Chorizo Tamales

Chorizo tamales are a good first batch to make, because the chorizo brings all its seasoning with it. Cook 2 pounds of ground pork chorizo with diced potato and onion, beat masa harina with lard or beef tallow and warm stock until it is light, then spread it on soaked corn husks, add a spoonful of filling, fold, and steam for 60 to 90 minutes, until the masa pulls cleanly away from the husk. The recipe makes about 24.

Tamales are a project, a little under four hours from start to finish, but much of that is soaking and steaming. An assembly line of two or three people goes fast, and the extras freeze well.

At a glance: makes about 24 tamales, 6 to 8 servings. Prep about 1 1/2 hours, including soaking the husks and assembling, cook about 2 hours, rest 15 minutes.

Asked what he says over and over on the farm, Gray Shipley, who runs it, gave a few answers. One was:

“Always do things the right way.”

Gray Shipley

He was talking about how the farm works, not about tamales. But tamales are a dish where the right way and the quick way are far apart, and only one of them gives you a good tamal: soak the husks until they bend, beat the masa until it is light, steam slowly, and test one before you call the batch done.

Ingredients

• About 30 dried corn husks, plus a few extra to line the pot
• 2 pounds ground pork chorizo
• 1 pound russet or Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 medium white onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/3 cups lard or beef tallow, about 10 ounces, soft at room temperature
• 4 cups masa harina, ideally the kind labeled for tamales
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 to 3 1/2 cups warm low-sodium chicken or pork stock
• Salsa and crema or sour cream, to serve

Instructions

1. Put the corn husks in a large bowl or pot, cover them with very hot water, and weigh them down with a plate so they stay under. Soak until soft and pliable, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, cook the chorizo in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, breaking it into small crumbles, until it is browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. A thermometer in a thick clump should read 160 degrees F. Spoon off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat.
3. Add the potatoes, onion and water, cover, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Uncover and cook off any liquid left in the pan; the filling should be moist but not wet. Taste it, then spread it on a sheet pan to cool.
4. Whisk the masa harina, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in 3 cups of the warm stock and mix until it forms a soft dough. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
5. With a stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat the lard on medium-high until it is white and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the masa dough in walnut-size pieces, beating all the while, then beat for 3 to 5 minutes more, adding more stock a spoonful at a time, until the masa is soft and spreadable, like soft peanut butter. A small piece dropped in a cup of cold water should float; if it sinks, beat for a few minutes more.
6. Set up a tamale steamer, or a large stockpot with a steamer basket, with water just below the basket, and line the basket with a few husks. Drop a coin into the water if you like: it rattles while the water boils and goes quiet when the pot runs low.
7. Lay a husk smooth side up with the wide end away from you. Spread about 1/4 cup of masa over the wide two-thirds in a layer about 1/4 inch thick, leaving a 1/2-inch border on each side and the narrow third bare. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling in a line down the center. Fold one long side over the filling, then the other, so the masa closes around it, and fold the narrow end up.
8. Stand the tamales upright in the steamer, folded end down and open end up, close enough to hold each other up but not packed tight. Cover them with a layer of husks and a damp kitchen towel, then the lid.
9. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat to keep a steady steam. Steam for 60 to 90 minutes, adding boiling water whenever the level drops. To test, take one out, let it sit for 5 minutes and unwrap it: it is done when the masa comes away cleanly from the husk. If it sticks, steam for 15 minutes more and test again.
10. Turn off the heat and let the tamales rest in the covered pot for 15 minutes to firm up. Serve them in their husks, with salsa and crema.

Add 2 lb ground pork chorizo to cart

Masa, lard and tallow

Masa harina is flour made from corn that has been cooked in a solution of lime, the mineral rather than the fruit, then dried and ground. It is not the same as cornmeal, which will not hold together. A bag labeled for tamales is a little coarser, but regular masa harina works.

Lard is the classic fat and gives a soft, rich tamal. Beef tallow works the same way, with a slightly firmer, beefier masa. Whichever you use, it must be soft, not melted, so it whips. Beating air into the fat is what makes tamales light rather than dense, and the float test tells you when you have done enough.

How to tell when chorizo tamales are done

Go by the husk, not the clock, because pots, batch sizes and packing all differ. A tamal straight from the steamer is always soft and a little sticky, which is why the test one rests 5 minutes before you unwrap it. If the masa peels away cleanly and holds its shape, the batch is done; if it smears or clings, give it more time.

Making tamales ahead and freezing them

Cool steamed tamales in their husks, pack them in freezer bags with the air pressed out, and refrigerate or freeze them within two hours of cooking. To reheat, steam them in their husks: about 15 minutes if thawed in the fridge, 25 to 30 minutes from frozen, until the center reaches 165 degrees F.

About the chorizo

Use fresh, raw ground chorizo, which cooks into soft red crumbles and seasons the filling with its chiles and spices. Dry-cured Spanish chorizo is a different sausage and will not give the same result. The guides below compare chorizo with Italian sausage and cover the other pork sausages. The same filling also makes good taco meat, and the guide to the best beef cuts for tacos has ideas for a mixed spread.

Food safety

USDA FSIS lists 160 degrees F as the safe minimum internal temperature for ground meats, and fresh chorizo is ground meat. It is red all the way through from its chiles, so color tells you nothing; check a thick clump of crumbles with an instant-read thermometer before you add the potatoes. Reheat leftover tamales to 165 degrees F. Wash your hands, spoon and board after handling the raw sausage. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.