Pulled Jackfruit Tamales
I remember like it was yesterday the lovely feeling of unwrapping a warm tamal , my Mum would get different kinds of fillings so me and my siblings would have fun revealing the inside, our little hands would carefully unwrap these savoury cakes and find that warming steam coming out of the tamal, I had a favourite and that was the “rajas one” as we would call it was made with roasted poblano pepper and a bit of fresh cheese.
A nice warm tamal specially on a cold winter day brings so much comfort and happy memories that I now want other people to experience this sweet feeling as well .
For those who have never seen or tried one before I would describe it as a sort of small cake that is made with corn masa mixed with pork lard, then stuffed with an immense variety of fillings (depending on the region they are made in Mexico) , sweet or savoury , they are wrapped in corn husks or banana leafs packing all those flavours into something that resembles a carefully wrapped small gift, they are steamed until the masa is cooked and firmer, but they still remain fluffy, moist and infused by all the flavours they carry.
After a few years trying different recipes I can finally say I have found one that I’m proud to share, taking “red tamales” as inspiration for this dish, red tamales are traditionally made with stewed beef that is shredded and cooked in a red sauce made with Mexican dried chillies.
My tamales are made with jack fruit to make them suitable for people who want to introduce less meat in their diets, but mainly I found jack fruit being a really good ingredient to take on different flavours and with lovely texture that resembles that of the shredded meat or chicken, the fact that it’s also low in fat and calories and nutritious it’s a plus.
I use butter instead of lard for personal reasons, over the years I have found that sadly lard is not so good for my tummy, but butter brings a beautiful flavour and texture to these tamales that I must say now I cannot remember the ones made with lard, I hope you would enjoy these too!
Perfect to make ahead and freeze, ready to defrost and be reheated over a hot pan, the corn husks get a slight char that gives the humble tamal an even more beautiful flavour . You can also reheat them in a pan with a bit of water as well and covered with a lid for a freshly steamed effect, either way I guarantee they will taste amazing.
Makes 30-33 tamales.
Ingredients:
1 Pack of dried corn husks to make tamales, (150 grams approx).
For the pulled jack fruit:
2 Jars of young jack fruit (preferably organic) (550 grams of drained fruit in total).
1 yellow onion, (finely sliced).
1 red pepper, ( whole and charred).
2 red chillies, (whole and charred).
Note: Char your red pepper and chillies directly against the flame over the hob, it’s enough with getting an even char all around, use kitchen tongs to turn them around.
1 pasilla chilli.
4 cascabel chillies.
4 garlic cloves.
1/2 tsp black peppercorns.
2 tsp of kosher salt.
1/2 tsp coriander seeds.
1/4 cumin seeds.
1/3 cup olive oil.
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.
1 tbsp agave syrup.
1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce.
1/2 cup of veggie stock.
For the masa:
500 grams of nixtamal corn masa.
Note: You may get this from a local tortilleria if you have that possibility. For those who don’t, I recommend making your own masa with corn flour to make tortillas, this is widely available online or on speciality stores. I equally recommend getting a brand that is GMO free, happy to share the brand with anyone who requests it in the comments).
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder.
1 tsp kosher salt.
1 1/3 cups of salted good quality butter.
1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock.
Equipment.
I pasta pot (5.3 lt) with a steamer insert.
Method.
Preheat oven at 180C.
Start by placing your corn husks in a big bowl or deep tray, then pour in boiling hot water until they are completely submerged, let them soak for 30 minutes approx. or until they are soft and malleable.
Equally in a small bowl place your dried Mexican chillies (pasilla and cascabel) with hot water until they rehydrate and soften up.
To make your pulled jackfruit filling, open your cans of jack fruit and drain the liquid leave them resting over a fine mesh sieve in the sink to get rid of most of the moisture.
In the meantime add the red pepper and chillies, your soft pasilla and cascabel (without stems), garlic , spices, olive oil, vinegar, agave syrup, Worcestershire sauce and stock, blend all really smooth and reserve.
In a baking dish add your jack fruit chunks, sliced onion and pour in the red chilli mixture, mix everything with a spoon gently and spread all over your dish, cover with tin foil and place in the oven for 1 hour.
*Half way through the cooking time take your baking dish out of the oven and with the help of two forks shred your jack fruit gently, then re cover tightly with the foil to finish the cooking.
Now to make the masa for tamales simply add all the ingredients into a mixer with the attachment hook, and mix with a medium to high speed, now this is the tricky bit because this might take a while to be ready. To know if is ready to use get a glass and fill it three quarters of the way with water , then get a tea spoon with some of your masa mixture, drop it into the glass with water if the masa floats to the surface it means it’s ready to use, if not keep mixing and try again. (See picture below)
Now once your filling is cool down, your masa is ready and your corn husks are rehydrated, have a big clean surface where to work and where to have all your tamal components and follow the next steps:
Get one to two pieces of corn husk, spread a spoonful of the masa in the middle.
Now add a spoonful of filling.
Then fold one side of your tamal as seen in the pictures below, and then fold the other side packing the masa and filling inside the corn husk wrap.
Press the ends of the filling inside your tamal on both sides trying to pack everything in the middle, then I fold both ends forming a nice little rectangular packet.
Finally with a piece of corn husk string tie a little belt around the waist of your tamales to keep their shape, and repeat procedure.
Tips: Try not to add too much masa or too much filling that can’t be contained (you want your tamales to have just the right amount of corn masa), this to me makes all the difference in a good tamal, a good ratio of filling and masa).
As you are making them place them directly into your pasta steamer, arrange them carefully as seen in the picture below and add another layer of tamales on top until they are all in.
Then add boiling water to the bottom of your pan place the steamer insert with the tamales back inside and cover the top with tin foil and a lid, cook over the stove over a medium heat and for two hours, making sure to check from time to time that there is enough water at the bottom.
You may check that they are completely cooked at the end by opening one tamal and making sure the masa is firm, if not cover back and steam them a bit longer.
Once they are ready you may eat them straight away, I like to add a spoonful fo creme fraiche to my warm tamal.
To store let them cool down completely then make packs of 6 and place them inside ziplock bags, make sure you write down on a sticker the date when they were made and the content of your tamales, you can keep them in the fridge for up to 1 week or alternatively freeze them for up to 1 month, just make sure they are completely thawed before reheating them.
