Green Chile Chicken Tamale

FOR THE FILLING
4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 cups of water mixed with 12 tsp bouillon powder)
4 Tbs chili powder
4 Tbs ground cumin
4 Tbs cayenne pepper
1 Large onion diced
~2 cups canned diced green chile


FOR THE MASA
12 cups Maseca masa harina (corn flour)
3 cups fresh corn oil
9.5 cups water mixed with 9.5 tsp bouillon powder
1 Tbs Garlic powder
5 Tbs salt

**Dried corn husks for wrapping

This recipe will make ~60 tamales, and each one is about 1 serving. Though my roommate can put away 6 in a sitting. They are a great meal, or snack, and can be pretty healthy. The only thing to really watch for is the sodium, which you could alter with using real low sodium chicken stock.

FILLING: cut chicken into 1" pieces and place in large pot. Add 12 cups broth (water+bouillon), onion, chiles, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, cover and simmer 2 hours or until chicken is VERY tender. At this point, because I like mine uniform, i use a masher or fork to break the chunks apart. You can leave them whole if you like that better. Set filling aside to cool.

MASA: First take out 60+some extra dried corn husks and place into a large pot or bowl, and cover with boiling water. let sit, fully submerged for 30 minutes to make them pliable. While waiting, make your masa. Place the corn flour, salt and garlic powder in a large bowl and sift together with hands. Add the oil and again mix with hands. Add 9.5 cups broth (water+bouillon) one cup at a time, mixing with hands until a soft dough is formed. You may end up with a little extra fluid, or you may need to add a little more water to get the right texture. It should feel like warm playdough.
Once your husks are done in their water bath, drain and pat dry one at a time as you fill. Scoop ~2Tbs of masa (I use an ice cream scoop because it's easier) onto the husk, concave side up (meaning the edges curl towards the ceiling), and spread into a thin layer, leaving an inch on the sides and top, but 2-2.5" on the bottom (bottom is the skinny part here). Now spoon ~1Tbs of the filling onto your masa layer in a a line in the center from top to bottom. This is the tricky part. You want to fold your sides together, getting the masa to stick (as best you can), then rolling the masa into the husk. You want a tight roll, but don't squeeze all the filling out. Then, fold the bottom up, over the seam. I stack mine before placing them into the pot, just easier. Once I have as many as will fit in a large pot, I lay them in.

COOK: You need a steamer (I used one of those fold up metal ones). Fill up to the steamer basket with water, place the tamales into the pot (not too tightly, but enough so they don't all fall over), and cover with a damp cotton towel. turn onto medium until boiling, then reduce to a simmer and steam for ~2 hours. You can take one out and test it to see if it's done (sample the uncooked masa flour, it's gritty. Compare to cooked and it's much more pleasant and not a grainy).

I serve mine with re-fried beans and spanish rice with tomatoes and onions. You can cover in your favorite enchilada sauce if you want. I add extra cayenne pepper sometimes directly on top of the tamale, then cover with sauce, if I'm feeling spicy. Play with it, see what you like.

To reheat, place in the microwave ~30 seconds, rotate, heat another 30 seconds, repeat until desired heat.

**NOTE: for those that aren't aware, the husks are not edible, you peel them off and throw them away. You would be surprised, a lot of people make that mistake.

Number of Servings: 60

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user LAROJABONITA.