Learning to make tamales

I love tamales! So I thought I might try and challenge myself this week and teach myself how to make them.  During my research on how to make them, all I heard was how hard and time consuming they were to make.  It was a little discouraging but I was still up for the challenge and wanted to give it try.

 Well I really didn't think they were that hard.  Im not going to lie, it was very time consuming but other then that they were easy.

I decided I was going to make chicken tamales.

To start, we first need to soften the corn husks.  I boiled mine in water for about 25 minutes then I just let them soak in the water until I was ready to use them. 

(Next time I will let them soak longer because they were still a little stiff)

When I was ready I only took a few out at a time and patted them dry.

They kept floating up to the top so I placed a bowl on top the husks to keep them submerged in the water.

While my husks were soaking, I made my masa according to the package.  

I used chicken broth instead of water, Just a little added flavor!

Now we are ready to start making tamales!

Take out a few husks and lightly dry them.

Grab some masa and spread on top of the husks with a spatula. I kept mine to one side and tried to make 4x6 covering with the masa. Make them as thick or as thin as you would like.

(Its easier to roll if you keep masa to one side)

Add your choice of meat

Fold over the side that has the masa, fold up the bottom

Bring the top down and continue rolling over to the other side

I had hard time keeping my tamales together.

So I made long strips with corn husks and wrapped around the tamale and tied

The part I didn't realize,hg they take forever to cook.  So needless to say, we had them for dinner the next night.

Place them all up right in a steamer and cover with a cloth and steam for 2 hours or until the masa separates from the husk easily.  

Never letting the water touch the tamales

TAA-DA!!

We just made tamales!

They are slightly time consuming but so worth it!  They are delicious and im proud to have actually made them!

My recipe for my chicken:

3-4 chicken breasts

1 Tbsp Cumin

1 Tbsp Chili powder

2 cups homemade salsa (I used my recipe, it was in the fridge)

1 cup chicken broth

I let mine cook in the crock pot for a few hours then I shredded and cooked for another hour