Best Honduran Tamales Recipes

PORK TAMALES IN BANANA LEAVES (TAMALES CON PUERCO)

Steps:

• Place pork, the 3 cups water, onion halves and 1 clove of the garlic in medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, until pork is fork-tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain pork, reserving 1 1/2 cups broth.
• Place tomatillos and boiling water to cover in medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until fork tender, 8 to 10 minutes; drain. Place tomatillos, chiles, 2 small lettuce leaves, cilantro, chopped onion and remaining clove garlic in blender container; process until smooth.
• Heat 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening in 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until hot; add tomatillo mixture. Cook and stir until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in pork; simmer, stirring occasionally, until pork is very tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Mix Masa Harina, salt and baking powder in medium bowl. Beat remaining 5 1/2 tablespoons lard in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy, 5 to 10 minutes. Beat in masa mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; beat until thoroughly blended. Heat reserved pork broth jut until warm; gradually beat into masa mixture to form soft, moist dough.
• Rinse banana leaves well; using scissors, cut out an discard center rib. Cut leaf halves crosswise into 24 (8-inch) squares. Set stove burner at medium heat. Pass each leaf square quickly across burner a few times until pliable; do not overheat or it will become brittle. Cut remaining 8 small lettuce leaves crosswise into halves.
• Spread about 2 tablespoons dough into a 3-inch square on center of 1 banana leaf piece. Top with about 2 tablespoons pork mixture; cover with 1/2 lettuce leaf. Fold sides, then ends of banana leaf over filling to enclose. Repeat to make 16 tamales.
• Line large steamer basket with remaining 8 banana leaf squares. Stack tamales sin basket, folded sides down; cover with kitchen towel. Place steamer basket over 3 to 4 inches boiling water; cover with lid. Adjust heat to maintain gentle boil; steam tamales until dough is cooked through, about 1 hour.
• Transfer to serving bowl lined with large lettuce leaves; garnish with tomato wedges. Serve hot.

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!

TAMALES OAXAQUEñOS (OAXACAN-STYLE TAMALES)

Steps:

• Beat 9 ounces lard in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add salt and continue beating for a few minutes. Add masa harina and beat well until combined. Add chicken broth, 1/4 cup at a time, beating until masa has a smooth and workable consistency similar to cookie dough, about 3/4 cup total. Test if the masa is ready by dropping a small ball of masa into a glass of cold water; if it floats, it's ready, if not, beat the dough a little longer.
• Combine tomatillos, ancho chile pepper, mulato chile pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano in a blender; blend until smooth.
• Heat remaining 2 ounces lard in a skillet and cook tomatillo sauce until lightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add shredded chicken and a little of the remaining chicken broth. Cook over low heat until chicken filling has thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons masa mixture onto 1 banana leaf, filling it up to 2 inches from the bottom and 1/4 inch from the top. Add 1 tablespoon of the chicken filling in the center of the masa mixture. Fold sides of banana leaf together, one over the other. Fold the bottom of the banana leaf over the seam of the 2 folded sides and tie together with kitchen string. Repeat with remaining banana leaves.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add tamales with the open side up and cook until filling is heated through and separates from the leaf, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. Let tamales rest for 15 minutes before serving.