[Restaurant Recipe]: Casa Vega's Tamales

Beef, Chicken, and Cheese Tamales (10 servings)

Chicken Filling (you can also use rotisserie chicken)

 1 whole, cage-free, all natural chicken- cut into pieces (keep bones on for flavor)

 1 small onion, chopped into large pieces

 ½ head of fresh, minced garlic

 1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

·         Immerse chicken in big pot of water. Then add onions, garlic and salt.  Cover and set to medium heat.

·         Boil together for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

·         Once chicken is fully cooked, remove from water, cool to touch and debone.

·         Shred the chicken, place in large mixing bowl.

·         Pour flavoring salsa over chicken and mix with hands.

Beef Filling

  2 lbs all- natural chuck tender

  1 small onion

  ½ head of garlic

  1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

·         Immerse beef in large pot of water.  Add onions, garlic and salt and bring to a boil.  As soon as water boils, reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pot.  Let simmer for several hours.  The meat should be medium rare when it’s ready and shreds easily.

·         When beef is done, remove from pot and allow to cool slightly and then shred.

·         Place shredded beef in large mixing bowl.  Pour in flavoring salsa and mix with hands.

Vegetable & Cheese Filling

  10 strips of Monterey Jack Cheese

  10 small strips of cooked, skinned and seeded Anaheim chili

  10 green olives

Instructions 
       Once Massa is spread on husk add a strip of cheese, chili and green olive in the  middle.  
       Fold, cook and serve same as meat tamales.

Tamales

  15 Corn Husks

  3 1/8 (25oz) Massa (Virgin)

  1 tablespoon chili paste (recipe below) or store bough

  ½ teaspoon baking powder

  1 ¼ teaspoon salt

  ¼ cup canola oil

  1 cup water

 

Tamale Instructions

1.      In a large container, place the corn husks deep in hot water and cover for a couple hours until they are soft and pliable.  Tip: you may need to weigh them down with an inverted plate and a heavy can to keep them submerged.

2.      In an electric mixer add Massa to the bowl.  Then at medium-low speed add the following ingredients one at a time: chili paste, baking powder, salt, oil and water.  Mix everything until it gets soft and heavy.

3.      Drain water from husks. One at a time, flatten out the husks with the narrow end towards you and place 2.5oz (a little more than 1/4c- size of palm of hand) of Massa on the middle of the corn husk, leaving a little more room at the bottom of the husk. Then add 1.5oz of meat filling in the middle of the Massa.

4.      Take the left side of the husk and fold it directly over the right side. Fold the narrow bottom end of the husk onto the folded tamal. ** For parties and presentation you can tie with strip of corn husk when serving dry tamales.

5.      As you are making the tamales, stand them up on their rolled ends in a prepared steamer basket.  Steam over boiling water for approximately 30-40 minutes until Massa is firm and holds its shape.  *Tip: Cover the tamales in the steamer with a layer of the left over corn husks.  You can also fill empty spaces (if you have them) with gently wadded aluminum foil to prevent them from falling over.

Presentation:
    In Casa Vega we serve them “oven-style”: gently remove the tamal from the husk and plate.  Cover with homemade enchilada sauce, sprinkle with cheddar & jack cheese and cook in hot oven for 2-3 min (until cheese is melted.) 
    At home we serve them dry.  Let everyone unroll their own tamal and serve with Tapatio and Mexican Crema.

Mexican Crema

  1 cup sour cream

  1 cup heavy cream

  1 tsp salt to taste

Whisk in large mixing bowl.  Cover and let sit at room temp for several hours.  Serve or refrigerate until ready to use. Bring back to room temp before serving.