Rookie Pan
← All recipes
Mexico, Americas · Red Chile Pork Tamales

Baked Tamal Cups with Red Chile Chicken

Masa pressed into a muffin tin instead of corn husks, filled with red chile chicken and baked crisp, then topped with lime crema and pink pickled onion.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time1 h 10 min
DifficultyMedium

Method

  1. Put the chicken, water and salt in a 18 cm pot, bring to a boil on high heat, then lower to medium-low heat and simmer for . Cut into the thickest piece: no pink and clear juices means it is done. Lift out the chicken and keep the broth.

    Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 240 gWater (for the chicken) 700 mlSalt (for the chicken) ½ tsp

    high heat→medium-low heat

  2. Toss the red onion with half the lime juice and the salt and leave it; it turns bright pink while you work. Stir the remaining lime juice into the sour cream for the crema and refrigerate.

    Add in this stepRed onion, very thinly sliced ½Lime 1Salt (pickle) 1 pinchSour cream 80 g

  3. Stem and seed the chiles, toast them in a dry pan on medium heat for just until fragrant, then soak them in a little of the hot chicken broth for .

    Add in this stepDried guajillo chiles 3

    medium heat

  4. Blend the soaked chiles, garlic, cumin and 100 ml of broth until smooth and strain. Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat, add the sauce and stir for until thick, then mix in the chicken shredded with forks and season with salt.

    Add in this stepGarlic cloves 1Ground cumin 1 pinchVegetable oil 1 tsp

    medium heat

  5. Preheat the oven to 190 °C and brush a muffin tin with a little melted butter. In a bowl, mix the masa harina, baking powder and salt, then add the rest of the melted butter and warm broth a little at a time until soft and moist like cookie dough. Mix in the corn and half the cheese.

    Add in this stepMasa harina (corn flour for tamales) 180 gBaking powder ¾ tspSalt (masa) ¾ tspButter, melted (including some for the tin) 65 gSweet corn kernels (drained if canned) 60 gMonterey Jack, grated 25 g

    oven

  6. Put about 3 tablespoons of masa in each muffin cup and press it with your fingers over the base and up the sides, 1 cm thick, to make a cup. Fill with chicken and top with the rest of the cheese. Make 6 cups.

    Add in this stepMonterey Jack, grated 25 g

  7. Bake in the oven for , until the edges are golden, crisp and pulling away slightly from the tin.

    oven

  8. Let them cool in the tin for so the masa firms up, then lift them out with a spoon. Top each with a spoonful of crema, pickled onion and cilantro.

    Add in this stepCilantro, chopped 2 tbsp

Cook's tip

If the masa sticks to your fingers, wet them slightly before pressing. Walls that are too thin tear in the oven and too thick stay doughy in the middle, so aim for 1 cm. Reheat leftover cups at 180 °C for 8 minutes to bring back the crunch.

Cooking it at camp

Bake the cups at home, wrap them in foil and warm them on a grill over the coals for 5–8 minutes. Pack the crema and pickled onion separately in the cooler and add them just before eating.