Chicken Tamales With Adobo Sauce Food

RED CHICKEN TAMALES (TAMALES ROJOS DE POLLO)

Steps:

• Place corn husks in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for a few hours. Drain, place on a work surface, and cover with a clean, damp towel.
• Place chicken in a pot, season with salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain chicken and shred with 2 forks.
• Heat a griddle over medium heat and toast ancho and mulato chiles until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak until soft, about 25 minutes. Combine ancho and mulato chiles, garlic, cumin seeds, and about 1/2 cup of the soaking water in a blender; blend until a thick, smooth, mole-like sauce forms, adding more water if necessary.
• Heat 1 tablespoon lard in a saucepan over medium heat and add the sauce; cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add shredded chicken and cook until flavors are combined and chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.
• Place remaining lard in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Add masa harina, chicken broth, baking powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, and beat until all ingredients are well combined. Test if the masa is ready by dropping a small ball of masa into a glass of cold water; if it floats, it's ready, if not, keep working the dough a little longer.
• Select 1 wide corn husk. Spread about 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the the corn husk, filling it up to 2 inches from the bottom and 1/4 inch from the top. Add 1 tablespoon of the chicken filling in the center of the masa mixture. Fold sides of husk together, one over the other. Fold the bottom of the husk over the seam of the 2 folded sides. Repeat with remaining husks.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add tamales with the open side up and cook until filling is heated through and separates from the husk, about 1 hour. Let tamales rest for 15 minutes before serving.

ADOBO SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Remove the stems from the guajillo and ancho peppers and remove the seeds. You may need to cut into the peppers for this, which is fine.
• Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and dry toast the dried peppers a couple minutes per side. They will become more pliable and slightly puff up. This helps to release the oils for more flavor.
• Place the dried pods in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Soak them for 15 minutes, or until they become very soft and rehydrate. Transfer the softened peppers to a food processor, but reserve the soaking liquid.
• While the peppers are softening, heat olive oil in a medium pan and add the onion. Cook it down for 4-5 minutes to soften.
• Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute, until you it becomes fragrant.
• Add the tomato paste, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, sugar and salt. Cook for 1 minute, stirring.
• Stir in 1/2 cup water. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the mixture to the food processor along with the softened peppers and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of fresh water, or you can use the dark liquid from soaking the peppers. Process until smooth.
• Adjust with salt and sugar to taste, and with a bit more water until you achieve your desired consistency. Strain if you'd like a thinner sauce, or use as-is.

TAMALE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place a skillet over medium heat, and add the butter. As soon as it has melted, sprinkle over the flour. Whisk until a paste has formed and stir for 1-2 minutes more.
• Begin adding the beef broth a splash at a time, whisking well after each addition, until it resembles a pudding-like consistency. Once this consistency has been achieved, begin streaming in the broth, whisking all the while. Allow the mixture to simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the adobo sauce, taco seasoning and American cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and remove from the heat.
• Top your tamales with the Tex-Mex Tamale Sauce, serve and enjoy.

CHICKEN TAMALES

Steps:

• Place chicken (or turkey), 1 onion wedge and whole garlic clove in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 165°F, about 12 minutes. Transfer the meat to a clean cutting board to cool. Shred the meat.
• Meanwhile, soak cornhusks in a large pot or bowl of hot water. Weigh the husks down so they stay submerged.
• Chop the remaining onion wedge. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add minced garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring, until they soften into a thick, chunky paste, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the shredded meat, chipotles, adobo sauce, oregano, pepper and 1/2 cup broth. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• If using fresh masa, put it in a large bowl and add 1/2 cup broth. Knead with your hands until a wet dough forms. (If using masa harina, place it in a large bowl and add 2 1/4 cups broth. Mix until evenly moist and soft.)
• Pour the remaining 1 1/4 cups oil into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the dough, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the oil while mixing on low speed and working up to medium speed once the dough comes together.
• Add baking powder and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt. (If using masa harina, add an additional 1/2 to 3/4 cup broth if the dough seems stiff.) Mix on high speed for 10 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, until the dough is smooth and fluffy.
• To assemble tamales: Remove a husk from the water and pat dry. Choose the largest, thickest husks that don't have any holes. Peel off and discard any dried corn silk.
• Use a rubber spatula to spread about 1/2 cup of dough (or less: the amount will depend on the size of your husk) in a rectangle on the husk, leaving about 3 inches of space on the narrower end of the husk, where you'll fold it closed, and 2 inches of space on the other end. Using a slotted spoon, add about 1 tablespoon of the reserved filling down the middle of the dough. Bring one end of the husk toward the other and press together lightly to seal the dough inside the husk. (If the filling spills out, you've added too much, but you can spoon a little more masa on top of any leaks.) Tuck the edges of the husk under each other to form a long tube. Hold the tube vertically and press firmly on the bottom edge of the tamale to seal. Fold the husk back in the place where you've sealed it. Place on a baking sheet and repeat to make the remaining tamales.
• Add 1 inch of water to a large pot fitted with a steamer basket. Line the basket with a layer of husks. Bring the water to a light boil. Add the tamales carefully in a vertical position. Steam, adding more water if necessary, until the husk just starts to pull away from the dough, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Using tongs, transfer the tamales to a baking sheet; let cool for 15 minutes. Serve the tamales with salsa, crema (or sour cream) and avocado, if desired.

CHICKEN TAMALES WITH ADOBO SAUCE

Steps:

• Pull 1/4-inch strings from reserved husks to wrap tamales or use twine; set aside. Cover corn husks (including pulled strings) with warm water and let stand until pliable, at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine all tamale dough ingredients, starting with 6 cups broth. Beat with electric mixer until well combined, adding chicken broth as needed to make soft dough.
• In blender, place all filling ingredients except oil and chicken. Cover; blend until smooth.
• In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Stir in tomato mixture. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot. Stir in chicken; cook over medium-low heat about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens. Drain sauce from filling; reserve to serve over tamales, if desired.
• Drain corn husks; pat dry with paper towels. Place 3 level tablespoonfuls of dough on each corn husk; slightly spread out making indentation in center with back of spoon. Place about 1 tablespoon filling on center of dough and fold dough around filling. If husks are too small, overlap two corn husks. Fold bottom 1/3 of corn husk over filling; fold sides in towards center. Tie tops with corn husk strings.
• In two 5-quart stockpots or Dutch ovens, place round cooling racks. Pour boiling water almost to top of rack. (Water should not touch tamales.) Place tamales on rack. Stand tamales inside pots, leaning against sides all around. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer gently about 60 minutes or until tamale dough becomes firm. Add water if needed. Let stand uncovered 20 minutes.
• Carefully unfold each tamale by removing string and opening husk. Spoon reserved sauce over each tamale, if desired.

CHICKEN TAMALES

Steps:

• Soak the corn husks in a bowl of hot water, using a plate to keep them submerged, until pliable, 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Bring the bouillon powder and 4 cups water to a simmer in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the chicken and simmer until cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the chicken and let cool; cut into small pieces. Reserve the broth.
• Puree the cilantro and 1 1/4 cups of the reserved broth in a food processor until smooth (save the remaining broth for another use). Transfer to a medium pot. Add the garlic, cumin and salsa and bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook until slightly reduced, about 12 minutes. Stir in the chicken and season with salt. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Make the dough: Soak the ancho chile in hot water until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain the chile, then mince to make a paste. Combine the chile paste, masa harina, lard, 2 2/3 cups warm water and 2 teaspoons salt
• in a bowl. Mix with your hands (or use a mixer with the paddle attachment) 10 to 15 minutes, or until a marble-size ball of dough floats in water.
• Drain the husks and pat dry. Starting 1/2 inch from the wide end, spread about 3 tablespoons of the dough down a husk, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the chicken filling down the center of the dough, then fold in the sides of the husk, wrapping the dough around the filling. Fold up the narrow end of the husk. Repeat with the remaining husks, dough and filling.
• Set a steamer basket in a large pot filled with 1 to 2 inches of water. Arrange the tamales standing up in the steamer, folded-side down. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and steam until the tamales pull away from the husks, about 1 hour. Remove from the steamer and let cool slightly before unwrapping.

ADOBO CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut up chicken into bite size pieces.
• Crush and mince garlic.
• Slice onion.
• Mix all ingredients in a medium sauce pan.
• Cook on High heat until boiling.
• Reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 1/2 hr to 45 minutes until chicken is tender and the sauce has gone down.
• Make 1 1/2 to 2 cups white rice (according to package).
• Mix Rice and Chicken A'dobo together and serve.