When shucking the corn, try to peel
off husks without tearing. Rinse husks in water if
soiled. Put them in plastic bags to keep moist. Seal
and set aside. Pull silk from ears, rinse them well.
Cut kernels from corn and run through food processor
until finely chopped. Stir in melted butter, masa or cornmeal, then
add cheese and green chilies. Season with salt to taste.
To make tamales, take a corn husk
and place 1 ½ tablespoons of the corn filling in the
center near the stem. Fold 1 side of the husk over
to completely cover the filling, then fold over the
other side over on top. Fold up end to seal in the
filling. Gently stack the tamales, folded end down
in a steamer. As you stack, support them against other
tamales so the ends stay shut.
Steam the tamales in a 5 to 6 quart
covered pan on a rack just over boiling water. Tamales
should be loosely packed so steam and heat can circulate.
Steam for about one hour. To test for doneness, after
one hour, pull tamale out of the center, up-wrap it.
The tamales in the center of the
stack should be firm to the touch, not runny. Add
boiling water to the pan as required.
Serve tamales hot. You can make these
ahead and re-heat in the steamer over boiling water
for about 15 minutes.
Note from Carol:
If you've never made tamales, this is a good recipe
to try. Granted it takes time and while the instructions
sound complicated, it's really easy. Once you've made
one batch, you know the technique and it's the same
for all tamale recipes.
