tamales-de-queso-con-rajas

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‘Tis the season for tamales and these tamales are one of my favorites. I hosted a tamalada this weekend and it was beautiful – a houseful of women talking and laughing in the kitchen is one of my favorite sounds. It was especially special because my mom is in town, and cooking with her brings me so much joy. I’ll share more about my tamalada in an upcoming post. In this blog post I’m sharing this delicious tamal filling recipe to celebrate Noche Buena. Nochebuena means “Good Night” in Spanish and refers to Christmas Eve, the biggest Christmas celebration for most Latinos.

As I have mentioned – tamales come in all shapes, sizes, and fillings, but this combination has to be one of my favorites. First of all, I love anything and everything cheesy and spicy, and these tamales fit that bill. These tamales are filled with roasted green chile and cheese. But it doesn’t end there – the filling is slow simmered in suero (whey) that my mom brought over from Licon Dairy in El Paso, Texas. If you can’t get your hands on suero, buttermilk is a close second. The combination of the suero with green chiles gives this recipe its one-of-a-kind sabor.

chopped-roasted-green-chile

The roasted chiles we used are from Pueblo, Colorado and a combination of hot Mosco and Mirasol dynamite roasted chiles. So as you can imagine the chiles are spicy, but the creamy cheese and suero combination tames the heat. Feel free to roast your favorite chiles.

imusa-skillet

The suero is what makes this recipe uniquely ours and gives the green chile a creamy tang and perfect saltiness. This dish can be served as an appetizer or topping. We often make this dish for Thanksgiving. It tastes delicious over turkey and mashed potatoes.

green-chiles-masa-tamales

When assembling these tamales we used the filling cold and then added extra asadero cheese in the tamal, because you can never have too much cheese. The steamer, produced a perfectly steamed, cheesy, spicy tamal.

muy-bueno-tamales

Recommended Tools

  • Stand mixer. An electric mixer effortlessly creams lard, resulting in a fluffier masa.
  • Steamer. Ideal for steaming tamales, lobster, corn on the cob and more.
  • Instant Pot. Excellent for speeding the cooking process, follow the cooking directions on this Instant Pot Tamales recipe.
  • Food processor or Blender. These tools are perfect for dicing roasted green chile and making other Mexican sauces and salsas.

Cheese with Roasted Chile Tamales (Tamales de Rajas Con Queso)

5 (4 ratings)
These tamales are filled with roasted green chile and cheese. But it doesn’t end there – the filling is slow simmered in suero (whey) that my mom brought over from Licon Dairy in El Paso, Texas. The combination of the suero with green chiles gives this recipe its one-of-a-kind sabor.
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Yield: 60 tamales
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

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Instructions 

  • Heat olive oil, add flour and stir for 3 minutes. Add diced green chiles and garlic powder and stir for 5 minutes.
  • Add suero, salt, and 1⁄2 cup of shredded cheese, and simmer for 7 minutes, stirring until cheese melts and mixture thickens. Reserve the additional shredded cheese to sprinkle over mixture in each tamal (about 1 tablespoon each). Let mixture cool before filling tamales.

PREPARE HOJAS (CORN HUSKS):

  • Soak corn husks in water for an hour before using, rinse well with running water to take off any dust or corn husk fibers. To keep corn husks pliable and easy to work with, keep in water while filling tamales. Place a handful of wet corn husks in a colander to drain before using.

SPREAD MASA:

  • Place the wide end of the husk on the palm of your hand, narrow end is at the top. Starting at the middle of the husk spread 2 tablespoons of the masa with the back of a spoon in a rectangle or oval shape, using a downward motion towards the wide-bottom edge. Do not spread the masa to the ends; leave about a 2-inch border on the left and right sides of the husk. 

FILL CORN HUSKS:

  • Spoon 1½ tablespoons of your chosen filling down the center of the masa. Fold both sides to the center; finish off by bringing the pointed end of the husk toward the filled end. Make sure it’s a snug closure so the tamal will not open during steaming. Secure by tying a thin strip of corn husk around the tamal. This will keep the tamal from unwrapping during the steaming process, especially if the husk is too thick and will not stay folded.

STEAM TAMALES:

  • Use a deep pot or tamale steamer to steam tamales. If using a tamale steamer fill with water up to the fill line. Set the tamale rack over the water. Place tamales upright, with fold against the sides of the other tamales to keep them from unfolding. Cover pot with a tightly fitting lid. Set heat on high and bring to a boil, about 15 minutes. Lower heat and simmer for 2½ to 3 hours. Keep lid on tightly. To test if done, put one tamal on a plate and take off the corn husk. If it comes off without sticking to the tamal they are done.

Video

Notes

  • This dish can be served as an appetizer or topping. We often make this dish for Thanksgiving. It tastes delicious over turkey and mashed potatoes. 
  • If you can’t get your hands on suero, buttermilk is a close second. 
  • Place a penny at the bottom of the pot, when you hear the penny rattle that means the water level is low and it is time to add more water to the steamer.
Calories: 171.26kcal, Carbohydrates: 0.66g, Protein: 3.87g, Fat: 3.62g, Saturated Fat: 1.85g, Cholesterol: 13.99mg, Sodium: 234.7mg, Potassium: 9.9mg, Fiber: 0.02g, Sugar: 0.22g, Vitamin A: 84.92IU, Calcium: 61.1mg, Iron: 0.14mg
Author: Yvette Marquez
Course: Entrees, Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican