Tamale Sundays are dedicated to my late sister-in-law, Ninfa Martinez. She taught me how to make tamales almost twenty years ago. Ever since, I’ve been organizing these events. They started out in my hometown, Chicago, where good friends and family came together three or four times a year.
Before moving from Chicago, I was brought in as a Tamale Maven to teach the art of tamale-making to a group of young chefs in Mayor Daley’s Gallery 37 Culinary Arts Program.
Now, thanks to my tamale family at Larrabee Herbs (Anita & Ken and David & Tracy) Tamale Sundays will continue in Bath. It’s a tradition that’s meant to be passed along. Not just the making of the tamales, but the community that forms as a result.
Tamale making is an all-day affair. Bring comfortable shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting stained.
Fillings should be made ahead of time and should be on the salty side, because salt is lost in the steaming process. With that in mind, here are some options for Sauces for your fillings.
Ancho Sauce: This is the traditional style. This sauce is also used in the masa so if you’d like to try it, please check in with me to see how much I have on hand. Typically, it’s used with pork. But you can also use beef, chicken, or turkey.
Taco Sauce: Make up a batch of your favorite taco recipe. Ground or shredded beef is excellent for this, but chicken is also good. Again, remember to make it salty.
Mole Sauce: Make up a batch of your favorite recipe. This doesn’t have to be made extra salty. Mole is a very rich sauce and doesn’t lose much in the steaming process. I prefer to use turkey (freeze up your holiday leftovers) with my mole sauce, but chicken is great, too. If you don’t have time to whip up your own, a good brand to use is Dona Maria Mole. It comes in a glass jar with a metal top and can be found at your local Hispanic store. I’ve seen it in Portland at Bodega Latina. I know they carry it at Bath Natural Market, too. You can boil chicken to make your own chicken broth, or heat up some chicken or vegetable broth. Once it’s hot, take about a cup of the hot liquid and blend it with the sauce before mixing it in with rest of the poultry and broth. I’d recommend a sauce on the thicker side so it clings to whatever shredded poultry you use.
Green Mole Verde Sauce: Again, if you have a favorite recipe, this is excellent with chicken. I haven’t tried it with anything else though. If you don’t have time to make your own, I recommend Dona Maria Mole Verde. It, too, is a rich sauce. Prepare it the same way as you would the Mole.
Note: With any choice of meat or poultry, you want to make sure it’s as tender as possible or at least cut into bite-size pieces. When you bite into a tamale you shouldn’t have strings of meat pulling all the way out.
Here are some filling recipes:
Anita’s Turkey Filling:
I can only tell you what items go into the mix because I never measure anything. I just keep adding ingredients until it tastes the way I like it. The amount of each ingredient depends on how salty / spicy / tomato-y / peppery you like it – AND how big the turkey breast is.
ADD: • Chopped onion
• Chopped garlic
• Chopped (sweet) green and / or red pepper
• Chopped poblano pepper (s)
• Chopped jalapeño pepper (s)
• Chopped tomatoes, canned or fresh
• Canned tomato paste
• A good chili pepper mixture. I use Chilli Man Chilli Powder
• Spices: I use:
- cumin seeds, whole or ground
- oregano, fresh or dried
- cilantro, chopped, large amount
- ancho pepper powder (optional)
- ground black pepper
- cinnamon (towards the end – add, mix, taste)
- cloves “ “ “ “ “ “
- dark brown sugar
- salt
After the mix has been cooking for a while and the turkey has become tender, I use a potato masher to turn the turkey pieces into shreds. Then, mix, mix, mix.
Black Beans: Use your favorite black bean recipe (extra salty). Here’s a quickie version:
Saute 1 teaspoon ground cumin in 1/2 tablespoon of oil til it’s browned and the aroma is released. Add 2-3 large garlic cloves, minced. Saute til it begins to brown and the aroma is released, about one minute. Add 1 pound of greens (chard or spinach). If it gets too dry add water or broth. Add 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans or one 15-oz can. I like to add frozen or cooked corn as well. Taste and adjust seasonings, remembering to make it on the salty side. For a little more zing, add a minced dollop of jalapeno, poblano, habanero, or serrano chili to the garlic process.
Pinto Beans: Make your favorite pot of refried or Mexican beans. You can do a variation of the above, but again remember to make it salty.
Cheese: For this you want to start with a salty melting cheese—Chihuahua is my preference. You can have plain cheese tamales or you can do variations. Cheese with fresh cilantro by itself or with bits of minced chili, like jalapeno or serrano. Or a cheese and fresh salsa verde (tomatillo sauce). The green salsa holds up better and adds more to the flavor than red salsa.
Portabello & Pepper: This used to be a favorite of mine before I developed my mushroom allergy. For this, you want to saute garlic, onion, portabello, green and red peppers and a mix of hot peppers. Use your favorite Mexican seasonings, again making it salty. Be careful with the mix of hot peppers. Depending on the heat factor—habanero being the most fiery—you want to err on the side of caution.
Experiment.
As I finish with this list of possibilities, I suddenly have the urge to try a garlic-based filling, perhaps using potatoes, with hot peppers and onions. Wouldn’t that be a great thing to have on hand during the cold and flu season?