Recipe: Chef Juan Juarez's Chicken Tamales with Pipian Rojo

Coche Comedor chef Juan Juarez knows a thing or two about tamales. Try his chicken tamales with pipian rojo recipe the next time you’re looking to change things up at your table!

Pipian Rojo Ingredients:

(yields 58 oz)

3 oz Garlic, peeled
11 oz Sesame seeds
12 pc Cloves
9 oz Dry guajillo peppers
5 oz Dry ancho peppers
12 grams Dry chile de arbol peppers
8 oz Peanuts
6 grams Mexican cinnamon

Pipian Rojo Procedure:

1. Toast sesame seeds and peanuts.
2. Remove seeds and toast all dry peppers in a dry pan over medium heat until they start to blister, approximately 5 minutes.
3. Roast garlic in a dry pan over medium heat until they start to darken, approximately 5 minutes.
4. Put all toasted dry peppers in a bowl with warm water, let it soak for 1 minutes, strain and puree with the rest of the ingredients in a blender.
5. Cook puree in a heavy-gauge pot for approximately 30 minutes over low heat.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Tamal Ingredients:

(yields 12 each)

13 oz Corn Maseca
14 grams Salt
1 gram Baking soda
32 oz Chicken stock
4 oz Manteca
6 grams Hoja santa leaves
26 oz Shredded roasted chicken
7 oz Pipian rojo

Chicken Tamal Procedure:

1. Mix the chicken with the pipian rojo, set aside.
2. Mix Maseca, baking soda and salt.
3. Warm up chicken stock and mix into Maseca mixture. Then add melted manteca and mix.
4. Soak corn leaves in warm water for 20 minutes, until soft.
5. Dry corn leaves and stuff into a tightly wrapped pillow.
6. Steam 55 minutes, over medium heat.
7. Remove from steam, unwrap and put on plate with additional pipian sauce.

~This recipe comes to us courtesy of Coche Comedor in Amagansett. cochecomedor.com