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Nacatamales


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A friend from Nicaragua brought me some chicken (what she called) nacatamales recently. Anyone have a recipe? How are they different from tamales? She wrapped them in foil and boiled them, I think. lkm

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Sheesh. After I just read the recipe, I had to go lay down and rest. :blink:

I am having a hard time visualizing the finished product. Is it really like a tamale on steroids? Maybe I got too tired reading and missed something. How is it served?

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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That's it exactly: A tamale on steroids! Yes, after looking at the recipe, I won't be making nacatamales any time soon! My friend brought over plain tamales yesterday, yummy like the others but much simpler...tender chicken, a little hot, shell hand-made...all wrapped in banana leaves. I made a Mexican-style rice and put out diced tomatoes and sliced green onions and some fresh fruit. A pretty good supper. lkm

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  • 4 weeks later...

When I was growing up my best friend was from Guatemala and her family made a similar tamale. It was a two day family affair. :shock:

I don't think that I'll attempting this at home. Well, maybe one of these days after the kids are grown. But we have so many grea tamale vendors in LA, I can't imagine that I could do better.

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  • 3 years later...

About the only thing correct about the Gourmet Sleuth entry for nacatamales was the spelling!

Don't follow this recipe, my Nicaraguan ancestors would turn in their graves!

Had to post, even though thread is years old. Nicaragua and nacatamales deserve better, and when my flu is gone I'll do a recipe. These tamales are a family affair and for festive occasions, normally served on weekends.

And yes part of the recipe should include 'have at least 2 to 3 days to prepare and do invite the family to help', at least 2 other adult aficionados of the latin kitchen.

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  • 1 month later...
About the only thing correct about the Gourmet Sleuth entry for nacatamales was the spelling!

Don't follow this recipe, my Nicaraguan ancestors would turn in their graves!

Had to post, even though thread is years old. Nicaragua and nacatamales deserve better, and when my flu is gone I'll do a recipe.  These tamales are a family affair and for festive occasions,  normally served on weekends.

And yes part of the recipe should include 'have at least 2 to 3 days to prepare and do invite the family to help', at least 2 other adult aficionados of the latin kitchen.

Did you ever get round to posting this? I was really disappointed when I found out our only Nica restaurant here doesn't serve nacatamales but have had something similar from a Colombian place (no olives, among other differences).

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Generally, meat tamales - from nacatl 'meat' or 'flesh' and tamal 'tamale' in Nahuatl. You find them in Michoacan in Mexico, and they are all over Central America. It seems that the kitchen sink filling is a sort of picadillo ... similar to, and damn near as elaborately exhausting as, the one for the very traditional poblano Chiles en nogada .. Nacatamales ... at least the ones I've seen and eaten, were all made in sizeable portions of banana leaf, and were flattish, thin squares, rather than the more typical roundish, tube like corn-husk swaddled Mexican tamales. They remind me more of hallacas, with the no-holds-barred fillings.

Regards,

Thebroma

Sharon Peters aka "theabroma"

The lunatics have overtaken the asylum

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Thanks for the explanation of the term. I had assumed 'naca' was a variant on 'nica.'

The Colombian version I had included a drumstick, a small portion of rib bone (very little meat attached but I think it was pork), chicharron, peas, carrots, and other items. I was giddy after eating it it was so good. It was plate sized, about 3 inches thick. It was to-go; I took it home and was told to boil it for 20 minutes. Yes I see the resemblance to hallacas but it was called a tamale.

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  • 1 year later...

They tend to be bigger than their Mx cousins, more frequently wrapped in banana or papatla leaves, and the crucial turn: they contain a filling with meat. Often is it a type of picadillo with an amazing array of 'things' tucked in: olives, raisins, etc. along the sweet/tart axis. The masa is spred, the picadillo added, and then topped with cooked shredded meat, or sometimes a chunk of chicken leg, thigh, breast, bone and all. The fillings bear a close relation with Latin American hallacas.

Regards,

Theabroma

Sharon Peters aka "theabroma"

The lunatics have overtaken the asylum

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