Honduran Tamales Food

HONDURAN CHICKEN NACATAMALES

Steps:

• In a blender, add about 1 cup of water, one bell pepper, cilantro, and 3 Tablespoons of Knorr® Selects Granulated Chicken Bouillon. Blend until well mixed.
• Add the seasoned blend and the masa flour in a big pot and mix well. Add liquid lard or oil and cook on medium stirring once in a while until it thickens. Separate one-third of the masa in another pot.
• Cook the chicken along with the other bell pepper, 2 tablespoons of Knorr® Selected Granulated Chicken Bouillon achiote in hot water. Mix to dissolve the achiote. Once the chicken is cooked, reserve half a cup of the broth and add it to the masa that you had previously separated.
• To make this red masa add a bit of lard or oil as well and cook until it thickens a bit more. You may add water if it thickens too much.
• Roast your plantain leaves on a comal or on the stovetop, just until they soften. This will allow you to bend them without ripping them.
• Prep your "nacatamales assembly station" with all the fixings: partially cooked rice, cubed potatoes, pieces of the chicken you just cooked, sweet peas, capers, olives, and the two masas.
• To assemble each nacatamal, choose a plantain leaf that is at least 3 times as wide as how you want the nacatamales to be. Place it on a clean surface and add about a serving spoon of the white masa in the center, and spread it out into a rectangle, to be used a base. On top, lay all of the fixings and top them off with about a couple of spoonfuls of the red masa, pressing it down a bit.
• Fold the tamales like you would fold a small gift (watch the video for guidance) and use string to secure the sides both horizontally and vertically.
• Prep a tall and large pot with a couple of plantain leaves used as a base - this is to prevent the tamales from burning. Start stacking your tamales inside the pot and add hot water to them, until you cover the very last one. Boil and cook for about 40mins.
• Unwrap each nacatamal and enjoy its goodness with lime, sour cream and/or hot sauce!

HONDURAN TAMALES

Steps:

• Pour about 3/4 the masa harina into a large pot. Add water in batches, mixing until a moderately thin batter forms.
• Combine tomato, green bell pepper, onion, cilantro, cumin, and bouillon in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into the large pot with the batter and season with salt. Pour about 5 cups of this combined mixture into a smaller pot; add tomato paste and stir until it is an even red color.
• Pour 2 cups oil into the large pot of batter; pour remaining 1 cup oil into the smaller pot of red batter. Bring both pots to a boil, stirring continuously to prevent burning. Cook until flavors set, 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove from heat.
• Cut banana leaves into 12x15-inch rectangles. Spoon 1 cup regular batter and 1/4 cup red batter into the center of each leaf. Add small amounts of pork, potatoes, rice, and peas. Fold leaf over the filling several times; fold sides in. Wrap twine around tamale to hold in place.
• Place tamales in a large pot; cover halfway with water. Cover and cook over medium heat until filling has thickened, about 1 hour.

HONDURAN TAMALES AL PASTOR

Steps:

• Marinade the meat! Combine all the meat spices, oil, soda, and juice in a large bowl (save the pineapple pieces for later). Cut the pork into pieces roughly the size of your thumb. Make sure all the pork is covered, and refrigerate the mix for 8-20 hours.
• Pour the whole bowl of marinating goodness into a slow cooker with large slices of pepper and onion and the pineapple bits. Cook on low for 12-ish hours, stirring at the 2 and 6 hour marks. The meat should be almost falling apart when you're done, and your kitchen will smell so good.
• You'll just want the pork for the tamales, so you can remove it from the marinade and vegetables. You can make the meat early and refrigerate it for a couple of days.
• Pour the whole 4.4-pound bag of corn meal into a very large pot. Gradually add warm water and mix (by hand is easiest) until the batter is consistent and is about as runny as pancake batter.
• Add the bell pepper, tomato, onion, cumin, bouillon, cilantro (optional), and all-purpose seasoning in a blender. Add about a teaspoon of salt (to your liking) and blend until it's smooth. Add the oil (or shortening) to the masa. Pour this into the pot of batter and mix until even.
• Pour about 5-6 cups of the masa into a smaller pot and add the can of tomato paste. Stir until well-combined.
• Bring both pots to a boil and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• You'll want the leaves to be at smallest the size of a legal piece of paper (about 9 by 15 inches). If the leaves are stiff, they'll need to be soaked for a while in warm water.
• Put about 4 parts regular masa and 1 part red masa onto each leaf (you'll be rolling and folding these -- use your best judgment on how much). Add a piece of pork, rice, peas, garbanzos, corn, raisins, or any other filling your heart desires to each one.
• Roll the leaf tightly to form a long tube. Then, fold each end onto the middle to seal the tamal. If there are any holes in the banana leaf, you'll want to seal it in tin foil after this. See the picture in the next step if you need more help.
• Once folded, you'll want to tie them with some kitchen twine, like you'd tie a bow on a gift.
• Add about an inch of water to several large pots, a croc-pot on high, or an instant pot on "slow cook", then fill with wrapped tamales. Cover the pots with banana leaves, then the lid (unless it's an instant pot. Don't cover that with leaves). Cook for about 1-2 hours, or until the tamales feel pretty firm.
• Unwrap the tamales and enjoy! It should go without explaining, but don't eat the leaves. Tamales pair well with: Crema Hondureña o Salvadoreña Sour Cream or Ranch Salsa Ketchup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (just trust me on this one) Your favorite hot sauce Or they're great on their own!