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Plowboy
01-22-2007, 11:37 PM
Made three dozen tamales tonight. Masa wasn't looking right, but I couldn't figure out what I had done... forgot to add two cups of broth. Fark! They taste like meat wraped in dry biscut dough. Don't get me wrong, I'll still eat them, but they definately aren't worthy for sharing.
thillin
01-23-2007, 07:34 AM
top them with some chili con carne, or queso.
Plowboy
01-23-2007, 09:34 AM
top them with some chili con carne, or queso.

Oh, trust me. They'll be eaten. :-D Smoothered in queso, but by God they'll be eaten!
thirdeye
01-23-2007, 09:49 AM
Todd,

The sure fire way to make sure everything is copacetic with the masa is to form a couple of sliver dollar sized patties and put them into a medium hot skillet.

When you are forming the patty you get an idea of the "work-ability" of the dough.
As the patty heats, it should sweat out enough fat (lard, crisco etc) to brown itself and not stick to the pan. (if it sticks in the pan it may stick to the shuck)
The taste test will let you know if the salt level and moisture is right.BTW, have you worked with any of the chile powders yet?
Plowboy
01-23-2007, 09:56 AM
Todd,

The sure fire way to make sure everything is copacetic with the masa is to form a couple of sliver dollar sized patties and put them into a medium hot skillet.
When you are forming the patty you get an idea of the "work-ability" of the dough.
As the patty heats, it should sweat out enough fat (lard, crisco etc) to brown itself and not stick to the pan. (if it sticks in the pan it may stick to the shuck)
The taste test will let you know if the salt level and moisture is right.BTW, have you worked with any of the chile powders yet?

I know you've said that before. I actually did that AFTER I was done making about three dozen tamales. It was like mush in the pan. This batch really got screwed, but I have more fixins left in the freezer to make a couple dozen more.

Yes. I've tried the New Mexico Hot and Chamaya (sp?). Chamaya had a very garden smell to it. Like lawn clippings. :lol: Interesting how they can be so different. I've posted a review of the New Mexico Hot on my site. Should be live sometime this week. I've got new articles coming up each day, so I don't know when I scheduled it.