Skip to Content
Ver en Español
Menu

Green Tamales

  • Save Recipe
  • Prep 15 min
  • Total 2 hr 45 min
  • Ingredients 13
  • Servings 20
  • Save
  • Print
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Email
Ready to make?
  • Save
  • Share
  • Keep Screen On
In Mexico, tamales are an end-of-year tradition, especially during Christmas and Posadas. There are all kinds of tamales: savory, sweet, made in molds, with chicken or pork, vegetarian… the options are almost endless! Many people think that tamales are hard to make but that’s not necessarily true. You do need time and patience, especially when it comes to wrapping them. I suggest you invite your friends and family to assist you with the process, this way you’ll be done in no time. This time, I decided to make green tamales filled with chicken and a delicious salsa verde. Enjoy them with a delicious lemon or vanilla atole.
by Silvia Martinez
Updated Sep 20, 2016
  • Save
  • Share
  • Keep Screen On

Ingredients

For the filling:

  • 1 lb chicken breast
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 lb tomatillos, peeled and washed
  • 2-3 serrano peppers, washed, deveined and cut in half
  • 1/2 white onion
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 25 sprigs fresh cilantro

For the dough:

  • 30-35 corn husks for tamales
  • 1 cup vegetable shortening
  • 2 cups flour for tamales
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Directions

  •  
    1
    For the filling: Place chicken in a pot, cover it with water and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook on high heat until it starts to boil, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes.
  •  
    2
    In a separate pot, add tomatillos, serrano peppers, white onion and garlic cloves. Cover with water and cook for 10 minutes or until the tomatillos change from a light green color to olive green. Drain the water and add cooked vegetables to a blender. Add cilantro and a teaspoon salt. Process until everything is combined.
  •  
    3
    Once the chicken is cooked, remove from liquid (save this liquid for the dough), let cool until you can handle it and pull apart as thinly as you can.
  •  
    4
    Pour the salsa verde in a hot frying pan, add chicken and stir until it’s completely covered in salsa verde, cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set the frying pan aside.
  •  
    5
    For the dough: Soak corn husks. Fill a large pot half way up with water, heat it up for a few minutes. Soak the corn husks making sure that they are completely under water. Soak them for 1 hour, approximately.
  •  
    6
    In a bowl, beat the vegetable shortening until it’s soft and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the flour, salt, baking powder and chicken stock. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients. The dough will be ready when it changes from a yellow tone to a paler tone, and it becomes sticky. The consistency will be sandy but soft and moist.
  •  
    7
    Remove corn husks from water and let them drain for a few minutes. Take a few leaves and break them into thin strips that you’ll use to tie the tamales.
  •  
    8
    Take a corn husk, placing the widest part in the palm of your hand. Add a spoonful of dough to the husk and spread it around the wide part of the husk until you have a thin layer of dough. Add 1 tablespoon of the filling in the middle of the dough. Fold a corner of the husk over the middle and the fold the other half over it. Take the lower part of the husk and fold it up. Take one of the strips and tie it around the tamale, being careful not to squeeze too hard so the filling doesn’t come out at the top. Repeat the process until you have finished with all 20 tamales.
  •  
    9
    Fill a steamer with water, making sure to not over fill it. The tamales should not be in direct contact with the water. Take 5-6 remaining corn husks and place them over the steaming plate. Place the tamales one by one upright inside the pot. Cover them with 5 or 6 corn husks.
  •  
    10
    Dampen a kitchen towel and place it over the last layer of corn husks. Cover the pot and steam for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Check the steamer half way through to make sure that the water hasn’t evaporated completely. Add more hot water if needed.
  •  
    11
    Serve and enjoy!

Expert Tips

  • tip 1
    The tamales will taste better if you make the filling one day in advance and it will help to make it less runny.
  • tip 2
    For an even more traditional flavor you can use pork fat instead of vegetable shortening.
  • tip 3
    These tamales can be kept frozen for some time. Make double the amount and freeze half of them. Simply steam them for a few minutes to reheat.

Nutrition Information

No nutrition information available for this recipe

More About This Recipe

  • In Mexico, tamales are an end-of-year tradition, especially during Christmas and Posadas. There are all kinds of tamales: savory, sweet, made in molds, with chicken or pork, vegetarian… the options are almost endless! Many people think that tamales are hard to make but that’s not necessarily true. You do need time and patience, especially when it comes to wrapping them. I suggest you invite your friends and family to assist you with the process, this way you’ll be done in no time. This time, I decided to make green tamales filled with chicken and a delicious salsa verde. Enjoy them with a delicious lemon or vanilla atole.
© 2024 ®/TM General Mills All Rights Reserved