I love it when friends share their family traditions with me. Especially, those involving food. Today my friends Billy and Angelica and their two daughters, Sophia and Gabbie invited Robin and me to their annual tamale wrap.
We got an assembly line going. Fortunately, Billy had the ingredients already cooked and ready to wrap.
A South of the Border Tradition
Billy fashions the Mexican dish after those his mother and aunt made when he was a kid growing up in California. It’s always good to see the next generation participating and learning the family traditions.
This year Billie and Angelica and their two girls made 4 varieties: Chicken and Mole; Chicken with Green Sauce; Cheese and Jalapeno; and Pork.
Tamale making: one more things to add to my resume.
Working on the production line, Robin and the kids smeared the masa mix onto the corn husk wrappers. A filling was added and the tamale rolled into a package. I applied a wrapping of wax paper to keep the bundles in shape during the steam process.
We made a total of 300 tamales. I figure I wrapper about 100 of those. So what does a family do with so many tamales? They enjoy them during the holidays, share with friends, and freeze the rest.
This photo was taken 5 years ago when Billy sent his Mom a photo of the masa mixture to see if it was the right consistency. Her response: “Add a bit more water.” Today Billy’s got the technique down without needing to make a phone call home.
Corn husks form the base for the tamales. Traditionally, the husks would be used for the outer wrap, too, but Billy uses the less costly wax paper.
This hand device shaped much like a bricklayer trowel, spreads the masa more quickly and smoothly than the back of a spoon.
The filling, in this case pork, goes atop the masa spread.
The Chicken and Green Sauce tamale
Cutting the cheese for the Cheese and Jalapeno tamales
Task complete, we all pause for a bite of lunch.
Moral of story: If you have a friend who makes tamales, get in on the action! It’s great fun.
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