I made tamales this weekend. I used smoked pork butt instead of boiling... let me tell ya, they were awesome - got props as though I'd spent years mastering the making and it was my first time. If anyone is interested in the recipe I can post it.

Please do!

Do a once over an make sure you have all the necessities prior to getting started.

Large bowl
Cake spreader
Stock pot for steaming - I used my turkey fryer, worked great and didn't smell up the house.
Large table cloth or old sheet

Ingredients:
Large pork butt or two mediums
Maseca (corn meal flour)
Corn Husks
Salt
Pepper
Ground cumin (comino)
Garlic pepper
Chili powder
Paprika
Garlic Salt
Corn oil
Broth - store bought or own, ruffly 10 cups.


Step 1: The meat
The normal process is to boil a pork butt and chicken then use the water as the broth. I smoked the pork but and boiled a chicken but next time I'll just smoke additional pork and leave out the chicken all together. I smoked the butt till 205 and then pulled as normal. Set it aside

Step 2: Prepare the husk
I found the dried husks in the fruits and vegitable department at wal-mart. One package should be plenty - there's more in the package than you think. Soke the husk in hot (not boiling) water for a few hours until very soft.

Step 3: Prepare the corn paste
It's recommended that you cover the entire preparation area with a table cloth or old sheet. In a large bowl pour in half the bag of Maseca (2lbs). Add the following:
3 tbls paprika
3 tbls salt (I will likely cut this down to 1 tbls next time)
1 tbls Cumin seeds
3 tbls chili power
3 tbls garlic salt
Mix all the spices together well. Add add 2 cups of corn oil and then begin to mix ass you continue to add broth (approx 2 qts) until you get the paste to a consistency of thick peanut butter. It's easiest to mix with your hands while another adds the broth.

Step 4: Make the tamale
Once the shucks are spread them out on a towel on your preparation area. Using a cake spreader or what ever spreader you may have, spread about an 1/8" layer of paste on a shuck leaving the bottom 1" bare. Then add a row of pulled pork right down the center. Roll the shuck and then fold the end that is bare over. Stand them up in a steam pot as you go. We had an assembly line going. Two persons spreading the paste one person adding the meat, rolling, and stacking in the steam pot.

Step 5: Steam
My turkey fryer has two baskets - one for frying large foods and a basket with a handle for frying smaller foods. I removed the handle so that it would set down in the pot with the lid closed. I set the larger pot in first, added a few quarts of water, then set the smaller basket right on top of the other - keeping the tamales out of the water. Bring the water up to a hard rolling boing and then back the heat down to a medium roll. Steam them for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Make sure the tamales don't touch the water. Afterwards take one out and check for doneness, there should be no raw corn meal paste.

This batch yielded 47 tamales. For their support half will go home with our friends and I'll vaccum pack the others in packages of 6-8 each. I've been told that they'll last up to one year in zip-lock freezer bags and indefinetly in vaccum sealed bags. It'll be awhile but I'll add photos when I do the next batch.

Those that try it let me know what you think. I doubt I'm the first that's used que as the main ingredient but I was the first to introduce the like to my friends and they loved it!

Cheers to all!

Jim

Thanks Jim!

just ate my first batch of these. My wife modified it into a tamale pie, which removes the need for husks and the labor-intensive individual tamale making. It was unbelievably good; probably the best tamales I've ever had. Thanks for the recipe!!

quote:

Originally posted by dombey:
just ate my first batch of these. My wife modified it into a tamale pie, which removes the need for husks and the labor-intensive individual tamale making. It was unbelievably good; probably the best tamales I've ever had. Thanks for the recipe!!

Please post the changes to make the Tamale Pie it sounds like something I might ask the wife to make. Thanks

She followed the above recipe, but instead used slightly less water in making the corn paste. She then put about 1/2-3/4 thick layer of corn paste in the bottom & sides of a pyrex baking dish, put a layer of pulled butt on top, then covered in another 1/2-3/4 thick layer of paste. Baked on 375 for about 45 minutes; with 5 minutes left she added shredded pepper jack cheese to the top. Served it up w/ salsa.

WAY easier than packing corn husks!