Tamal Tico de la familia Durán-murillo

ingredients

MAIN INGREDIENTS
30 pounds corn masa, unprepared
32 ounces Lard
20 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled, boiled, mashed & cooled
2 large Whole Chicken, boiled with herbs and aromatic veg. (preserve liquid and cooked veg)
10 pounds pork shoulder roast, 2 inch cubes, braised with herbs and aromatic veg. (preserve liquid and
cooked veg)
1 pound pork skins (rinds) with fat attached, fresh is best, little or no meat included

TAMALE ENHANCEMENTS
6 large red bell pepper, seed, slice to 2 inch strips
2 pounds olive, pitted with pimento
45 ounces garbanzo beans, fresh or canned
5 large carrots, 1/4-inch thick slice
45 ounces peas, fresh or canned

RICE
6 cups rice, uncooked
6 quarts Chicken Stock, low sodium
2 tablespoons achiote, to color rice. Dos Patitos from Costa Rica is best.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, to fry rice

AROMATIC VEGETABLES
6 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
20 cloves Garlic, peeled
4 bunches green onion, chopped
1 bunch celery, chopped (1 rib minced)
5 large onion, chopped (1 minced)
5 large carrot, peeled and chopped

MISC INGREDIENTS
black pepper, as needed
salt or chicken boullion, as needed
150 pieces Kitchen Twine, cut to 30" length
150 sheets Aluminum foil, cut to 12in x 12in
5 packages banana leaves, roasted, cleaned & deveined

Instructions

TAMALE CASING:
 Place leaves over open flame to tenderize. Wipe leaves clean with a clean moist cloth. Wipe away from center stem to reduce the chance of splitting the leaf. Remove small unusable pieces. Remove and discard main vein/stalk Leaves must be pliable or they will crack or break when wrapping tamal contents. Cut leaf if necessary to fit on sheets of aluminum foil. Create a stack alternating between foil then leaf. When placing the leaf on the foil, lay it down so the grain of the leaf runs vertically instead of horizontally. This reduces the possibility of the leaf splitting. Set aside under towel.

NOTE: Because leaf sizes are not a standard size, the leaf you use may not be enough to cover the contents which follow. You may need to add one or more leaves. But use as few as possible. Too many leaves will not allow the contents to cook thoroughly. Experiment until you find the combination that works for you. Occasionally, a leaf may split open during construction. Use the bits and pieces which were removed to patch the splits.

MEAT PREPARATION:
In separate pots with green onions, garlic, celery and red bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cook
until tender. Pork will take about a couple of hours (cook pork on low heat to maintain tenderness). The chickens boiled about an hour. Remove meats from pots and set aside to cool. Pour juices though colander and retain juices together. Grind remaining solids to smooth consistency. Mix vegetable slurry, meat juices and lard. Break pork rinds into pieces and create paste using a food processor or blender. Add some of the meat juices if needed to process thoroughly. Mix paste and rest of meat juices until well blended. Set aside in refrigerator. De-bone chicken and discard bones. Cut cooled pork and chicken into bite size pieces. In a skillet, braise the chicken with minced onion, garlic, celery and season with salt and pepper. This will enhance the chicken flavor. When veggies are thoroughly cooked, remove from heat and cool. Place into bowls and set aside in refrigerator.

MASA PREPARATION:
Make mashed potatoes with little or no lumps. Set aside. To the masa, add meat juice mixture in small
amounts. Consistency should be that of mashed potatoes. If more liquid is required, use chicken stock until consistency is reached. Correct seasoning using chicken bouillon instead of salt. Mixing should be done with hands or heavy duty mixer. Hand held mixers are too weak and will burn out. Add mashed potatoes last to maintain their lightness. If masa is prepared in smaller batches, mix together to maintain a consistent taste and texture.

RICE PREPARATION:
In medium pot, add vegetable oil and allow to heat. Add achiote or bijol and stir until melted. Add rice. Mix contents well; rice should be colored a light red to orange color. Fry rice for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add sufficient chicken stock to cover rice by one inch above. Add bouillon to season. Cook until water begins to boil. Cover and reduce flame to simmer until rice is nearly done. Rice kernals should not be open. Fluff up with a fork. Cool on a half-sheet. Place into a bowl and set aside in refrigerator.

VEGETABLE PREPARATION:
Carrots - .If canned, drain well. If whole, peel and slice 1/4 inch on bias and steam until tender.
Peas - If canned, drain well. OK to use frozen or fresh. These will cook when tamale is boiled.
Red Bell Peppers - Seed and cut into strips. Can use previously roasted peppers.
Garbanzo Beans - If dry, boil until tender. If canned, drain well.
Olives - Pitted. With pimento. Drain well.
Place all in separate bowls and set aside in refrigerator.

CONSTRUCTION:
Place all ingredients on a work table. The masa, banana leaves and foil closest to your work space.
Place approximately a cup (estimate) of masa as a small mound in the center of the leaves. Add a heaping
tablespoon of rice to the center of the masa. Press into masa to leave a flattened surface for the other ingredients.
Add teaspoons of the other fillings over the rice.

There is no correct amount of fillings, however, do not be excessive.

Fold over leaves, sides first, then top and bottom, to cover contents completely.   Flip over then fold over foil sealing the tamale.   Set aside until two are complete.   Using kitchen string, arrange the two tamales so their flaps of the foil are against each other.   Lay the twin tamales over the string and cross the string over the tamales. Pulling the string snug, but not tight, turn the bundle ninety degrees and flip the tamale bundle upside down. Tie the string with a double knot.
NOTE: Tamales expand when cooked. So don't make the string too tight around the bundle. They may burst into the cooking water making quite a mess and leaving one less tamale to enjoy.
Once making enough bundles to fill your largest pot, fill one third of it with water. Heat until water boils. Place the tamales in the pot, not too tight against each other. As noted before, they expand while cooking and will become very difficult to remove from the pot without damage. Depending on the size of your pot, a second layer may be added, but must not exceed the height of the sides of the pot. Add water if necessary to reach up to halfway on the second layer. The first layer will be submerged. Cover pot. Heat until water again boils. Cook tamales another 30 minutes. Check the water level from time to time, if the level gets close to over flowing, remove some of the water using a baster or ladle. Remove tamales from the pot and allow to drain.

Tamales can be served immediately with cold fresh salsa. Allow to cool to room temp before placing in refrigerator for storage.  Tamales can be frozen but quality will diminish within 6 months. They should be refrigerated if not to be eaten that day. Leave them tied in bundles until ready to eat.  Tamales can be re-heated using microwave, steaming or boiling.

For best results, have family or friends over to help during construction