Destination
Antigua
The story
The Guatemalan tamal de cerdo is the country's Sunday and Christmas Eve dish: large parcels of corn masa (coloured deep red with achiote) wrapped around slow-cooked pork in a red recado sauce, then wrapped in banana leaves, tied tight and steamed for hours over an open pot. Unwrapped at the table, the tamal is dark, glossy, rich and dense, with a whole meal inside a single package: masa, meat, sauce, sometimes a slice of hard-boiled egg, sometimes a raisin, sometimes an olive. Served with a small dish of extra recado and a piece of fresh bread on the side.
Method
Combine the pork chunks with the quartered onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt and cold water in a large pot. Bring to a simmer and cook 60 to 75 minutes until fork-tender. Lift the pork out, keep in chunks (don't shred). Strain and reserve the cooking stock.
Drain the soaked chillies. Blend the tomatoes, tomatillos, drained chillies, toasted seeds, chopped onion, garlic, cumin, achiote and salt to a smooth sauce. Warm the oil in a wide pan and pour in the blended sauce. Simmer 15 minutes until thick and deep red. Add the pork chunks and turn to coat. Take off the heat.
In a large bowl, combine the masa harina, achiote, salt and baking powder. Slowly add the warm pork stock, stirring, until you have a soft dough (like thick porridge). Beat in the melted lard until smooth and light. The masa should be spoonable and hold a shape.
Lay a softened banana leaf shiny-side down. In the centre, spread a generous ladle of masa into a rectangle about 20cm x 12cm. On top of the masa, add 2 pieces of pork with plenty of recado sauce, a slice of hard-boiled egg, 2 raisins and 1 olive.
Fold the sides of the banana leaf over the filling, then fold the ends up over the top to form a rectangular parcel about the size of a large book. Tie tightly with kitchen string in both directions (lengthways and crossways). Repeat with the remaining 7.
Set a rack in the bottom of a very large pot. Add water to just below the rack. Stack the tamales loosely on the rack. Cover tightly and steam over medium-low heat for 2.5 to 3 hours, topping up the water every 30 minutes.
Lift the tamales out with tongs. Rest 10 minutes (they're molten hot inside). Serve one per person, in the leaf, and let each guest unwrap their own at the table. Spoon extra warm recado over the top. Bread and hot chocolate on the side.
Tips
- Banana leaves make the tamal Guatemalan. The wrap is what distinguishes the Sunday tamal from the everyday corn-husk chuchito. Sold frozen at Latin, Asian and West African grocers. Baking paper is a functional substitute but doesn't perfume the tamal the same way.
- Warm pork stock in the masa, not water. The reserved cooking stock is what carries the pork flavour into the masa layer. Water gives you a bland masa that tastes disconnected from the filling.
- Melt the lard, don't rub it in. Beating melted lard into the wet masa gives the finished tamal its light, airy texture. Cold lard rubbed in gives you a denser, crumblier result.
- Tie tightly, both directions. Loose ties result in leaking tamales during the long steam. Two lengths of string per tamal (one lengthways, one crossways) hold the parcel through 3 hours of steaming.
- Freeze extras. Steamed tamales freeze beautifully wrapped in cling film. Reheat from frozen in a 180°C oven for 45 minutes, still in their leaves. The best Monday breakfast in Guatemala City.
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