Mama Mauros Red Sauce Recipes

MAMA'S RED TAMALES

Steps:

• Prepare pork roasts by boiling the meat with about 2 tablespoons of garlic salt per roast. Use as many pots as you need to accommodate the roast. Cook the meat until fork tender and comes apart with no resistance. This usually takes about 2 hours. Reserve pork broth. Pull meat apart into chunks and refrigerate until ready to use.
• While the meat is cooking, clean dried chilies by removing the tops and discarding the seeds. Place pods into a bath of water and soak for a few minutes. While pods are soaking, fill a large pot halfway with water. Place your clean chili pods in the water and push them down until the water covers all. Bring to a boil and then simmer 34 to 45 minutes. When done, remove from heat.
• Transfer small bunches of the tender chili pods to a blender and blend on high until the pods turn to a liquid mixture. (The seed and skins will make the mixture seem a little chunky but that will be removed in a food mill.) Pour the chili sauce into a food mill which should be attached to a bowl or saucepan. Run the sauce through the mill until no more liquid is left in the top of the mill. Discard the leftover seeds and skin. Repeat this process for the remaining chili sauce until all of it has been run through the food mill. Next, add the ground cumin to the chili sauce. This sauce uses quite a bit of salt; add small amounts at a time, to taste.
• Once chili sauce is properly seasoned, add pork to the chili sauce. Stir until thoroughly mixed. No need to heat, just put the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Open packages of cornhusks and remove the silk from each husk. Place cornhusks into a sink filled with warm water. Let the husks soak for about 3 minutes. Remove the husks from the water and place on a cookie sheet and cover with damp towel to keep moist.
• Prepare masa according to the directions on the package, or buy pre-made masa, available at specialty ethnic food stores. Also try calling a Mexican restaurant, they may make it for you. To soften up the masa before you work with it, add approximately 2 cups of the reserved pork broth.
• Once softened, divide masa into deep bowls amongst the people helping. Press masa flat, down into the bowl, creating a flat surface. Take 1 cornhusk and lay it flat, add a large dollop of the masa onto the husk. Spread the masa out onto the leaf with the back of a spoon to create a thin paste like coverage, being sure to leave no holes. Place 2 tablespoons of the chili sauce/pork mixture onto the masa. (It?s best to keep a bowl of the sauce next to you at all times.) Fold the tamale bringing two sides together so that they slightly overlap, then fold the bottom up over the folded sides. Press down slightly on top of tamale while holding everything in place and the masa will act as a glue to seal the filling.
• Place tamales standing upright into a large double steamer. Steam for 2 hours. Remove tamales from steamer and let stand about 5 minutes. Pull off husk and eat. If desired, tamales may be frozen in plastic storage bags. To steam frozen tamales, just add 1 hour to the cooking time.

MAMMA MIA MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• In large saucepan or Dutch oven (at least 6 quarts), brown ground beef until no longer pink; drain.
• Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil.
• Reduce heat; simmer for 2-3 hours (the longer the better for my own tastes), stirring occasionally.
• If sauce tastes a little on the acidic side (from tomato sauce/paste), add the sugar.
• Serve over pasta!

MAMA'S QUAIL IN RED WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Tie the legs of the quail together with kitchen twine. Season the quail with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow dish and lightly season with salt and pepper. Coat the quail in the flour, shaking off the excess.
• To cook the quail, heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the quail without crowding and sear on both sides until the birds are a dark, golden brown color, about 3 minutes per side. Sprinkle thyme sprigs over the birds and transfer the skillet to the oven. Continue cooking until the quail are cooked through but still pink, an additional 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the quail to a warm platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep them warm.
• To make the sauce, pour off the excess oil. Place the skillet on top of the stove over high heat. Add the red wine and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is well reduced, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the stock and continue to simmer until reduced by half, an additional 5 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Whisk in the butter. Return the quail to the sauce and spoon over the sauce to coat. Serve immediately.

RED HOT MAMAS'S BBQ SAUCE

Steps:

• mix all ingredients in a saucepan.
• bring to boil on hi heat.
• reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
• good on all meats.