Tamal de Masa Colada Tabasqueño

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large tamalera or steamer with rack
• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer or manta de cielo for straining the masa
• •Wide heavy cazuela or Dutch oven
• •Wooden spoon for cooking the masa

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the chicken

   Put the chicken, water, half the onion, 3 garlic cloves, and 1 tablespoon salt in a heavy pot. Bring to a gentle simmer, skim the gray foam from the surface, then cook 35 to 45 minutes until the chicken is tender and pulls from the bone. Remove the chicken, strain the broth, and reserve at least 6 cups. Shred the meat in generous pieces. The broth is not background here. It becomes the masa.

2. 2

   Soften the leaves

   Wipe the banana leaves clean and cut them into twelve rectangles about 12 by 14 inches. Pass each piece over a gas flame or hot comal for a few seconds per side until the leaf turns glossy, deep green, and flexible. Raw banana leaf cracks. Softened leaf folds around the tamal like cloth. Save the scraps to line the steamer.

3. 3

   Make the recado

   Heat a comal over medium. Char the tomatoes, remaining onion, remaining garlic, and chile dulce until they have blackened spots and smell sweet, not burned. Toast the black peppercorns, cumin seeds, allspice, and clove for 20 to 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Blend the charred vegetables, toasted spices, achiote paste, sour orange juice, oregano, chile amashito if using, and 1 cup reserved chicken broth until smooth. No red food coloring. Achiote has the color and the bitter-earth flavor. The bottle of dye has neither.

4. 4

   Fry the sauce

   Melt 2 tablespoons lard in a cazuela or heavy skillet over medium heat. Pour in the achiote puree carefully. It will sputter. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce darkens to brick-orange and the lard begins to show in small glossy beads at the edges. Add the shredded chicken and fold until every piece is coated. Taste for salt. The filling should be a little stronger than you think because the pale masa will soften it.

5. 5

   Strain the masa

   Break the fresh nixtamal masa into a large bowl. Whisk in 5 cups warm chicken broth, working with your hand if needed, until the masa becomes a loose slurry. Pass it through a fine-mesh strainer or manta de cielo into a clean bowl, pressing and rubbing until only coarse corn skin remains. This is why it is called masa colada. Colada means strained. Skip this and you have a different tamal.

   Ask the tortillería for fresh masa de nixtamal sin preparar, the masa used for tortillas. Do not buy masa preparada with baking powder and seasonings. That masa belongs to another technique.
6. 6

   Cook the masa

   Melt 1 cup lard in a wide heavy pot over medium-low heat. Whisk in the strained masa slurry and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 25 to 30 minutes. It will look too loose at first. Keep working. The masa is ready when it turns glossy, thickens like soft custard, and a spoon dragged across the bottom leaves a clean trail for two seconds before the masa flows back. La manteca es el sabor. This tamal is silky because the masa is strained and cooked, not because someone threw baking powder at it.

7. 7

   Fill the tamales

   Lay one softened banana leaf rectangle glossy side up. Spoon about 1/2 cup cooked masa into the center and spread it into a thick oval. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons achiote chicken and one torn piece of hoja de momo. Fold the long sides over the filling, then fold the short ends under to make a flat packet. Tie loosely with banana leaf strips or kitchen twine. Do not squeeze the tamal tight. The masa needs room to set.

8. 8

   Steam the tamales

   Set up a tamalera or large steamer with water below the rack. Line the rack with banana leaf scraps. Arrange the tamales seam side down, cover them with more leaf scraps, and close the lid. Steam over steady medium heat for 75 to 90 minutes, adding boiling water if the pot runs low. The tamal is done when the leaf pulls away cleanly and the masa holds its shape like a tender custard. If it spreads like porridge, close the pot and give it another 15 minutes.

   Do not let the water touch the tamales. You are cooking with gentle moisture, not boiling the packets. If the pot smells dry or the leaf scraps scorch, add boiling water immediately.
9. 9

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the tamales rest in the closed steamer for 20 minutes. This is not waiting for nothing. The masa finishes setting as it rests. Serve each tamal in its banana leaf on a clay plate, opened at the table so the pale masa and orange achiote chicken show together. The texture should be smooth, soft, and spoon-tender. If you expected a crumbly corn-husk tamal, that is another region talking. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Buy fresh masa from a tortillería if you can. Ask for masa de nixtamal sin preparar. Masa harina will thicken, yes, but it will not give you the same corn depth. If you must use it, hydrate 4 cups masa harina with 5 cups warm broth, rest 20 minutes, then strain and cook. A compromise is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Chile dulce tabasqueño is aromatic, not hot. Chile amashito is small and sharp. Do not throw in jalapeño and pretend it is the same thing. If you cannot find chile amashito, use a little chile piquín or leave it out.
• •Hoja de momo is also called acuyo or hoja santa. It smells of anise, black pepper, and green earth. If you cannot find it, omit it. Do not replace it with basil or parsley. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
• •The masa must be cooked before wrapping. Some tamales use raw beaten masa. This one does not. The cooked strained masa is the identity of the dish. No me vengas con atajos.
• •Frozen banana leaves are acceptable. Mexican, Central American, and Caribbean markets usually carry them. Thaw them completely, wipe them, and pass them over heat so they bend without tearing.

Advance Preparation

• •The achiote chicken filling can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm it gently before assembling so the fat loosens.
• •The banana leaves can be cut, softened, and refrigerated one day ahead, wrapped in a clean kitchen towel.
• •The masa slurry can be strained up to 4 hours ahead. Cook it with the lard shortly before assembling so it stays workable.
• •Cooked tamales keep refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 2 months. Reheat in a steamer until the center is fully hot, about 20 minutes from the refrigerator or 35 to 45 minutes from frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)