Fusion: Peruvian Tamales with Pulled Pork and Brisket!

My father-in-law is from Peru and is an excellent cook.  Every year for Christmas he makes traditional  Peruvian dishes like Papa a la Huancaina, Lomo Saltado, Ceviche and Anticucho de Corazón.  But my favorite are his Peruvian tamales.  Peruvian tamales are wrapped in banana leaves rather than corn husks, are more flat than round, are traditionally stuffed with chicken or pork and are a bit more on the spicy side. 

This year I invited the master to teach me how to make these heavenly bundles to which he agreed. I studied, took notes, asked lots of questions and ended up putting my own twist on what otherwise is a fabulous latin dish.

We started with guajillo chile paste, garlic paste, pork stock, pork lard (all of which we made) and a big ol bag of banana leaves...

First, we melted pork lard in a pan...

Next, we fried the guajillo chile paste, garlic paste and cumin in the pork lard...

We then added this fried goodness to the masa...

We also addded pork stock. Masa is somewhat bland and benefits from added layers of flavor and moisture.

We mixed well and set aside...

Next, we placed the banana  leaves above a burner sweating the leaves making them more pliable and easier to fold...

We then spread the masa on a banana leaf and filled it with leftover smoked pulled pork, sicilian black olives and a roasted serano chile cut on the bias...

Repeated...but used leftover smoked brisket, a roasted serano chile and some homemade apple bourbon bbq sauce...

We then wrapped each tamale, tying them with kitchen twine...

These tamales will be boiled rather than steamed, so we  wrapped them tightly in aluminum foil as to not end up with soggy masa...

We dropped them in water and boiled 30 minutes...

Final product: pulled pork tamale with some hot sauce...

Fnal product: beef brisket tamale...

Me eating these things like there's no tomorrow.

The banana leaves impart a steeped tea-like flavor into the masa, which is really different from corn husks. Like I had mentioned, masa is somewhat bland and benefits from added flavors. The smoked meats penetrated the masa imparting a hint of smoky flavor throughout and the roasted seranos added a slight hint of spice, ok a lot of spice. The masa was extremely moist. This is one of the best dishes I've ever made and tpossibilities are endless.

Thanks for looking!