Tamales de Azafrán Comitecos

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large tamalera steamer with rack
• •Heavy clay cazuela or wide skillet for the filling
• •Stand mixer or large bowl and strong wooden spoon for beating masa
• •Gas flame, comal, or heavy skillet for softening banana leaves
• •Fine-mesh strainer for the saffron broth

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the meats

   Put the pork shoulder, chicken thighs, halved onion, 3 garlic cloves, bay leaves, salt, and peppercorns in a heavy pot. Cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a gentle simmer and skim the foam during the first 15 minutes. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes, then remove it. Continue simmering the pork until it pulls apart easily, 45 to 60 minutes more. Strain and save the broth. This broth is the liquid for the masa, so do not throw away your flavor.

2. 2

   Shred and reserve

   When the meats are cool enough to handle, remove the chicken from the bone and shred it. Shred the pork into thick strands. Keep the meat covered so it does not dry out. A tamal filling should be moist when it goes into the masa because the steaming will tighten it.

3. 3

   Bloom the azafrán

   Warm 1/2 cup of the strained broth until hot but not boiling. Add the saffron threads and crush them lightly between your fingers as they go in. Let them bloom for 15 minutes, until the broth turns deep gold and smells floral. If you are using Mexican azafrán de hebra, steep it the same way, then strain it very well. You want color and aroma, not little threads caught in the masa.

4. 4

   Make the filling

   Melt 2 tablespoons manteca de cerdo in a cazuela or heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until glossy, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the roasted tomatoes, canela, clove, and ground black pepper. Cook until the tomato thickens and the fat starts to show at the edges. Add the shredded pork and chicken, olives, raisins, almonds, capers, and 1/2 cup reserved broth. Cook 5 minutes more. The filling should be seasoned, moist, and fragrant, not soupy.

5. 5

   Beat the lard

   In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat 1 1/4 cups manteca de cerdo until pale and light, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt. Beat again. La manteca es el sabor, and it is also the structure. If the lard is not light before the masa goes in, the tamales will be heavy.

6. 6

   Build the masa

   Add the fresh masa in handfuls, beating after each addition. Pour in the saffron broth, then add warm cooking broth 1/2 cup at a time until the masa is soft, spreadable, and glossy. Beat for 10 to 12 minutes. Drop a pea-size bit into a glass of cold water. If it floats, the masa is ready. If it sinks, keep beating. This test is old because it works. Así se hace y punto.

   Fresh masa from a tortillería is best. Masa harina works only if you hydrate it properly and let it rest, but the texture is a compromise, not an upgrade.
7. 7

   Soften the leaves

   Pass each banana leaf square over a gas flame or hot comal for a few seconds per side until it turns shiny, deep green, and flexible. Do not burn it. The leaf should bend without cracking. This is not decoration. The hoja de plátano perfumes the tamal and protects the masa while it steams.

8. 8

   Fill the tamales

   Lay one softened banana leaf square shiny side up. Spread about 1/3 cup saffron masa in the center into a rectangle. Spoon 2 tablespoons filling down the middle. Fold the sides of the leaf over the masa, then fold the top and bottom into a neat packet. Tie with kitchen twine or a thin strip of banana leaf. Repeat with the rest. Do not overfill. A tamal that bursts is a cook who got greedy.

9. 9

   Steam the tamales

   Line the bottom of a tamalera steamer with extra banana leaf scraps. Add water below the rack and bring it to a steady simmer. Arrange the tamales seam side down, leaving room for the heat to move. Cover with more banana leaves, then the lid. Steam for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes, adding hot water as needed so the pot never runs dry.

10. 10

    Rest and serve

    Turn off the heat and let the tamales rest in the covered steamer for 15 minutes. Open one. The masa should pull cleanly from the banana leaf and hold its shape, tender but not wet. Serve warm on Chiapas clay plates, with the leaf opened at the table. No sour cream, no yellow cheese, no nonsense. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •In Comitán, the word azafrán can lead you to different products depending on the vendor. True saffron is expensive and powerful. Mexican azafrán de hebra, often safflower, gives color more than aroma. Ask specifically what local cooks use for tamales de azafrán comitecos, then taste and smell before you buy.
• •Use manteca de cerdo. Vegetable oil will make the masa greasy and dense in the wrong way. Shortening gives volume but no flavor. La manteca es el sabor.
• •Do not make these hot for the sake of proving they are Mexican. The Comiteco character is saffron, meat broth, lard, banana leaf, olives, almonds, raisins, and gentle spice. Not every Mexican tamal needs chile.
• •Banana leaves are usually sold frozen in Latin American or Asian markets outside Mexico. Thaw them, wipe them clean, and soften them over heat. If they split, patch with a second piece. Corn husk changes the perfume and the cooking rhythm.
• •If the masa tastes flat before steaming, it will taste flatter after steaming. Season the masa until it tastes like something you would eat by itself. The steamer will not rescue timid salt.

Advance Preparation

• •The pork, chicken, and broth can be cooked one day ahead. Refrigerate the meat and broth separately, then skim any excess fat from the broth before using it in the masa.
• •The filling can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it back to room temperature before filling the tamales so it spreads evenly and does not chill the masa.
• •The tamales can be assembled and refrigerated overnight before steaming. Keep them covered so the banana leaves do not dry out.
• •Steamed tamales keep refrigerated for 4 days. Reheat them in a steamer, still wrapped in their banana leaves, until the masa is soft again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 185g)