Cornmeal Tamales Recipes

EASY CORN TAMALES

Steps:

• Working in batches, add the corn kernels to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale. Add the egg, salt, and baking powder. Mix to incorporate. Add the flour and pureed corn and mix until blended and forms a loose smooth dough.
• Put a corn husk lengthwise in front of you with the wide side closest to you. Spread 3 tablespoons of the dough all over the bottom half (wide side) of the corn husk, leaving about a 1-inch-wide border on the left and right sides. Pick up the 2 long sides of the corn husk and bring them together. Roll both sides of the corn husks in the same direction over the filling.
• Repeat with remaining corn husks and dough. Arrange the tamales, seam side down, in a steamer and add 1/2-inch of water. Cover with a tight fitting lid, bring to a simmer and steam for 1 hour, adding additional water, as needed to maintain 1/2-inch of water in the pan. Remove the tamales from the steamer to a serving platter and serve.

CORNMEAL TAMALES

Steps:

• Combine the ground beef, seasonings, yellow cornmeal, and tomato sauce in a large bowl and mix well. Make 36 balls of approximately 2 tablespoons of the mixture, or 1 1/2 ounces per ball. Roll each ball into a cigar shape about 5 inches long. Fill a 9 by 12-inch casserole or cake pan with the dredging mixture. Dredge the individual meat "cigars" in the cornmeal until well coated. Place each cornmeal-coated "cigar" in a piece of paper and roll up the paper around the filling. In a large steamer pot, lay two layers of tamales and steam for 1 hour, covered. Serve hot.
• Variation - Mississippi Corn Bread Tamales:
• Add 1/2 cup water and a teaspoon of salt to 10 cups corn bread crumbs and work into a paste. Cover the meat "cigars" with the paste individually instead of dredging. Proceed as directed

HOT TAMALES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, kosher salt, paprika, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and cumin. Divide the mixture in half and reserve 1 half for later use.
• Cut the Boston butt into 6 even pieces and place into a 6 to 8-quart saucepan. Add half of the spice mixture and enough water, 3 to 3 1/2 quarts, to completely cover the meat. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the meat is very tender and falling apart, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the meat from the cooking liquid to a cutting board. Leave the cooking liquid in the pot. Both meat and liquid need to cool slightly before making dough and handling. Remove any large pieces of fat and shred the meat into small pieces, pulling apart with your hands or using 2 forks.
• Place a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Once shimmering, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are semi-translucent, approximately 3 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and remaining half of the spice mixture and continue to cook for another minute. Add the meat and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• While the meat is cooking, place the husks in a large bowl or container and submerge completely in hot water. Soak the husks until they are soft and pliable, at least 45 minutes and up to 2 hours.
• For the dough:
• Place the cornmeal, salt, and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and combine. Add the lard and using your hands, knead together until the lard is well incorporated into the dry mixture. Gradually add enough of the reserved cooking liquid, 3 to 4 cups to create a dough that is like thick mashed potatoes. The dough should be moist but not wet. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside until ready to use.
• To assemble the tamales:
• Remove a corn husks from the water and pat dry to remove excess water. Working in batches of 6, lay the husks on a towel and spread about 2 tablespoons of the dough in an even layer across the wide end of the husk to within 1/2-inch of the edges. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture in a line down the center of the dough. Roll the husk so the dough surrounds the meat, then fold the bottom under to finish creating the tamale. Repeat until all husks, dough and filling are used. Tie the tamales, around the center, individually or in groups of 3, with kitchen twine.
• To cook the tamales:
• Stand the tamales upright on their folded ends, tightly packed together, in the same saucepan used to cook the meat. Add the reserved broth from making the dough and any additional water so the liquid comes to 1-inch below the tops of the tamales. Try not to pour the broth directly into the tops of the tamales. Cover, place over high heat and bring to a boil, approximately 12 minutes. Remove the lid, reduce the heat to low, to maintain a low simmer, and cook until the dough is firm and pulls away easily from the husk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Serve the tamales warm. For a 'wet' hot tamale, serve with additional simmering liquid. Store leftover tamales, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, in the freezer, for up to a month. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and steam until heated through.;

TRADITIONAL CORN HUSK TAMALES

Steps:

• To prepare chile paste:.
• Break caps off all red chiles and shake seeds out. Soak red chiles in hot water until soft. Blend or process chiles into a paste using a small amount of water in which they were soaked to help it move in the food processor or blender. Put paste through a sieve to remove the skins. Throw skins away. This may be made way ahead of time and refrigerated until you make the tamales.
• To prepare meat:.
• Use the cheapest roasts you can find! Try to cook the meat the day before assembling tamales, keeping it in the refrigerator until tamale-making time. Cut meat into large chunks. Cover meat with water in a very large pot. Add 6 to 12 garlic cloves and 2 or 3 tablespoons salt. Cook meat, covered, for 3 hours or until meat is tender and falling apart. Remove meat from juice and shred. SAVE THE JUICE. Mix meat sauce with the meat.
• To prepare meat sauce:.
• Melt 2/3 cup lard or Crisco and add 2/3 cup flour. Boil for 2 minutes. Pour over shredded meat and mix. Add chili paste, one cup at a time, to taste. Add 1 tablespoon of cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• To mix masa:.
• Place 12 pounds masa (room temperature) in a very large pan and mix with 1 1/4 cups lard or Crisco, 2 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons baking powder, 1 cup chile paste and 2 cups meat broth.
• Mix with hands. Add more meat broth (about 1 cup). Add more chile paste for color if desired. Work all ingredients together with hands for about 10 minutes. The dough is ready when a small lump floats slowly to the bottom of a glass of water.
• To assemble tamales:.
• Soak corn husks in hot water until soft. Using the larger husks, place each husk waxy side up (ribbed side down). Spread masa onto each husk out to the wide edge. Place a small portion of meat in the center of masa. (You may place a stuffed green olive on the meat if you care to.) Roll husks and fold back, wide sides to center, then tapered flap up.
• Set a wire rack or vegetable steamer in the bottom of a large kettle. Put water in kettle just up to the bottom of the rack or steamer. Set tamales in kettle standing on end. Pack them in, allowing room for expansion of masa as they cook. Steam for about 20 to 40 minutes, or until masa pulls away from corn husk easily.

TAMALES

Steps:

• Place the first eight ingredients in a Dutch oven. Cover and bake at 325° for 3-4 hours or until meat is very tender., Meanwhile, place corn husks in a large kettle; cover with cold water and soak for at least 2 hours., Remove roast and shred meat with two forks; set aside and keep warm. Skim fat from pan juices; discard chilies. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced to 4 cups. , For filling, in a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, baking powder and salt; beat in water, 2 cups pan juices and shortening just until combined (bowl will be full). Refrigerate remaining pan juices., Drain corn husks and pat dry. (Until ready to use, keep husks covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent them from drying out.) Spread 3 tablespoons filling over each husk to within 1/4 in. of edges. Top each with 1/4 cup pork and 3 tablespoons filling. Using the husk to lift one long side, roll up filling. Enclose filling with husk; fold bottom end of husk over the top. , In a large steamer basket, position tamales upright with folded bottoms down. Place basket in a Dutch oven over 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 25-30 minutes or until cornmeal peels away from husk, adding water to pan as needed. Warm reserved pan juices; serve with tamales. Remove husks before eating.

HOT TAMALES (LOUISIANA STYLE)

Steps:

• Run onions, celery, garlic, and bell pepper through your food processor until they are finely minced.
• In a very large bowl, combine ground meat, minced veggies, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix together thoroughly using your hands. Add in the rotel, 1 cup of corn meal, and 1 can of tomato sauce; mix again. (You need to mix the wet ingredients in separately from the spices so that the spices don't all clump together in one spot.)
• Lay out your papers beside two baking sheets or trays. Add 1 cup of cornmeal to one baking sheet, to roll the tamales in (the other one is to stack completed tamales on.)
• Pinch off some of the meat mixture, and form into a ping pong sized ball. Roll it in the cornmeal, coating it as thick as you can. Place in the center of a tamale paper on one side, and roll. The ball should squish into a log, leaving an inch of the wrapper empty on either end. Press down the top of both empty ends, and fold the two sides of the ends in before folding them under the tamale.
• Repeat with the remainder of the meat mixture. After a few, you get the feel of how much meat it will take to fill the wrapper up enough. We got 75 tamales out of one batch, it depends on how big you make them.
• In a large dutch oven, pour in the 1/2 cup oil and 1 can tomato sauce. Cover with a layer of tamales, then a can of sauce, and a sprinkle of chili powder, repeating until you run out of tamales. Fill the pan with water until the tamales are just covered.
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 2 - 2 1/2 hours till done, adding water if necessary.

NOT-SO-CORNY TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; saute onion until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Add ground beef; cook and stir until beef is browned and crumbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Mix pinto beans and black beans into beef mixture.
• Sprinkle Mexican cheese blend over beef-bean mixture; stir. Mix diced tomatoes with green chile peppers into beef-bean mixture.
• Mix corn bread mix, milk, and eggs together in a bowl until batter is smooth. Spread batter over top of beef-bean mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cornbread comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.

OLD-SCHOOL TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef, onion, and bell pepper in the hot skillet until beef is browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease.
• Stir tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, olives, chili powder, garlic, cumin, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper into the skillet. Bring to a low boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup Cheddar cheese and continue to simmer until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish.
• Heat milk, butter, sugar, and salt for topping in a large saucepan over medium heat until butter has melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in cornmeal a little at a time, stirring vigorously with each addition, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Drizzle in beaten eggs slowly, stirring vigorously until combined. Pour mixture over filling in the prepared dish, smoothing evenly over the surface.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Allow pie to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

FRESH CORN TAMALES WITH CHANTERELLES

Steps:

• Place dried corn husks in warm water to cover for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat stock with 6 tablespoons oil to a simmer in a saucepan. Slowly pour in cornmeal, stirring constantly. Add 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste. Cook, stirring, about 30 minutes, until mixture is thick. Fold in fresh corn kernels, cook a few minutes, remove from heat and cover.
• Heat remaining oil in a skillet. Add chanterelles and sauté over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in chipotles. Season to taste with salt. Set aside.
• Drain soaked husks and pat dry on paper towels. Tear 16 long, narrow strips from fresh husks.
• Place a couple tablespoons of cornmeal mixture in center of a soaked husk. Place a scant tablespoon of chanterelle mixture in center of cornmeal. Fold husk up and over filling to make a neat package; tie with a strip of fresh husk. Repeat to make 16 tamales.
• Shortly before serving, line a steamer with fresh husks. Place tamales on husks and steam 20 minutes. To serve, snip ties and open husks. If desired, pass mayonnaise alongside.