How to make Tamales

[Mephys 2]

When I visited Chicago for the first time my husband introduced me to Tamales....never had those before in Quebec and now I am addicted to it. He has a coworker that is part mexicain and he always brings us freshly made tamales from his aunt.

I would like to try to make them myself while I am at home waiting for AOS.

Any suggestion on how to make them, and what to put in it?

Me hungry

[Marilyn. 340]

i have no idea....

My hubby's family always has them at Christmas and I have watched them make them...

all I know is they have some kind of corn husks, and some kind of batter stuff and some kind of filling....

[JoeMama 0]

Don't you have to pull your pork?

[Marilyn. 340]

I found this....

The procedure to make tamales in Central and Northern Mexico goes as follows: A ball of masa about one-inch in diameter is spread, like butter, on the individual corn husk with a spoon. Then the filling (see below) is placed length-wise on the center of the husk; meats (chicken, pork) should be pre-cooked. The sides of the husk are folded and the newly made tamal is steam-cooked for an hour or until the masa has a cake-like consistency. The proportions of filling and masa vary widely according to taste. Once made, they can be frozen quite easily (the husks help to keep them from sticking together) and reheated as needed. Because of this, the making of tamales is often a social occasion, with friends and family all pitching in to help make hundreds of tamales to be shared out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamales

[Mephys 2]

I got the husks, I got the corn masa, and I got 20 lbs of pork that was roasted on the grill at our wedding from a full pig.

I'm looking more for tips about seasoning and cooking it

Thanks

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I love tamales! When I buy the pre-made ones, I'll just heat them in the microwave but the tend to be dry. Steaming them makes the maza moist.

[kisschick1976 0]

WOW! Homemade tamales in Chicago! Lucky! I only ever saw them in a can

You will need a couple of people to form an assembly line, it's lots of work! you will need corn masa (not corn meal.) and the filling can be pork, chicken, beef or beans. You can even make desert tamales but they are made differently. You boil the meat and retain the water. Use this water to steam your tamales in (oh yeah, you will need a big ### steamer) and to mix into the masa. As far as the actual recipe, my family just knows how to make it and I'm the kind of person that has to read a recipe, 'Just watch what I do' does not work for me.

Here's a recipe with pictures and all:

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/Tamale_Recipe.htm

Then you have to mail me some for quality control

[Mephys 2]

I tried some from the grocery, and also some from few restaurants around here, and the ones from my husband's coworker. I Tamales!

its just sometimes it is too spicy, sometimes not enough flavour, sometimes too much corn masa and not enough meat, or sometimes its not the best meat ever. So I wanna please myself and make them good

[Marilyn. 340]

I found this...

Ingredients

* 16 dried corn husks (about 8 inches long and 6 inches wide at the top)

* 2 cups masa harina tortilla flour

* 1 cup warm water

* 2/3 cup shortening

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1-1/2 cups Shredded Savory Pork (see Recipe Center)

* 2/3 cup Chili Colorado (see Recipe Center)

Directions

1. Soak the corn husks in warm water for 4 to 24 hours to soften. Pat with paper towels to remove excess moisture.

2. For tamale dough, in a large mixing bowl stir together tortilla flour and water. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes (mixture will appear dry). Beat shortening and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Gradually beat in flour mixture until combined (mixture should resemble thick, creamy paste).

3. Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium saucepan combine Shredded Savory Pork and Chili Colorado and heat through.

4. To assemble each tamale, spread about 2 tablespoons of the dough into a 5x4-inch rectangle on each corn husk, spreading a long side of the dough to the long edge of the wrapper. (If husks are small, overlap two small ones to form one.) Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the filling lengthwise down the center of the dough. Fold the long edge of wrapper over the filling so dough edges meet. Continue rolling up wrapper. Tie ends securely with pieces of corn husk or string.

5. Place a mound of extra corn husks (or a foil ball) in the center of a steamer basket. Lean tamales in basket. Bring water to boiling in a large saucepan; reduce heat. Place steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam for 40 to 45 minutes or until tamales pull away from corn husks, adding more water to saucepan as necessary. Makes about 16 tamales.

*******************************

Chili Colorado

Ingredients

* 12 dried ancho peppers or dried mild New Mexico red peppers (4 ounces)

* 4 dried chipotle peppers or 4 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, rinsed, drained, seeded, and finely chopped

* 3 cups water

* 1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)

* 1 tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

* 3 cloves garlic, minced

* 1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil

* 1-1/2 cups chopped tomato (2 medium)

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

1. Cut dried ancho or dried New Mexico red peppers and, if using, dried chipotle peppers. Open peppers; discard stems and seeds. Cut peppers into small pieces. Bring water to boiling; remove from heat. Add peppers and let stand for 45 to 60 minutes to soften. Do not drain.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook onion, oregano, and garlic in hot oil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.

3. Place half of the undrained dried peppers (and canned chipotle peppers, if using) and half of the chopped tomatoes in a food processor bowl or blender container. Cover and process or blend until nearly smooth. Strain through a fine sieve to remove pepper skins and tomato skins and seeds; discard skins and seeds. Repeat blending and straining with remaining peppers and tomatoes. Add strained mixture to onion mixture in skillet along with salt and cumin.

4. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or to desired consistency. Serve with huevos rancheros, enchiladas, tamales, or grilled meats and poultry. Makes about 2 cups.

Make-Ahead Tip: Spoon sauce into an airtight storage container. Cover and chill for up to 1 week.

Make-Ahead Tip: Wrap and freeze the cooked tamales in the corn husks. To serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Place the tamales in a steamer basket over gently boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.

[Mephys 2]

WOW! Homemade tamales in Chicago! Lucky! I only ever saw them in a can

You will need a couple of people to form an assembly line, it's lots of work! you will need corn masa (not corn meal.) and the filling can be pork, chicken, beef or beans. You can even make desert tamales but they are made differently. You boil the meat and retain the water. Use this water to steam your tamales in (oh yeah, you will need a big ### steamer) and to mix into the masa. As far as the actual recipe, my family just knows how to make it and I'm the kind of person that has to read a recipe, 'Just watch what I do' does not work for me.

Here's a recipe with pictures and all:

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/Tamale_Recipe.htm

Then you have to mail me some for quality control

yeah homemade are the best. she makes it spicy, or veggie and even dessert. She sells them to her neighbours and her nephew's coworkers for 12 for 10$ and she lives near by. She makes like 100 in one day. My husband has helped his coworker for many things and he is paying us back in tamales I found a recipe to make about 20-40 tamales for like a dinner and left overs. Shouldnt be too bad. We are planning on trying next week-end. So I wanna make sure we will have all the ingredients we need

[Marilyn. 340]

or this....

I’ve written pretty extensively about beef tamales earlier. They take a good deal of time to make, but I believe that if you use a great filling that they are well worth the effort.

If you’ve been following along and cooking with my recent posts, by now you should have one or more pounds of pre-cooked pork tenderloin, cooled on a plate, along with a pot of really tasty stock with vegetables cooling in the fridge.

Take your stock out of the fridge and spoon the congealed grease off of the top. Now dip out a couple of cups of the liquid, along with a cup of the carrots, onions, etc. and process the mixture in your blender or food processor. You want the vegetables in little bitty teeny tiny chunks.

Place the pork tenderloin on the cutting board and slice it across the grain into ½” pieces. If you did things right it should crumble into shreds while you’re doing this step. If not, tear the slices up into small pieces with your fingers.

Next comes the final seasoning—Menudo. I think that Menudo is Mexican for “every darn savory spice in your pantry” or something like that because that’s what’s in it. I found this recipe on the internet. I didn’t have all of the spices and I didn’t want SEVEN CUPS of Menudo seasoning, so here’s what I made up:

2-1/2 tbsp ground cumin

1-1/2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp granulated garlic

1 tbsp onion powder

½ tsp powdered mustard

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

This should be more than enough seasoning for the pork and the chicken. I added three table spoons worth to my one pound of shreded pork.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium low heat on the stove top.

Add your pork/spice mixture and sauté briefly, then add your processed stock and one can of chicken stock. You can also dice up some canned Chipolte peppers in Adobo sauce and add them to the mix at this point if you want. Careful with the Chipolte’s—they’re hot…

Stir everything up and let it simmer until the mixture is the consistency of “sloppy joes.” You want it wet, but not “dripping wet.”

When the mixture has reduced, you can either let it cool and place it in the fridge overnight, freeze it, or jump back to the beef tamale recipe and substitute “pork” every where you see “beef”.

http://theredneckgormet.blogspot.com/2005/...le-filling.html

[Mephys 2]

thanks Marilyn that sounds good!

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

Don't you have to pull your pork?

um no comment

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I tried some from the grocery, and also some from few restaurants around here, and the ones from my husband's coworker. I Tamales!

its just sometimes it is too spicy, sometimes not enough flavour, sometimes too much corn masa and not enough meat, or sometimes its not the best meat ever. So I wanna please myself and make them good

That's my experience also. My family would buy a few dozen tamales around Christmas time - usually from somebody that made them in their home. Those always tasted the best.

[William33 110]

I am hoping someone from Mexico will be nice enough to post an authentic recipe....I love tamales..