Tamale Recipe Using Parchment Paper

HOMEMADE BEEF TAMALES

Steps:

• Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add beef, green chiles, hot sauce, salt, 3 cloves garlic, onion, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until beef is thoroughly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and reserve the drippings.
• Combine reserved drippings, masa, lard, and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix well. Add up to 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until mixture is as thick as biscuit dough. Divide into 50 equal balls. Place dough balls between 2 cutting boards each lined with a sheet of waxed paper; flatten into circles.
• Place each dough circle into a corn husk. Spoon about 3 tablespoons beef mixture in a line across the middle of each husk. Top with a small amount of cheese. Fold opposing sides of the tortilla to overlap the filling. Roll the husk around the tamale and fold in one end.
• Combine the remaining 1 clove garlic, 1 cup water, and chili powder in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring chili sauce to a boil. Remove from heat.
• Stand a batch of the tamales, folded ends-down, in a steamer basket on top of a double boiler over simmering water. Bring water to a boil; cover and steam for 20 minutes. Remove tamales from heat; remove husks and top tamales with the chili sauce. Repeat with remaining tamales.

BEST AUTHENTIC MEXICAN TAMALES EVER!

Steps:

• Cook and Shred Pork Roast:.
• Start with 1 pork roast. Cut the roast into fist size chunks. Put the chunks into a Pan, and cover with water. Boil for about 2 1/2 hours or until it becomes really tender. After the meat is really tender, take it out of the broth to cool (Save the Broth, you will need it for the Masa!).
• After the roast chunks are cool enough to handle easily, shred them with your fingers. Try to remove and discard the fat as you go. There is no need to throw a lot of fat into the tamales. If you have cooked the roast chunks thoroughly, it will be easy to shred into small pieces with your fingers.
• Cook and Shred Chicken:.
• Cover the chicken with water in a large pot, and boil for 2 hours, or until the chicken is done and tender. Take the chicken out of the broth and allow the chicken to cool. (Save the Chicken Broth as well!) Remove and discard the skin. Take the chicken meat off the bones and shred the it into very small filaments. Discard any large chunks of fat.
• Combine Pork and Chicken:.
• Combine both meats in very large pan, and mix together. Make sure that the meats are thoroughly combined and mixed well. You are now ready to add the seasoning:.
• Add the Spices and Seasonings:.
• Mix the oil and seasonings listed below in a small pan and warm on the stove. Do not cook the oil and seasonings mix, but just gently warm on the stove.
• Meat Spices and Seasonings:.
• 1/2 c corn oil.
• 6 Tablespoon Gibhartds chili powder (Other Chile Powders will work).
• 3 Tablespoon garlic powder.
• 3 Tablespoon ground cumin (comino).
• 1 Tablespoon (or less) black pepper.
• 2 Tablespoon salt.
• When the oil and seasonings mix is warm, then pour over the meat and mix with your hands until it is completely distributed through the meat. It takes a good 10 minutes to get the mixture completely uniform.
• The meat is now finished. You should put the meat in the refrigerator covered until ready to make the tamales. Put both the chicken broth and roast broth into the refrigerator as well. You will need the broth when you make the Masa.
• Prepare the Corn Husks:.
• Soak the husks in a sink full of warm water for about 2 hours. You will need to carefully separate them when they get soft. Try to not tear or damage the corn shucks. It is easier to make the tamales if the shucks are in one piece.
• Make The Masa Dough Mix:.
• Start with 4 lbs. of the Masa flour. Now, skim the fat off the broth that you saved from the Pork and Chicken you made earlier. Throw the fat away, and save the broth. Warm the broth from the pork and chicken up. Don't get it hot, just nice and warm.
• Now put the 4 lbs. of Masa in a large bowl. Add the following dry spices to the Masa:.
• 3 Tablespoons paprika.
• 3 Tablespoons salt.
• 1 Tablespoon cumin seeds.
• 3 Tablespoons Gibhardts Chili Powder.
• 3 Tablespoons garlic powder.
• Mix the spices above with your hands into the Masa until it is completely incorporated. Mix well, as you don't want a clump of spices in a tamale.
• Now add:.
• 4 cups of Corn Oil to the Masa and Spice mixture. After adding the oil, begin to slowly work in 4 quarts of the warm chicken/pork broth, about a cup at a time. Work the mixture with your hands to make dough. Slowly add the warm broth one cup at a time as you continue to work the mixture with your hands. If it is too dry, add enough warm water to get it right for spreading. It should be about like thick peanut butter. If it is too thin add more Masa, if it is too thick, add more broth or warm water. Thick peanut butter is the consistency you are trying for.
• Build the Tamales:.
• After the corn shucks are soft, take some of them out of the water, shake the water off, lay them on the counter on a towel.
• Pick up a shuck, lay it across the palm of your hand with the small end toward your fingers. scoop up about 1/2 c of the Masa dough with a spatula, and then smear it on the shuck.
• Cover about left 2/3 of the shuck with Masa, leave 1/3 on the right uncovered. Similarly, cover the bottom 2/3 of the shuck, and leave the top 1/3 uncovered.
• Take about 1 tablespoon of meat, and lay it on the masa about 1 inches from the left edge.
• Starting on the left side (the side where the Masa dough goes all the way to the edge), roll the tamale all the way to the right edge. Now, fold the top of the shuck over like an envelope and lay tamale on the counter with the fold on the under side.
• Repeat until all the masa dough mix and meat mix are gone.
• You should have about 4 dozen or more tamales.
• Cooking The Tamales:.
• To cook the tamales, You need a very large pot that has something in the bottom to keep the tamales out of the water while they steam. Add about 3 pints of water to the pot, then start stacking the tamales upright until full. The envelope end of the tamale will be on the bottom, the open end of the tamale should be on top, as pictured at left. Continue to fill the pot. The tamales need to pack tight enough that they do not fall over and begin to unfold. Cover the pot, and bring the water to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low and cook for at least 2 hours. Check water several times and add more if it is getting low, you DON'T want to boil it dry. Add more water as you need to. When done, take one tamale out and leave it on the counter for about 5 minutes to test. Unwrap it and it should be firm, with no raw masa. When done, remove all the tamales and let them cool on the counter, then put in bags for the freezer, 6 to a bag. If you have one of those Vacuum sealers, those are ideal. You can save the tamales in the freezer indefinitely if they are vacuum sealed. If you use zip lock bags, they will stay for up to a year in the freezer.

BEAN AND CHEESE TAMALES

Steps:

• Put the oil into a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove half and reserve it for the tamale dough.
• To the pan with the remaining onions add the beans, hot sauce, chili powder and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. (Reserve 1 cup for the Round 2 Recipe, Bean and Cheese Chalupas.)
• In a large bowl combine the cornmeal, 1 teaspoon of salt and the baking powder. Cut the butter into the cornmeal using a fork or a pastry blender. Add the broth, a little at a time, until the dough comes together. Mix in the reserved cooked onions and garlic
• Cut parchment paper into 8 (8 by 8-inch) squares. Spread 1/3 cup of the tamale dough onto the center of the paper and lightly press it into a circle. Put a heaping tablespoon of the beans on top with a tablespoon of cheese. Bring the 2 corners of the paper at the ends of the rectangle up to encase the beans and cheese with the tamale dough. Fold the corners together a couple of times. Fold the other sides over to cover the seam and turn right side up. Continue this process with the remaining dough and filling.
• Put a steamer basket into a large pot and add enough water to come just below the basket. Cover the pot and put it over medium-low heat to bring the water to a simmer. Put the tamales in the steamer basket. Cover and steam the tamales until the dough is cooked through, about 1 hour, Check after 30 minutes, you may need to add more water to the pot. Remove the tamales from paper wrapping and serve warm.

CHICKEN & PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• 1. simmer chicken in one pot and pork in another, and add onion, green pepper, garlic, cilantro, adobo, cumin, salt & pepper to each pan.
• 2. simmer chicken till done remove from pan , cool , shred and remove fat, skin and bones, set aside, keep the broth.
• 3. simmer pork about 4 hours till very tender, remove from pan shred pork, set aside. keep the broth. Mix chicken and pork together, set aside.
• 4. rinse ancho peppers put in a large pot and fill with water, bring to a boil and simmer about 1/2 an hour, till peppers are soft. remove from heat and let cool.
• 5. when peppers have cooled ,tear pepper open and remove stem and seeds ,put peppers in food processor and set aside. Strain seeds from the water ancho peppers cooked in, reserving the water. add about 2 or 3 cups of ancho water to food processor and process till smooth, you can add more water if needed. set aside. reserve 2 or 3 tbs for the masa.
• 6. heat a large pan add 3 tbs oil and heat oil and add about half a cup of sofrito and a small can of tomatoe sauce , about 1/2 tsp adobo powder and 1 pack sazon. cook 2 or 3 minutes, add ancho paste , 1/2 tsp cumin and 2 tbs salt, add 4 to 6 cups of tomatillo/ jalapeno sauce. cook 5 minutes stirring constantly.
• 7. pour over chicken and pork and mix well, add broth a cup at a time, if it needs more , you want a saucey mix, the pork and chicken absorb a lot of the juices, simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes. set aside.
• 8. prepare the masa or use the already prepared masa for tamales. I prefer the prepared, I do add ancho paste and broth and some lard to the prepared also.
• 9. to make masa : in a large bowl beat lard for 1 minute,add 2 or 3 tbs of ancho paste, mix well. in a separate bowl mix together masa , baking powder and salt. alternating add masa and broth to lard beating well after each addition, add just enough broth to make a thick creamy paste,(about consistency of thick peanut butter) add broth just a little at a time.
• 10. spread masa on husks or parchment paper not too thin or too thick, add filling and wrap up folding the top and bottom over to close. with husks you can leave the top open, but you need to pay more attention to how you stack them in the steamer pot.
• 11. stack in steamer pot and steam for at least 1 hour. enjoy 8] I make the masa as I need it, and I make a large amount of tamales, everything can be adjusted as you need. You can do any filling that you like, I always just play around and add what I like 8]

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.

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.

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

REAL HOMEMADE TAMALES

Steps:

• Place pork into a Dutch oven with onion and garlic, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 hours.
• Use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from the chile pods. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Transfer the chiles and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture, stir in salt, and set aside. Shred the cooked meat and mix in one cup of the chile sauce.
• Soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water. In a large bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more broth as necessary to form a spongy dough.
• Spread the dough out over the corn husks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Place one tablespoon of the meat filling into the center. Fold the sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer. Steam for 1 hour.
• Remove tamales from husks and drizzle remaining chile sauce over. Top with sour cream. For a creamy sauce, mix sour cream into the chile sauce.