Christmas Tamales from All Over Latin America

Published on Wednesday, December 8, 2010, by Sarah Perry / Edit Post

Tamales are a Christmas tradition across Latin America. In Guatemala, says rworange, tamales negras are the Christmas specialty, made with a chocolate-based sauce with dried plums, raisins, and nuts. JungMann is making Filipino tamales for Christmas. "I am making two rice flour doughs: one using toasted rice, the other plain. Between those two layers, there will be chunks of chicken and pork, chopped shrimp, chorizo, and salted duck eggs. I may also try a red curry duck filling which, though nontraditional, seems like it would go well with the rice dough," he says. "Filipino tamales are fiesta fare, not strictly for Christmas, though they are becoming a rarer treat. I've never seen them commercially available stateside."

Quimbombo loves tamales de puerco (pork tamales) from Cuba. "Delicious, but the process of grinding the corn then straining them and wrapping the masa in the corn husks is tedious and a pain. It could take hours with one person doing it," says Quimbombo. "So we buy the frozen tamales from Goya and serve them at Christmas as a side along with yuca and boniato [Cuban sweet potato]."

"I just recently had my first hallacas, the Venezuelan holiday tamale with beef, pork and chicken plus green olives, capers, and raisins," says brucesw. "I went back the next day and bought several to freeze."

"There was a little Guyanese grocery in South Miami that took orders for them around Christmas time and they were so savory and spicy, with beef, pork, and always with raisins. Your post reminded me of them," says Duppie.

If you want to try your hand at making your own, here's CHOW's guide to Tamales for the Holidays.

Discuss: Christmas tamales around the world ... The Twelve Tamales of Christmas

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  • I made Pork Chile Verdi tamales a week ago, used powdered wild mushrooms in the masa and fresh manteca. awesome
    :-)

  • Here you go:
    Beef Tamales

    Ingredients

    * 4 pounds boneless chuck roast
    * 4 cloves garlic
    * 3 (8 ounce) packages dried corn husks
    * 4 dried ancho chiles
    * 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    * 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    * 1 cup beef broth
    * 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    * 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    * 2 cloves garlic, minced
    * 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
    * 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
    * 1...+READ

    Here you go:
    Beef Tamales

    Ingredients

    * 4 pounds boneless chuck roast
    * 4 cloves garlic
    * 3 (8 ounce) packages dried corn husks
    * 4 dried ancho chiles
    * 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    * 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    * 1 cup beef broth
    * 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    * 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    * 2 cloves garlic, minced
    * 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
    * 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
    * 1 teaspoon white vinegar
    * salt to taste
    * 3 cups lard
    * 1 tablespoon salt
    * 9 cups masa harina


    Directions

    1. Place beef and garlic in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as water boils, reduce heat to a simmer and cover pot. Let simmer for 3 1/2 hours, until beef is tender and shreds easily. When beef is done, remove from pot, reserving 5 cups cooking liquid and discarding garlic. Allow meat to cool slightly, and shred finely with forks.
    2. Meanwhile, place corn husks in a large container and cover with warm water. Allow to soak for 3 hours, until soft and pliable. May need to weight down with an inverted plate and a heavy can.
    3. Toast ancho chiles in a cast iron skillet, making sure not to burn them. Allow to cool and then remove stems and seeds. Crumble and grind in a clean coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle.
    4. Heat oil in a large skillet. Mix in flour and allow to brown slightly. Pour in 1 cup beef broth and stir until smooth. Mix in ground chiles, cumin seeds, ground cumin, minced garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, vinegar and salt. Stir shredded beef into skillet and cover. Let simmer 45 minutes.
    5. Place lard and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whip with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add masa harina and beat at low speed until well mixed. Pour in reserved cooking liquid a little at a time until mixture is the consistency of soft cookie dough.
    6. Drain water from corn husks. One at a time, flatten out each husk, with the narrow end facing you, and spread approximately 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the top 2/3 of the husk. Spread about 1 tablespoon of meat mixture down the middle of the masa. Roll up the corn husk starting at one of the long sides. Fold the narrow end of the husk onto the rolled tamale and tie with a piece of butchers' twine.
    7. Place tamales in a steamer basket. Steam over boiling water for approximately one hour, until masa is firm and holds its shape. Make sure steamer does not run out of water. Serve immediately, allowing each person to unwrap their own tamales. Allow any leftovers (still in husks) to cool, uncovered, in the refrigerator.-COLLAPSE

  • I do love this article except for one thing. RECIPES!!! Please don't tempt me about these wonderful tamales (especially the Guyanese one) without recipes!

    One thing I've been dying to do is to host a tamale-assembling party. I was told that making tamales is better when there are more hands contributing.