How to make Panamanian Tamales

How to make Panamanian Tamales

½ cup chopped red peppers

1 tablespoon sea salt

5 large culantro leaves

4 cups water

1 cup prunes and/or raisins

1 cup stuffed Spanish olives

20 faldo leaves or banana leaves

                  2 ½ pounds cracked corn                                                       

2 pounds cubed lean pork (1 ½ -inch cubes)

2 pounds cut boneless chicken (2-inch pieces)  

2/3 cup canola oil

2 cups annatto oil

3 cups chopped onions

7 garlic cloves

½ cup chopped green peppers

Soak 2 ½ pounds cracked corn in water 8 to 12 hours, or overnight    
The next day, boil and drain corn. Grind it in a corn grinder (or a food processor) to make dough.

 In a separate skillet, brown pork and chicken; remove and put aside. 

 In a different skillet (about 8 inches), prepare annatto oil (see tips under “All-In-One” recipe).

 In a blender or a food processor, blend onion, garlic, culantro, peppers, and salt to create a sauce.  (Divide sauce ½ and ½ and pour into two separate pots; one for the pork cubes and one for the chicken pieces). Add annatto oil to pork and chicken, making sure meat gets the red color of the annatto oil. Cook meat with sauce on low heat for a few minutes.  Add 2 cups of water to each pot and let cook until tender.

 Separate corn dough in ½: one for pork tamales and one for chicken tamales. Take sauce from the pot where the chicken was cooked and ladle sauce over dough to be used for chicken tamales. Pour enough sauce to add flavor and color to the dough.  Taste dough, add more salt to dough if needed and keep kneading the dough. IMPORTANT: The process is the same for pork or chicken tamales.

Clean and cut faldo or banana leaves (see tips).  Spread the leaves and place one large cooking spoon of corn dough onto the middle of the leaf. Then make a ball of the dough and flatten it.  Pour 2 tablespoons of sauce over flatten dough for chicken tamales. On top place 2-3 pieces of meat, 2 olives, 1 prune and/or a few raisins.  

Wrap tamales with leaves and tie them up with cooking thread so they stay wrapped.  Cut thread into two-yard long lengths.  Double bind all four sides of tamales with thread. The newly wrapped tamales are rectangular in shape (size 6 x 3 inches).  

Fill a 24-quart stock pot ½ full of water, bring it to a boil and place as many tamales as you can fit in the pot.  All tamales should be boiled for about 1 hour at a constant simmer. Remove and drain.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Find other Panamanian recipes in our cookbook FLAVORS OF PANAMA

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