Raisins in our Tamales

Tamales have always been a tradition in my family. Who knows how many generations back our tradition goes and who knows what great-great grandmother in our family decided to add the very European ingredient, raisins, to the tamal, thus transforming a pre-Columbian food into a colonial hybrid. 

Every family makes them differently; every family is convinced they make the best. Although...ours are the best. The arrangement of the raisins, one of the last things added before wrapping the tamal is crucial. They make the first bite into the tamal a delicate burst of sweetness mixed with the red chile-seasoned pork and venison. The corn dough is light, never pasty and thick and they are cooked in steam. Three types are made: venison/pork, bean with rajas, and sweet tamales. The moment of suspense comes in testing for doneness after the steaming process: the tamal must peel away from the husk easily. If this doesn't happen, two days of work are down the drain and everyone is in a tizzy looking for who or what is to blame. This has only happened once and it was about 30 years ago, but it's still a horror story retold nervously among the group of family gathering to make tamales every year.

Tamales have one taste when they're fresh out of the steamer, and another in the days after that, when you toast them on a comal to warm them. You can even warm them up in the microwave, but everyone prefers the toasted way. 

I'm re-posting our family recipe for tamales in case you get the courage to make them on some wintery day this season.

Enjoy 

http://culinarianexpeditions.blogspot.com/2011/12/tamales.html