Tamales de Chipilín

5 from 4 votes

Traditional tamales made with chipilin leaves, stuffed with cheese.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2

Total Time2 15

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Guatemalan, Mexican, Salvadorean

Servings: servings

Calories: 198kcal

Cost: 10

1 Large pot for steaming
12 5 inch by 10 inch pieces of banana leaf or corn husks. ask for "hojas de platano" at your local market
Aluminum foil as needed, optional

3 cups Masa harina
3.5 cups Meat or chicken stock, hot use water in a pinch
1.5 teaspoons Kosher salt
8 oz Queso Oaxaca or Chihuahua or another melting cheese like pepperjack or mozzarella.
4 oz Pork lard or unsalted butter (½ cup) melted
3 oz Chipilin leaves (roughly 3 cups) fresh or frozen

Combine the masa, lard or butter, salt, chicken stock and chipilin leaves in a bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and rest for 20 minutes.
Lay out a piece of banana leaf on a square of aluminum foil.
Put down a 2.5 oz spoonful of masa, making a dent in the center.
Put a .5 oz rectangle of cheese in the center, then roll up the tamal in the leaf with the aluminum foil. Try to make sure the masa forms a seal around the cheese.
Put the tamales in a steamer and cook for 2 hours, then allow to cool.

To make pupusas, use equal parts masa and chicken stock or water and form pupusas with 2 oz balls of masa.