Belizean Tamales Recipe

It takes many hands to make Belizean Tamales.

Belizean Tamales

Belizean tamales are a traditional Maya and Mestizo food.  There are many regional differences in tamales even within a small country like Belize! Corozal and Orange Walk districts have two varieties, Collado and Torteado.  Western Belize has a variety called Bollos (Source: Endevora Jorgenson). A fourth variety, called a Tamalito, is very similar to a Mexican tamale and is typically sold as street food. I still hear the tamelito man’s bicycle horn and hawking: “Tamalitos! Tamalitos!  Aqui estan los Tamalitos!” This recipe is for traditional Belizean Toredado tamales from Corozal.

Banana Leaf Wrapper

Unlike the Mexican tamale, Belizean tamales are not wrapped in corn husks but are instead wrapped in plantain leaves. This recipe might be a little difficult to make properly in the States or Canada, but it has been done. The accompanying images were made in Michigan in the dead of winter. It can be done!

Belizeans pride themselves on their individual take on the tamale. Some like lots of sauce (called cull), some like it tear-inducingly spicy, others like lots of bone-in chicken. Tamales vary in Belize by the maker. My aunt makes them for sale, and she prides herself on the quality of her sauce and the large portions of chicken in each tamale. We’ll leave those choices up to you!

For Belizeans, making tamales is often a community effort.

Making Belizean tamales is labor intensive, and often a community effort.  Often Belizean women will gather together to make dozens of tamales at once for a large event, wedding, funeral, birthday party, or just to sell. With a little of the extra masa (often freshly ground) they will make atole, a warm and simple cinnamon-spiced drink to share as they work.

A Short Lesson on Belizean (Mayan) Names for Tamale Ingredients

Cull: Cull is the sauce in the tamale. Sometimes it’s spelled “col”; it’s a Mayan word (Ibid). Cull is a thick red gravy and is a chicken stock and recado seasoning-based sauce.

Masa: Where “masa” is not available, Belizean tamales are wrapped in corn dough made with maseca brand corn flour, water, salt, oil, or fat ie. lard.

Recado Rojo: Red Recado is essentially a Belizean (Mayan) curry of spices.   There is also a black recado, commonly used in soups like chimole and relleno. Recado is a combination of several dry spices, fresh annatto seeds, garlic, and onion.  These ingredients are blended into a paste and rolled into a ball. Recado is often sold in Belize as a slightly moist ball about the size of a quarter or shilling. Belizean recado is nearly impossible to find Stateside. If you contact us we can special order Belizean recado.

4 major components to Belizean Tamales:

• Masa
• Cull
• Filling: Chicken or other meat
• Filling: Assortment of vegetables

How To Make Belize Style (Belizean) Tamales

Belizean Tamales Ingredients:

Tamale Shell (Corn Dough):

• 4 pounds Maseca Corn Flour for making masa
• Water (approximately half a gallon), more or less
• 2 cups Corn Oil or Manteca (pork fat)
• 2-3 teaspoons salt (salt to taste)

Tamale Filling:

• 1 whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces (or substitute with pork or beef)
• 2 pounds pork ribs, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 4-6 tablespoons Red Recado seasoning (adjust for desired color)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 6 oregano leaves
• 6 allspice seeds
• 6 Apazote leaves (if available)
• 1 tablespoon whole peppercorn
• 1 tablespoon chile molido (ground cayenne pepper, for a mild kick)
• 3 tablespoons chicken broth powder (Consomme de pollo)
• 1 chopped onion

Tamale Filling Cooking Instructions:

1. Prepare the chicken by washing it thoroughly with a diluted mixture of lime juice or vinegar in water.
2. Rub the Red Recado seasoning and other spices onto the chicken pieces, adding salt and black pepper or ground cayenne pepper to taste.
3. In a large pot, brown the seasoned chicken with onions or proceed directly to the next step for quicker preparation.
4. Add about 4 quarts of water to the pot, as if you were making chicken soup. Cover and stew the meat until tender.
5. Remove the meats from the pot and strain the soup to remove the spices, ensuring a smooth cull (gravy).
6. In a separate bowl, create a paste using approximately 1 pound of Maseca mixed with water to form a thick consistency.
7. Add the Maseca paste to the strained soup on the stove, stirring vigorously to prevent lumps from forming. The goal is to achieve a nicely thickened but flowing gravy, similar to condensed milk.
8. Simmer the cull (gravy) gently for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow it to cool, making sure it doesn’t thicken too much.

Tamale Shell Preparation Instructions:

1. Blend the Maseca corn flour, corn oil (or Manteca), salt, and water to create a thick dough that is spreadable but not sticky. Form the dough into fist-size balls.
2. Flatten each corn dough ball using a tortilla press or your hands to create thin, flat tortilla-like sheets. Alternatively, place the corn dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and spread it out with your fingertips to achieve the desired thickness. Remove the upper layer of plastic and invert the tortilla over a plantain leaf sheet.
3. Assemble the tamales by adding 2-4 tablespoons of cull/gravy to each corn dough sheet. Place choice bits of cooked chicken and pork meat, followed by chopped cilantro leaves, green peppers, onions, green peas, tomato slices, and habanero pepper slices.
4. To wrap the tamale, bring two sides of the plantain leaf together, resembling gift wrapping. Use butcher string to secure the package if needed.
5. Stack the tamale packages in a large steamer pot and add enough water to steam the tamales for about an hour. If a steamer is not available, create a rack of some sort to elevate the tamale packages and enhance steaming.

Serving Suggestion: Serve the Belizean Tamales hot, straight from the steamer, for a delightful taste of Central American comfort food. Accompany them with curtido salvadoreño or other condiments to enhance the flavors further.

Notes:

• For an authentic Belizean touch, consider using plantain or banana leaves instead of foil for the tamale wrapping.
• The tamale fillings can be customized to suit your taste preferences, making them a versatile and delicious treat for any occasion.

Nutritional Information (Per Serving – 1 Tamale):

• Calories: 350 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 32g
• Protein: 18g
• Fat: 15g
• Saturated Fat: 4g
• Cholesterol: 65mg
• Sodium: 580mg
• Fiber: 3g Sugar: 2g

Enjoy the rich and flavorful experience of Belizean Tamales, lovingly crafted to delight your taste buds with every bite!