Bienvenidos, mi gente!
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Chuchitos
Guatemalan corn husk tamales that are filled with a delicious recado (sauce) of sesame seeds, chilies, tomatoes, pepita, and other aromatics. They can be stuffed with vegetables for a plant-based chuchitos, or chicken for a meat option.
Equipment
- Stock Pot + Colander or steamer
- Tamal Pot with steaming insert
Ingredients
Masa Ingredients
- 8 cups Corn Masa Flour
- 1 cup butter or vegetable oil use vegetable oil for dairy-free option
- 7-8 cups hot water or chicken stock
- generous salt to taste
Recado (Sauce)
- 12 Roma Tomatoes
- 2 Onions
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 Dried Guaje/Guajillo Pepper Seeded and stem removed. Add 2 for more spice.
- 1 Dried Pasa/Pasilla Pepper Seeded and stem removed. Add 2 for more spice.
- 1/4 C Sesame Seeds
- 1/4 C Pepita Pumpkin Seeds
- generous salt to taste
For Chicken Chuchitos
- 3 lbs Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
For Plant Based Chuchitos
- 2 Chayote Squash Cubed
- 1 Mexican Zucchini Cubed
- 1 Summer Squash Cubed
- 3 Red Potatoes Cubed
- 1 tbsp Salt
Corn Husk
- 2-3 8 oz Packages of Corn Husks Washed and rehydrated
Instructions
Tusa Preparation
- To Prepare your corn husks, remove them from packaging and rinse them under hot water individually. Soak for an hour in warm water to fully rehydrate, making sure to flip 30 minutes into the process if they are not fully submerged.
- Prior to assembly separate the corn husks. Set aside 25 wide corn husks to wrap your chuchitos in. Use torn corn husks, or long skinny ones to tear into strips to tie up your chuchitos with.
Recado (sauce)
- Dry roast your tomatoes on a cast iron or non-stick skillet (or comal) for 10-12 minutes over medium high heat. You want to develop a char and soften them on all sides so the flavor of tomato becomes more concentrated. Rotate them every 3-4 minutes to cook them evenly.
- Toast your sesame seeds on a griddle or pan. This process should take a little over a minute on medium high heat. You don't want them to char, just to transition from an eggshell color to a golden color. You'll know they're done because they'll start popping on your pan. Set aside.
- Toast the pepita similarly to your sesame seeds. These will take a little bit longer (about 3-4 minutes), and for these you want to develop a little bit of a char as they toast to add depth to your recado. Once they are evely toasted on both sides, combine with your sesame seeds and pulse or blend into a fine powder.
- Quarter two onions, and place in a small pot with your seeded peppers, garlic cloves, and bay leaves. Add about 1 tsp of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Boil all together for 5 minutes.
- Place the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and peppers in a blender and blend until completely incorporated and smooth. Pour the sauce into a large pot and heat to a simmer. Begin adding in your sesame-pepita mixture a little bit at a time, until it reaches the thickened consistency of your liking. Salt as you add the pepita-sesame mixture as it will allow you to taste all the ingredients better. Once the recado tastes balanced and to your liking, blend it all together once more to smooth out the texture.
Masa
- This is one of the most important steps. Seasoning your masa well will be one of the biggest flavoring agents in your masa. Combine masa in a large bowl with your butter or vegetable oil. Crumble the butter or oil well throughout the whole mixture, and about about 1 tbsp of salt (you will add more later). Begin pouring in hot water or chicken stock 2 cups at a time, mixing it all up from the bottom to the top to make sure it is all getting evenly hydrated. You want your masa mixture to be smooth, and not crumbly. A good test here is to clean your hands and make a dough ball with the masa, if when you flatten it out there are a lot of cracks along the surface, it needs more water, but if it pushes down and most of the edges are smooth, then it is fully hydrated. Once the liquid balance is right, adjust the seasoning to your taste, remembering that some of the saltiness will be absorbed during the cooking process.
Prepare Filling
- For plant based chuchitos, chop all your veggies, around the same size as able and toss together. Add 1 TBSP of salt so that the squash can release a little bit of the water content. This will season them, but also prepare them for steaming. Any excess water content will be absorbed by the masa and the potatoes in the mixture.
- For chicken chuchitos, cut your chicken thighs into about 2" strips. Remove any excess fat.
Assembly
- Lay out your corn husk in front of you with the widest side of the corn husk facing up, and narrow side facing down towards you. Spoon about 1/4 C masa into your hands and make a small dough ball. Place in the upper center of the corn husk and begin to pat down and spread out the masa into a thin disk. Add chicken or vegetables to the center, and spoon enough recado to cover the filling.
- To fold the chuchito, bring in the sides of the corn husk (from right to left) into the center, and fold up the bottom of the corn husk. Tie the chuchito at the top, and around the center and place into your tamal pot or stock pot (make sure to fill with water up to the steamer insert or colander–if using a stock pot, place a penny at the bottom of the pot so that it vibrates along the bottom if the water runs out). Repeat this process with remaining chuchitos.
Cooking
- Place your tamalera or stock pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover with a lid and bring the heat down to low. Steam for 1.5 hours up to 1 hour and 45 minutes. The chuchitos are done once the husk pulls cleanly away from the masa, and the masa's texture has firmed up.
Serving and storage
- Serve immediately if wanted, and pour any leftover recado on top of the unwrapped chuchito. Other toppings that go well are avocados, a crumbling cheese, cilantro, lime, and marinated onions.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a year. To thaw, microwave for 3-4 minutes OR steam for 15-20 minutes.
