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Venezuelan Hallacas or tamales on a banana leaf on top of a white plate
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Hallacas (Venezuelan Tamales)

Recipe for Venezuelan Hallacas, this tamal style dish is made with a corn masa filled with a meat stew, olives, raisins, capers, and more. They are wrapped and steamed in banana or plantain leaves.
Course Lunch, Main dish, Side Dish
Cuisine Latin American, South American, Venezuelan
Keyword Christmas, Corn masa dough, Guiso de carne, Hallacas, Holidays, Meat filling, Tamales, Traditions
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 6 hours
Servings 20 hallacas

Ingredients

For the achiote and annatto oil:

  • 2 cups of oil
  • ¼ cup of achiote or annatto seeds
  • 10 garlic cloves peels on

For the meat filling:

  • 1 kg of beef chopped into cubes
  • ½ kg of pork cut into cubes, it can be pork shoulder/leg or loin
  • ½ kg of pork ribs cut into chunks
  • 1 lime
  • ¼ cup of the annatto oil from above
  • 1 ½ cups of white onion finely chopped
  • 1 cup of sliced scallions
  • 10 crushed garlic cloves
  • 1 cup of diced tomatoes not too ripe
  • ½ cup of sweet bell pepper finely chopped
  • ¼ cup of drained capers
  • ¼ cup of green olives
  • ½ cup of chopped pickles
  • 3 tablespoons of grated brown sugar papelon, panela, piloncillo
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 2 tablespoons corn flour
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 cup sweet wine optional

For the hallaca masa or dough:

  • 1 ½ kg precooked yellow corn flour can use P.A.N brand or another similar brand
  • 1 cup annatto oil from above
  • 12 cups warm chicken broth

For the decoration of the hallacas:

  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 2 white onions
  • ½ cup capers 2 per hallaca
  • 1 cup olives 1 per hallaca
  • ¾ cups seedless raisins 3 per hallaca
  • ¼ cup drained pickles optional
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts optional

To assemble and wrap the hallacas:

  • 4 kilos of banana leaves
  • 1 roll of kitchen twine
  • ¾ cup annatto oil
  • A handful of salt
  • Enough water to boil

Instructions

Preparation of the achiote or annatto oil:

  • Lightly crush the garlic and place in a small pot with the oil and annatto seeds.
  • Bring to a low boil for a few minutes.
  • Remove from heat and let cool.
    Oil simmering in a saucepan with garlic and annatto seeds.
  • When it reaches room temperature, strain and discard the seeds.
  • You will use this achiote oil several times throughout the process of preparing the hallacas.

To prepare the meat filling:

  • Wash the beef very well and remove any excess skin or pieces of fat. Dry with paper towels and set aside. Wash the pork and rub it with lime juice; let it rest with the lime juice for about ten minutes and rinse again.
  • Place the annatto oil in a large pot, and then add the onion, scallions, and garlic; sauté for a few minutes, and add the sweet pepper and paprika. With the help of a large spoon, remove the seasonings from the pot and raise the temperature to high.
    Aromatics sautéing in a saucepan with a wooden spoon.
  • In the same pot, place the pork and seal it over high heat. Remove it and set aside along with the seasonings. Repeat this procedure for the beef and ribs.
    Pork cooking in the same pot with the aromatics.
  • Return the seasonings and all the meats to the pot and add the rest of the ingredients: the tomato, papelon or brown sugar, olives, paprika, corn flour, beef broth, and wine. Using a spoon, preferably a wooden one, mix all the ingredients. Cook over low heat for approximately 90 minutes.
  • Finally, add the capers, parsley, and pickles; mix well and continue cooking over low heat until most of the sauce has thickened.
  • When the meat stew is ready, let it rest for about two hours before using it. Then carefully remove the bones from the pork ribs, and the meat filling is ready.
  • Note that the stew does not contain salt; in most cases, the salt from the olives and capers is enough. However, when it is ready, taste it and adjust the salt if needed.

To prepare the hallaca masa or dough:

  • In a very large container or bowl, add 10 cups of chicken broth, and slowly incorporate the precooked corn flour; if possible, do this with the help of another person, which will allow you to knead with both hands.
  • Add the annatto oil and continue kneading until you obtain a homogeneous consistency. If necessary, add the remaining two cups of broth little by little.
  • Transfer the dough to a flat surface and continue kneading. If the mixture is still sticky, sprinkle with corn flour until it no longer sticks to the surface.
  • When the dough has a nice smooth consistency, form twenty balls of similar size and keep them covered on a plate until you assemble the hallacas.

To prepare the garnishes or decorations for the hallacas:

  • Peel the onions and cut them into thin round slices.
  • Remove the veins and seeds from the red bell peppers. Cut them into thin round slices.
  • Shred the chicken breast into large pieces, about twenty pieces or one per hallaca.
  • Drain the capers, the olives and the pickles.
  • Save these garnishes to decorate the hallacas.

Instructions for assembling, wrapping and cooking the hallacas:

  • Wash the banana leaves under the running water and dry them with a clean kitchen towel. You must separate the leaves into three parts according to their size. The largest will be used as the base for the hallaca dough and filling. The medium leaves will serve as a cover or lining, and the smallest will be used as belt/girdle to help close the hallacas. When the leaves are separated and ready place them on your assembly area, along with the rest of the ingredients.
  • You should have the banana leaves, the meat stew or filling, the garnishes, the masa or dough, and the annato oil.
    Components for assembling and wrapping hallacas on a kitchen counter
  • To assemble each hallaca, starting by taking a large banana leaf, rub some of the annatto oil on the leave (with your fingers or a brush), then place a dough ball in the center and gently flatten it with your fingers, spreading it until you have a round patty of about 3mm thickness.
  • Next, in the center of the flattened dough patty, put three large tablespoons of the meat filling. Then on top of the meat filling, add an onion slice, a red bell pepper slices, two capers, an olive, two raisins, and a piece of shredded chicken.
    Banana leaf with a circle of corn dough in the middle that is topped with meat and toppings
  • Lift the two ends of the banana leaf, one with each hand and gently join them together. Make sure to do this in a way that keeps the filling/garnishes are in the center, and roll it up carefully until it is nice and tight.
    Banana leaf with a circle of corn dough in the middle that is topped with meat and toppings, with a hand starting to roll the leaf up.
  • Fold the edges of the rolled large banana leaf with the hallaca preparation in the center. Then use one of the medium banana leaves as a cover that goes over the folded edges.
    Hands gently folding up the banana leaf around the filling.
  • Next use the smallest/thinnest pieces of thebanana leaves to wrap around the hallacas.
    Hands gently folding up the banana leaf around the filling.
  • Use kitchen twine to wrap around andhold everything in place. It is recommended to wrap the wine around three timesin both directions.
    Hand using twine to tie the hallaca tightly together.
  • Fill a large pot with water, the water should be at the halfway mark, add some salt and bring the water to a boil. When the water is boiling, carefully add the hallacas and cover the pan with a tight lid. Cook with the hallacas with the lid on for 45 minutes.
  • When the hallacas are fully cooked, remove them gently with a slotted spoon and them them cool down on a baking rack (to allow any liquid to drain).
  • The hallacas can be kept refrigerated for up to one week. You can also freeze them if you want to keep them longer.
    Side view of the hallaca cut in half to show the inside.