Official Tamale Hot Line Thread...

i have found that lard tastes better in the masa than oil (duh...).

agree that you need to keep the consistency a little loose as it gets difficult to work with when too thick and doesn't steam as well either.

i think i will have to do the new years day tamale fest as well.... what a great idea!
 
for the best tasting masa/tamales use "manteca de puerco" instead of oil or lard. It is pork fat that has been heated to liquid, then cooled to solid state.
It will take your tamales to a whole new level.

it is pretty readily availible at a mexican market, if you have them around
 
Here is a pictorial of me making some in the summer.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26195&id=1223248104&l=0d3b4d88cf

you shouldn't have to be a facebook member to see the pics

I have no hispanic heritage, but have lived in Texas all my life. About 8 years ago, I decided I would learn to make them. I read some books and did a lot of experimenting. I believe I have come up with the best tamale recipe ever.
 
Cast Iron Cheif said:
911.....Must fix imediatly. Go to a bus stop or outside a factory and find the Mexican women holding shopping bags full of tamales. Get a dozen or more. You will be hooked.
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LOL, tad short on the Mexican workers other than outside of a crummy restaurant here :icon_smil
 
This thread really bites! I have been craving tamales since Jeanie made some weeks ago - now I am REALLY craving them. Can't wait to go to S. TX next month - hopefully my in-laws will have put some in the freezer for me. Yes, I know that's not as good as fresh, but seeing as how there is nowhere around here to get any tamales, they'll do.
 
Yakfishingfool said:
How do you make the masa concoction? There is lard and ???? Thanks. Scott
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10 ounces (1 1/3 cups) rich-tasting pork lard, slightly softened but not at all runny
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 1/2 cups dried masa harina for tamales mixed with 2 1/4 cups hot water
1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the lard or shortening with 2 teaspoons salt and the baking powder until light in texture, about 1 minute. Continue beating as you add the masa (fresh or reconstituted) in three additions. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add 1 cup of the broth. Continue beating for another minute or so, until a 1/2-teaspoon dollop of the batter floats in a cup of cold water (if it floats you can be sure the tamales will be tender and light). Beat in enough additional broth to give the mixture the consistency of soft (not runny) cake batter; it should hold its shape in a spoon. Taste the batter and season with additional salt if you think necessary.
For the lightest textured tamales, refrigerate the batter for an hour or so, then rebeat, adding enough additional broth or water to bring the mixture to the soft consistency it had before.




This is the best masa recipe i know. This is from Rick Bayless book. It will make about 3 doz or so tamales.
 
The masa I used said on the package it was for tamales, I used chix broth, shortning, and I added some of the pasilla sauce I made. I still got some left in the freezer.
empanadas011.jpg

empanadas018.jpg
 
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Got the masa mixed up as well as two fillings: Carnitas, poblano and salsa verde in one batch and chopped brisket, pureed chipotle and grated queso de freir in the others. I got some anchiotina (annatto colored lard) to add to the masa for the beef ones so I can tell them apart. So far so good!
 
For masa I use a 3:1 ratio for masa to lard. 3 pounds masa to one pound lard. Don't use oil, use lard, don't worry you won't die. If you have a mexican market near you can usually get either "preparada" (prepared, meaning they already mixed the lard for you) or no preparada, unprepared (pure masa).

If you get unprepared then you can add how much lard you want but the way to make sure you have enough is the "float test". After mixing lard with masa either by hand or with a stand mixer take a piece and if it floats in water then it's ready. Growing up the men in the family had to mix the masa in large buckets by hand, it was messy and tiring, masa and lard all stuck to your arms. I say F that, I use my Kitchen Aid and do 4 pounds at a time. We're getting ready to make some this weekend. Can't wait!

Edit: I almost forgot to add, make sure to mix in warm beef broth while mixing to get that peanut butter consistency. Start mixing masa and lard then ladle in broth slowly.
 
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First batch is steaming. Had to create a makeshift steamer to get enough room. Hopefully it works.
 
SmokeInDaEye said:
So I have a defrost bag of carnitas ready but my wife defrosted brisket slices instead of some shredded brisket point I was hoping to use. Should I chop up the slices and mix with some red chile sauce or I also have some thinly sliced prime rib. May get some poblanos and make some green chile and cheese ones too!
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You can try brisket, never had it in a tamale before but if you can keep the meat moist and somewhat shredded then it might work.

I'm not too confident in the prime rib option, medium rare meat in a tamale just doesn't sound right. With tamales the idea is to have a moist meaty filling within light corn flavored masa. The meat can be pork or beef but it's usually cooked and shredded. But hey this is a free country and who knows maybe someone will like it and you'll be making prime rib tamales with Giada while I eat crow! Good luck!
 
I make my beef tamales using a chuck roast
 
Funtimebbq said:
BobBrisket,

Thanks for starting this thred. My parents and 8 siblings are all from El Paso. In fact, every "Adauto" in the phone book is a relative.
My sister, wife and I made 5 dozen green chile, pork and cheese tamales last week. They are in the freezer until tomorrow night when we will steam them. Ours are made very similar to the way you described them. This year, I roasted a 30 pound box of Hatch, NM chilies, so they will be real hot. Can't wait.

Benny
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Benny,

I'll keep an eye an out for any Adauto in EP! Nothing like Hatch chiles. The green ones just don't taste the same without them. Your story about the "men mixing the masa by hand" brought back memories. I remember my grandpa and dad and uncles taking turns mixing the batch of masa that was usually 20 lbs or more. And the float test........it does work. I wish I had seen your idea about the black olive earlier. I love em and would like to have tried it. I make the green mostly for me. I prefer the green to the red and I like em HOT!!

SmokeInDaEye said:
I bought lard. Should I use a little less oil and add some in?
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Little late, but lard is best. There is an unofficial "tamale test". If you can squeeze the tamale out of the husk after it's cooked and it just slides out, then you used enough lard!!:-D Not the healthiest food lubricant, but the tastiest. Besides, it's only once a year. We got lots of time to burn off the extra calories.

All the tamales are looking great. You can use just about anything as a filling.
Once we started smoking the meat for the filling..........we never went back to using the oven or boiling. Smoked meat adds a whole nother falvor level.
 
So...it is that time for a rookie question...the outer shell is corn husk?
Can you eat that or is it something that only is used to hold the filling and for the steaming process?
Can you use something else like banana leaves for the wrap?
 
Phubar said:
So...it is that time for a rookie question...the outer shell is corn husk?
Can you eat that or is it something that only is used to hold the filling and for the steaming process?
Can you use something else like banana leaves for the wrap?
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yes, it is a corn husk. you don't eat it, it just holds it together.
banana leaves work good too.
 
The black olive in the mole with pork adds a nice flavor to the tamale.

Funny story, a couple years back I made some tamales when I lived in Colorado and gave some to my neighbor to taste. He came over the next day with a funny look on his face like he wanted to tell me something but wasn't sure how to bring it up. Finally he worked up the nerve to tell me that he thinks I accidentally dropped an olive in the tamale. I said, "Olive? What olive?". He turned kinda more pale then he already was. Big swallow, he says "there was an olive in the tamale.". I laughed and said "that's not an olive that's a cockroach! It's an authentic mexican tamale!". He believed it because over the years I had already fed him menudo and tripas at my place so a cockroach wasn't too far fetched! I think he wanted to pass out then I told him the truth that I meant to put the olive in there. It look him a little while to compose himself but we laugh about it now.
 
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