Tamales Verdes with chicken, from Love Kari Cooking.
I came across the Love Kari Cooking Youtube channel because I wanted to make tamales as my first experience with Masienda artisanal masa. And, since the New Year’s celebration had passed with my potential tamale party participants scurrying to the sidelines like cucarachas when the lights turn on, I knew here would not be a dulce version. That left me with two classics: a chile Colorado red version made with pork, and a chile verde with chicken.
Kari in her kitchen (which is in Southern California).
There are some fanciful recipes out there, but I needed the OG version and Love Kari Cooking delivers. Because of the many steps and effort involved, Kari’s recipes are not going to make the easy list (her video titles regardless). Put another way, this is a no shortcuts approach to traditional Mexican-American cookery.
How to make Tamales Verdes de Pollo (Chicken Tamales) Easy Recipe involves from-scratch shredded chicken and green sauce with grilled peppers and tomatillos plus masa which starts with 1 ½ c lard blended till fluffy. There are plenty of tips along the way: boil tomatillos till they change color; that’s when you know they are done. Properly hydrated masa should float in a cup of water. Use extra (soaked) corn husks to make a bed for steaming the tamales.
The videos clearly demonstrate what Kari is doing at each step, though there are a lot of quick cuts so you’ll need to watch a few times before making your own attempts. (The camera operator is her husband Javier.) The best Tamales Rojos de Puerco con Chile Colorado has a very different result than the chicken tamales recipe but almost identical steps, so check them both out. Her recipes make 30 tamales and will use a full pound of corn husks, so make sure you have a lot of hungry mouths or room in your freezer. Check out Love Kari Cooking.
