Nacatamales Any Banana Leaf Wrapped Central American Tamales Food

NACATAMALES

Steps:

• First prepare the meat for the filling. The rib meat and pork jowl should be cooked in a covered pot over low heat with the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, garlic, dissolved achiote, bitter orange juice, salt and pepper.
• Add 1/2 or one full cup of water if necessary, and when the meat is tender, adjust the seasoning as desired. Remove from heat and let cool; the meat should be juicy and well seasoned.
• To prepare the dough, place the corn flour in a bowl. Add the lukewarm water, bitter orange juice and knead constantly. Slowly incorporate the melted pork drippings and salt. The dough should be very smooth and similar in texture to play-dough. If the result is too dry, add a bit of water. Remember that as the dough rests, it will become more firm. When this happens, place in a pot over medium-heat and stir with a wooden spoon for around 40 minutes.
• Have the banana leaves ready for assembling the nacatamales. Take two leaves and place in the form of a cross. Place a 3/4-cup portion of dough in the center, where the leaves overlap, and slightly flatten with your hand. Over the dough, add a piece of pork meat and two cubes of pork jowl. Cover with one tablespoon of sauce left from cooking the pork.
• To the side of the dough, place one tablespoon of soaked rice, with one slice of potato, tomato, onion and a stem of mint.
• To the other side of the dough, add an olive, one prune, two raisins, one peanut, two capers and two habanero peppers (one red and one green.)
• Close the tamale as if it was an empanada, securing the contents well with the banana leaves, so that none of the filling falls out. Tie the nacatamales with twine to keep closed.
• To cook, cover the base of a large pot with a rack and place the leftover banana leaf scraps on top. Then add the prepared nacatamales followed by more banana leaves. Add enough boiling water to fill half of the pot.
• Cover the pot with a lid and cook over medium heat to steam the tamales for three to four hours. Remember that you'll have to add more hot water over time, as it boils away.
• When finished, serve hot accompanied with pita bread.

NACATAMALES (ANY BANANA LEAF WRAPPED CENTRAL AMERICAN TAMALES)

Steps:

• Season the pork with salt, pepper,cumin and paprika to taste. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the chipotle salsa (depending on how hot you like it) to the pork. Place in a large bowl and pour 1/4 cup sour orange juice over pork. Cover and let marinate for about 30 minutes in refrigerator.
• Place the masa harina, lard,salt, and 2 tablespoons of the chicken knorr in the bowl of an electric mixer. Blend on a low speed to incorporate the fat into the masa harina and give it a mealy texture. You may have to do this and the next step in two batches if your mixer bowl is not large enough to hold all the ingredients without overflowing.
• With the mixer still on low speed, add remaining 1/2 cup of the sour orange juice and enough chicken stock to make a soft, moist dough (about 7 cups added intermitently between mixing). It should be almost like the texture of mashed potatoes but thicker. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for 2-3 minutes to incorporate some air into the masa and make it fluffier. Cover the bowl and set the masa aside to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• After the resting period, place the masa in a large pot and on medium heat, stir the masa slowly and constantly for about 20 mintues adding 2 more cups of water or chichen stock (1/2 cup every 5 minutes for the 20 mintues of stirring). Remove from heat and set aside.
• Drain the marinade from the pork and set aside. Heat oil in large frying pan on high heat. Once it is heated, add the cubed pork and brown for abour 3 minutes (being careful of splattering oil). Set aside and let cool for about 5 minutes Reserve pan juices from pork in another bowl.
• Place the rice (with the watere still in it) in a microwave safe bowl and cook for about 2 minutes. The rice will be semi cooked. Set aside.
• Assemble all of your filling ingredients and assembly items on a large table or work surface. Gather family and friends to help in an assembly line.
• Lay out a banana leaf square with the smooth side up. Place 1 cup of the masa in the middle of the banana leaf and, using wetted hands, spread it out a little. Put about 4 pieces of pork on top of the masa and sprinkle 1 or 2 tablespoons of rice over the pork. Lay 5 or 6 pieces of potato on top of the pork, add 1 table spoon green beans/garganzo beans, add 1 olive and add a little bit of the pan juices from the pork. Top off with 1 or 2 cilantro leaves.
• Fold the top edge of the banana leaf down over the filling. Bring the bottom edge of the banana leaf up over this. Then fold in both sides to make a rectangular package. Be careful not to wrap it too tightly or the filling will squeeze out. Flip the package over so it is seam side down.
• Set the tamal in the middle of an aluminum foil square and wrap it up tightly the same way you wrapped up the banana leaf. Set aside and repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 10 to 12 nacatamales in total.
• Add 2 or 3 inches of water to a tamalera or pot large enough to hold all the nacatamales. (You may have to use two pots if you don't have one big enough to hold the nacatamales in one batch.) Place a rack in the bottom or toss in enough wadded up aluminum foil to hold the nacatamales mostly out of the water. Add the nacatamales and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover tightly, reduce heat to low and steam for about 3 hours. Add more water as needed to keep the pot from boiling dry.
• Once cooked, drain the water and let tamales rest for atleast 2 hours in the pot so that the masa can become firm.
• Remove the nacatamales from the pot, take off their aluminum foil covering and serve warm. Each diner opens the banana leaf on his or her own nacatamal before eating.
• This is MY family recipe. Nacatamales are a general name used for ANY central American tamale wrapped in a banana leaf, not just Nicaraguan. If you make yours differently, that's great! But keep in mind that there is no authentic recipe so PLEASE do not compare MY recipe to other recipes as I am sure everyones is different. It is very helpful to others if you rate according to your experience and result with this particular recipe. Thanks and enjoy!

MEXICAN TAMALES

Steps:

• Place all filling ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. (I usually do this procedure overnight).
• When meat is done, remove meat from sauce and shred in bowl this give you the opportunity to remove the fat out of the meat.
• Run sauce through sieve to remove skins of chiles, garlic and etc. Your sauce should be thick and a beautiful deep red color! Reserve 1 cup of meat sauce for the tamale dough.
• While meat mixture is cooling, place husks in warm water to soften.
• Mix all the ingredients of tamale dough plus 1 cup reserved meat sauce together (I do this in my kitchen aid -- makes the job much easier!).
• Take approx 3 tbsp of dough and place in the middle of corn husk. Spread thinly place filling in the middle with an olive and wrap until dough meets, the Woman who taught me how to make these -- says an olive in the middle brings good luck!
• Fold ends and roll package so that corn husk has covered all of filling.
• Place in steamer. Steam for 40 minutes.
• Spoon sauce over tamales on plate.
• These freeze very well. I freeze after they are steamed so the prep of dinner is quick, I do know those who freeze before they are steamed and it seems to work as well.

TAMALES WRAPPED IN BANANA LEAVES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cover pork with water and add 1 garlic clove, 1 onion quarter and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the pork is tender, 45-60 minutes. Shred the meat, reserving the stock.
• Heat a comal or iron skillet over medium heat. Place the chiles in the hot skillet, using a spatula to press them against it slightly. Turn them so that both sides begin to change color. This will take 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn them. Place the chiles in a bowl, cover with warm water and soak for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the tomatoes on a comal or griddle and grill until the skin is charred. Alternatively, put the tomatoes in a baking pan lined with foil and broil until skin is blackened, turning once. Peel and purée in a blender.
• Roast the other onion quarter, 2 cloves garlic, marjoram, peppercorns and cloves. Drain the chiles and transfer to a blender. Add the roasted onion, garlic, marjoram, peppercorns, cloves and 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) of reserved stock, then purée until smooth.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of the lard in a skillet and sauté the chile purée in it for 5 minutes. Add the puréed tomatoes and sauté for another 5 minutes; add the pork, stir and cover. Lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes.
• Hold the banana leaf directly over the heat for 5 seconds. Cut into 5-in (13 cm) squares.
• Knead the masa with 2 tablespoons (1 oz/30 g) of the lard for 5 minutes.
• Use the remaining lard to grease one side of the banana leaf. Place 3-in (7.5-cm) square of masa on the lard and top with 1 1/2 tablespoons of pork mixture.
• Fold the opposite edges of the leaf toward the center, then do the same with the same outer edges to form a closed rectangle. To secure tie the tamales with narrow strips of leaf.
• Place 2 cups (16 oz fl oz/500 ml) water in a pressure cooker, then cover the steamer basket with a layer of flattened banana leaves. Add the tamales to the steamer basket and cover with another layer of leaves. Place the lid on the pan and cook 20 minutes. If you use an ordinary steamer, follow the same procedure but use 4 cups (32 fl oz/1 L) water and cook for 1 hour.
• Serve warm, with frijoles refritos (refried beans).

SWEET TAMALES

Steps:

• If using corn husks, soak in warm water for a 1/2 hour until pliable and then drain. If using banana leaves, Defrost the banana leaves overnight in the refrigerator if frozen, and cut off any hard sections or sections with holes. Cut the leaves into unbroken 12 inch pieces. If the leaves are pliable, proceed with the recipe. If not steam the banana leaves in the top of a double boiler until soft and pliable, 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside until ready to assemble the tamales.
• In a small saucepan gently heat the rum. Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with the warm rum. Let the raisins soak and absorb the rum while you prepare the masa.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the vegetable shortening until very light, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and half of the masa and beat until combined. Mix the milk and coconut milk and add alternately with the remaining masa in several batches to the mixture until the mixture is the consistency of medium-thick cake batter. Add baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, and beat for 30 more seconds. Add the melted butter and beat to incorporate, being careful not to overmix.
• Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the masa batter into the center of a banana leaf. Place about 2 teaspoons of the plumped raisins in the center. Fold 1 side over the batter and then the other to enclose the filling. Bring the bottom and the top over the filling to create a package. Tie the tamale with a piece of string, and repeat with the remaining masa batter and filling.
• If using corn husks spoon about 2 tablespoons masa down the center of the husk and then about a tsp of raisins. Fold both sides over the masa and then fold up the bottom. (Please refer to the photos for guidance).
• Line an insert steamer with a layer of unused banana leaves. Lay the tamales in the lined steamer, and steam over simmering water until the tamales are cooked through and release easily from the banana leaf wrappers about 1 1/2 hours.