Tamales are a holiday staple in our house. Growing up we ate tamales every Christmas morning… and all day. We even have Tamale Parties where we all get together, gather around the kitchen island and create a tamale factory. Except your allowed to drink on the job! 😉

So I make tamales every year, except I make a bunch of them to have in the freezer to enjoy throughout the year instead. Not sure why I don’t make these during other times of the year? Guess have a summer tamale party is just not the same! LOL!

As with everything I make, I tend to always use my hunting wild game. It a common thing for people to come over to my house and ask what animal they are eating! Ha! Ha! Ha! So these tamales are made with Wild Boar! And I think they are even better than traditional pork.

Green Chili Wild Boar Tamales:

• 4 medium poblano peppers

• 1 medium jalapeño

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked, washed, and halved

• 3 mediums cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

• 1 cup packed roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems

• 1 cup homemade chicken stock 

• 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime

• Kosher salt

• Sugar, to taste (about 1 TBS.)

• 4 cups shredded Wild Boar (I cook mine in a crock pot with chicken stock, onions, carrots and garlic for 12 hours)

• 1.5# Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded

• Tamale Dough

• 3+ Dozen Corn Husks soaked in water for 1 hour

• Salsa Verde (I usually buy the large cans from the Hispanic market)

1. Roast poblanos and jalapeño peppers directly over the flame of a gas stove, until skin is completely charred and blackened all over. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until cool enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes. Using paper towels, run off charred skins, then stem and seed peppers. Transfer to the jar of a blender and set aside.

2. Pre-heat a broiler. Then place the tomatillos on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Broil until tomatillos have charred and softened, around 10 minutes. Transfer to blender with peppers, along with any liquid in the pan.

3. Add garlic, cilantro, chicken stock and lime juice and puree until smooth. Transfer salsa to a large bowl and season with salt and sugar to taste. Stir in shredded boar and set aside.

4. Working one at a time, place a corn husk on work surface. Place 2-3 tablespoons of tamale dough on larger end of husk and spread into a rectangle approximately 1/4 inch thick, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of husk. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in a line down center of dough.  And top the filling with Pepper Jack Cheese.Fold over sides of husk so dough surrounds filling, then fold bottom of husk up and secure closed by tying a thin strip of husk around tamale. Repeat with remaining husks, dough, and filling.

5. Fill a large steam pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Rest tamales upright in the steamer. Cover and steam until dough is cooked through, about 1 hour. Remove tamales from steamer and let rest until dough firms up, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately with salsa verde or store in refrigerator for up to a week or freeze. Defrost and reheat tamales in steamer until warmed through.

Tamale Dough:

• 3 Cups Masa Harina

• 2 Cups Chicken stock

• 8 ounces of Lard

• 2 tsp. Baking Powder

• 2 tsp. Kosher Salt

• 1 cup Chicken Stock

In a bowl combine the Masa Harina with the first amount of chicken stock. Let this mixture sit for 15 minutes.

Then add the lard, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat the lard for about 4 minutes on medium. Then add the masa marina mixture, continue to beat the mixture together. The masa should have a spreadable texture but not runny. If you need to adjust the texture add the extra chicken stock 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture has the same consistency as hummus.