Tamales top the menu for Oscars party

For the upcoming Academy Awards broadcast on Sunday, I looked to the movies for Oscar-party menu ideas. Garishly colored Froot Loops cereal is featured in both “Get Out” (dry, with milk on the side) and “Three Billboards” (served more traditionally in a bowl with milk). “The Post” has coffee in several scenes, poured into fine china in ritzy hotel dining rooms or as tepid dregs in Greek-diner takeout cups in the newsroom.

I haven’t seen all the nominated movies yet, but my favorite food scene so far comes from “Coco.” Early in the film, young Miguel politely refuses his grandmother’s offer of more tamales. The animators did a brilliant job of capturing her fury (eyebrows speak volumes) followed by his horror at her reaction. And then, of course, he welcomes the extra tamales she piles onto his plate.              

That simple scene encapsulates the theme of the entire film - an affirmation of family relationships and a celebration of even the quirkiest of our relatives. No matter what, we’re still family. And tamales are a great metaphor for the variety and richness of an extended family. Because they’re complex and layered and so time-consuming to make, it’s also best to collect a group to assemble them.

Recipes for “authentic” homemade tamales run the gamut from the four short sentences on bags of dried corn husks (used to wrap the filling) to internet posts that fill multiple pages. The reason for the difference is the same reason that early cookbooks didn’t have any recipes detailing how to bake bread - cooks already knew.

The recipe I’ve included for the tamales in the photo takes an intermediate path through the steps. These were filled with a spicy pulled pork, but chicken is another popular choice. You can even make tamales for breakfast with a filling of steamed spinach, chopped tomato and cheese.

No matter the filling, the most time-consuming step is getting the masa (corn meal) “batter” to the correct consistency. You want it moist enough so that it steams into a tender breading around the filling, but not so wet that it leaks out of the wrapping. Some recipes mix the filling into the batter, instead of setting the filling in the middle of the masa layer.

Most recipes for the masa batter call for lard, either melted or solid. In my recipe, I prefer coconut oil, which has a light consistency and doesn’t need to be melted to fold nicely into the broth-soaked masa. Be sure to select the correct type of corn meal: masa harina, which translates as “dough flour.” This is a fine-grained, faintly yellow flour milled from dried hominy (corn kernels soaked in lime solution to remove their hulls).

You can find both masa harina and dried corn husks in the Mexican-food section in local supermarkets. When I make tamales, I typically prepare the filling the day before, so all I need to do the day we’re eating them is soak the dried husks and mix the masa dough. Then I wrap them into packets and set them in a steamer basket. 

Serve tamales as soon as you can once they’re cooked, as the flavors are best when they’re warm. If they’re too dry, offer a garnish of salsa; if they’re highly seasoned with hot pepper, sour cream will sooth the burn. And, for your Oscar party, if you’d prefer not to make tamales, I’ve included a recipe for my favorite refried-bean and Rotel tomato dip - perfect with tortilla chips and champagne.

TAMALES

Pork Filling

1 1/2 lb pork shoulder
salt & pepper
1 chopped onion
3 chopped garlic cloves
1/2 C ketchup
1/4 C honey
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T chile powder
1/4 t cayenne

Dry the pork with paper towel and season liberally on all sides with salt and pepper. Place pork in a slow cooker. Whisk together remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over pork. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours. Allow to cool and shred with your fingers or two forks.

Chicken Filling

10 tomatillos
2 jalapeños
2 C water
4 chopped garlic cloves
1 T olive oil
2 C chicken stock
1 t salt
4 C shredded chicken
1/3 C chopped cilantro

Husk and stem tomatillos; stem and seed jalapeños. Combine them in a medium saucepan with water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add garlic and puree until smooth using an immersion blender or food processor. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium. Add the pureed vegetables and cook, stirring often until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Pour in stock and simmer until reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in chicken and cilantro; remove from heat. Season to taste with additional salt.

Masa Batter

2 C masa harina
2 C beef stock
1/2 C coconut oil
1 1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder

Place the masa harina in a large bowl. Pour in the stock and stir to combine; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the coconut oil until fluffy. Add masa, salt and baking powder; beat until smooth, about 10 minutes, regularly scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Assembly

1 6-oz package dried corn husks
1 C shredded Jack cheese

Flatten the husks in a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and place a heavy pot lid or dinner plate on the husks to keep them submerged. Soak for at least 1 hour. Remove the husks to a dish towel. Line the bottom of a steamer basket with 3 or 4 husks. Set a husk on your work surface, narrow end toward you. Spread about 1/4 C masa batter into a square in the center. Spread 2 T of the chicken or pork filling in a line down the center of the masa. Place 1 t cheese on top. Fold the right and left sides of the husk over the filling and then fold the narrow end up. Loosely tie with kitchen twine or a thin string of corn husk. Place in the steamer basket, open end up, leaving room between tamales for expansion during cooking. Cover tamales with empty husks. Fill a pot with one inch of water and place steamer basket inside, without the bottom touching the water. Cover pot tightly and bring to boil over high; reduce heat to medium and steam for about 45 minutes.

Rotel Tomato Dip

1 15-oz can refried beans
1 t chili powder
1 10-oz can Rotel tomatoes
1/2 C sour cream
8-oz block cream cheese

Place the refried beans and chili powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in Rotel tomatoes (do not drain) and sour cream. Cut the cream cheese into cubes and add to pan. Cook, stirring until smooth. Serve directly from the pan or transfer mixture to a crock pot on low setting. Serve with tortilla chips.