skillet, cook your meat choice according to package instructions. Add onions; saute over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Cool thoroughly.
To make tamales: Prepare one husk at a time by placing husk on open palm, smearing 3 tablespoons tamale dough on husk from side to side and to bottom, leaving 3 inches of top untouched for folding. Place 1 tablespoon of your meat mixture in center and top with one strip of cheese. Fold 1/3 of husk to left and 1/3 to right, overlapping; pinch bottom to seal and gently fold over top to create small rectangle.
Add adequate room temperature water to tamal steamer and set steamer grate. Place formed tamales, vertically and upside down, tightly packed. Once first layer of tightly packed tamales is complete, begin second layer of tamales horizontally.
Cover and steam over medium-high heat 45 minutes-1 hour.
Check water level at 45 minutes. If water is low, gently add hot water to side of pot. Remove one tamal to check doneness. Tamal is cooked when dough separates from husk when unwrapping. Serve hot with sour cream and salsa.
