Butternut Tamales with Chipotle Chicken it’s guaranteed to add extra moistness, almost giving the tamales a rich, steamed-pudding texture. Of course, butternut adds color as well, and a gentle sweetness that’s perfect with the spiciness of chipotle chile in the simple chicken filling.

Ingredients 

Makes 12 to 14 tamales

One 8-ounce package dried corn husks

5 ounces (a scant 2/3 cup) fresh, rich-tasting

pork lard (we’ve also had pretty good luck using

Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening),

soft but not runny

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Salt

1 pound (about 2 cups) coarse-ground corn masa for

tamales OR 1 3/4 cups dried masa harina for

tamales mixed with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons

hot water

About 3/4 cup chicken broth for thinning the masa

and the optional second beating

2 cups shredded, peeled butternut squash (you’ll

need about 1/2 of a small squash)

1-1/2 cups very coarsely shredded roasted or grilled

chicken (thighs, rather than breasts, stay

moistest during the long steaming—starting

with raw boneless, skinless thighs, you need

4 to 6, about 1 pound)

2 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, seeded (if you wish)

and finely chopped

2 tablespoons of the chipotle canning sauce

Method 

1. Soak the corn husks. In a heat-proof bowl, pour boiling water over the corn husks. Lay a plate on the top to keep the husks submerged. Let them rehydrate for a couple of hours until pliable.

2. Prepare the batter. Measure the lard (or shortening), baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment if there is one, beat on medium-high until light in texture, about a minute. I n 3 additions, add the masa, fully incorporating each one before adding the next. 

3. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and slowly dribble in enough chicken broth (usually about 1/2 cup) to give the mixture the consistency of cake batter. Raise the speed to medium-high again and beat for another minute. 

4. The mixture has been beaten enough when it’s so fluffy that a 1/2 teaspoon dollop floats in a cup of cold water. Stir in the shredded butternut. If time allows, refrigerate the batter for 1 hour.

5. Prepare the filling, set up steamer for tamales. In a small bowl, mix together the coarse chicken shreds with the chopped chipotle and its sauce. 

6. Pour 1 1/2 inches of water in the bottom of a steamer: it needs to be large enough to hold 14 tamales; best if it’s at least 10 inches in diameter with 6 inches of depth for standing up the tamales, like a small Mexican tamal steamer, large vegetable steamer or deep Chinese steamer. 

7. Drain the husks, then choose 14 of the largest, most pliable ones—they should be at least 6 inches long and 6 inches wide (at the widest end). (If there aren’t enough large husks, you can overlap smaller ones.) 

8. Use several of the longest remaining cornhusks to tear into 1/4-inch strips for tying the tamales. Line the steamer basket with some of the remaining corn husks.