Ricos Christmas Tamales

PREPARING THE HUSKS

• Place the husks in a large bowl, fill with hot water and weight the husks down to completely submerge
• Let soak for at least 2 hours

FORMING THE TAMALES

• Pat off a husk with a dishtowel
• Flatten the husk, and with a spoon, scoop out about ¼ cup of the batter
• In the upper, wider portion of the husk, spread the batter to the size of about a postcard, with the short side of the rectangle at the top of the husk, and the body of the rectangle running down the length of the husk. Leave about an inch of space on each long side of the husk. Don’t worry about making the batter thick… it will expand as it steams
• Add one cheese strip and three or four jalapeños down the middle of the masa
• Fold over the right third of the husk, then fold in the left side
• Fold up the bottom
• Place uncooked tamales on a large baking sheet

STEAMING THE TAMALES

• Place unused corn husks on each layer of your steamer. Place corn husks over the top of the tamales with the open face up, place lid on the steamer
• Heat and steam over constant medium heat for about 1 ¼ hours
• Watch carefully to make sure that all the water doesn’t boil away, add more water as necessary
• Tamales are done when the husks peel away from the masa easily
• The tamales will need to stand for at least half an hour for the dough to firm up
• For the best tamales, let them cool completely, then steam again to warm (you can easily heat in a microwave at this point)
• When re-heated and ready to eat open the tamale and leave it in the husk
• Drizzle with Ricos Queso Blanco and ENJOY!!!