Low Fat Chicken Tamales Recipes

CHICKEN TAMALES

Steps:

• Cover corn husks with cold water; soak until softened, at least 2 hours., Place chicken, onion, salt and garlic in a 6-qt. stockpot. Pour in 3 qt. water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, 45-60 minutes. Remove chicken from broth. When cool enough to handle, remove bones and skin; discard. Shred chicken. Strain cooking juices; skim fat. Reserve 6 cups stock., For dough, beat shortening until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in small amounts of masa harina alternately with small amounts of reserved stock, using no more than 2 cups stock. Drop a small amount of dough into a cup of cold water; dough should float. If not, continue beating, rechecking every 1-2 minutes., For filling, heat oil in a Dutch oven; stir in flour until blended. Cook and stir over medium heat until lightly browned, 7-9 minutes. Stir in seasonings, chicken and remaining stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 45 minutes., Drain corn husks and pat dry; tear 4 husks to make 20 strips for tying tamales. (To prevent husks from drying out, cover with a damp towel until ready to use.) On wide end of each remaining husk, spread 3 tablespoons dough to within 1/2 in. of side edges; top each with 2 tablespoons chicken filling and 2 teaspoons olives. Fold long sides of husk over filling, overlapping slightly. Fold over narrow end of husk; tie with a strip of husk to secure., Place a large steamer basket in the stockpot over water; place tamales upright in steamer. Bring to a boil; steam, covered, adding hot water as needed, until dough peels away from husk, about 45 minutes.

SKINNY WEIGHT WATCHER CHICKEN TAMALES

Steps:

• 1. Soak cornhusks in hot water until soft (about 30 minutes to 1 hour). While corn husks are soaking, Combine chicken, enchilada sauce, pureed salsa, green chilies, salt, cumin, onion powder and garlic in a large bowl and set aside.
• 2. Using a large mixing bowl and electric mixer on medium speed, blend masa harina, canola oil, baking powder and the 4 cups chicken broth. Beat the masa until it feels like mash potatoes. Season the masa to taste with salt and pepper to taste. Set masa mixture aside
• 3. Tamale Assembly: Place 3 Tablespoons masa mixture on the smooth side of the softened cornhusk and spread into a 4x4-inch square (on the square base of husk). Place two tablespoons of the seasoned shredded chicken down the center of each masa. Roll the cornhusk lengthwise from right to left. Fold the tamale tail end under and place on tray with folded end on bottom. When 2 dozen tamales are completed, cover and place in refrigerator. When all tamales are made, you can either place them into gallon Zipper bags to freeze or you can steam them.
• 4. Steaming Tamales: Use a vegetable steamer pot or electric steamer. Fill steamer pot with the amount of water recommended by manufacturer. Loosely arrange the tamales, open end up, in steamer basket and arrange so that the steamer basket is full (don't crowd as tamales will expand). Cover tamales with leftover shucks to retain steam. Bring water in steamer pot to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook tamales for 60 minutes or until masa pulls away from shuck and is cooked.
• 5. Top with sour cream and salsa, if desired.

LOW FAT CHICKEN TAMALES

Steps:

• Unwrap corn husks, remove any corn silk, and place husks into hot water to soak. You can add spices to the bath (3 tsp ground onion, 3 tsp ground garlic, 2 tsp fresh oregano, 1 tsp cumin). Cover the bowl and let the husks soak 2 - 3 hours, until very pliable.
• Cut visible fat from chicken breast and split (to give you two large chicken breast filets). Place chicken in a medium (2 1/2qt.) stock pot. Roughly chop tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Place on chicken. Split one jalapeno and remove seeds and pith. Dice, then add to pot. Place second jalapeno, whole, into pot with two bay leaves. Add enough water to cover the chicken and vegetable (about 2 - 3 cups). Sprinkle one teaspoons chicken bouillon, 1/2 tsp fresh oregano, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes on top. Stir broth to distribute seasonings.
• Bring pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 3 - 4 minutes. Turn the heat off, cover, and let it sit 20 - 30 minutes, until chicken is bright white and cooked through.
• Remove the chicken to a bowl. Remove and discard the bay leaves, retain the jalapeno (de-stem and de-seed then chop). Place remaining vegetables into a blender, and blend until nearly smooth. Some chunks are okay. Add a dash or two of Tobasco or your favorite hot sauce for a little extra kick. Set this mixture aside. Don't throw out the broth!
• Using forks or by hand, pull the chicken breast apart into strings. Once all the breast is "stringy," chop to bite size pieces. Mix the chicken with about 1/2-cup of the salsa you just made (this is a guess, you want the chicken moistened but not soggy with salsa. Err on the dry side). Set aside.
• To make the masa mix 3-cups of maseca (instant tamale/tortilla mix) with 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir to combine. Separately, stir 1/2-cup yogurt into 2 1/2 cups left over poaching broth (add water if you don't have enough left over broth). Once liquids are combined, stir them into the masa mix. You want to achieve a wet dough consistency-- not quite cake batter, but not bread. Sort of like a quick bread.
• To assemble the tamales: place one or two corn husks (depending on size) on a flat surface,. Pat off any excess water. Scoop two tablespoons of masa into the center, and spread it to 1/4" thick, leaving plenty of room around the edges. Scoop 1 tablespoon of chicken mixture onto the masa, and spread in a line. Bring one side of the masa over the filling to meet the other side. Squish together and roll, tucking in the sides. Repeat until all the masa is used.
• To steam the tamales: place tamales in a large steamer that has been filled to the appropriate level with the left-over corn husk bath water. Line tamales across one way, then turn 90º and line them the other way. Stack the tamales until all are in the pot. Cover the tamales with a heavy cloth (to absorb the condensation), then place the lid on top. Bring the pot to a boil, then simmer and steam for 2 - 3 hours, or until the masa pulls away from the corn husk easily.
• To finish tamales in the oven: Line tamales up on the racks of the oven. Convection bake for approximately twenty minutes at 325º.
• Serve hot and with the left over salsa!

HEALTHY TAMALES RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large pot, place the cornhusks and cover with hot water to soften them. Leave there for at least 30 minutes. Drain and reserve.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (corn masa-harina, baking powder and salt) , and stir in the vegetable oil. Pour the warm chicken broth and mix with a spatula until you form the dough into a creamy texture, similar to soft ice cream. If the dough doesn't look as creamy as in the picture, add a little more broth, a tablespoon at the time.
• Spread about 3 tablespoons of the dough on the already soft corn husk using a spoon or spatula. Top with 2 tablespoons of the filling. Fold one left side of the husk to the center and then the right side to the center. Finally, fold the end toward the center of the tamal. Place the tamal on a tray while you finish assembling the rest.
• Now, get your steamer ready adding a couple of hot cups of water and line the steamer rack with corn husks. If you don't have a steamer, place loose pieces of aluminum foil at the bottom of the pot to function as a steamer rack.
• Place the tamales standing up, cover with the rest of the corn husk, a clean dishtowel, and the pot lid.
• Cook for 60 minutes to 75 minutes over a medium heat. While cooking, add more hot water to the pot if needed, be careful with the steam while removing the lid. To make sure your tamales are done, remove one and if the corn husk can easily be removed from the dough they are ready. The tamales will firm up after cooked.