tamales

Dennis Turner said:

On 7/25/2005 12:03 PM or thereabouts, jmcquown appears, somewhat
unbelievably, to have opined:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

When I was a kid in California (a long time ago) We used to get big
fat tamales wrapped in corn husks and paper with string tying the
ends. We found them in the grocery store. Maybe they still have them
there. I would love to find a recipe that might come close to them.
Anyone here make tamales?

If you want to spend all day making tamales, knock yourself out 🙂
This recipe is from Pam, a sometimes poster and tamale fanatic:

Pork Tamales

4 - 5 lbs pork shoulder roast
Jill

My Cuban in-laws grow their own corn, harvest it, grind it fresh and
use
this rather than packaged masa mix. I have to say that freshly ground
corn in place of the mix makes for a MUCH more flavorful tamal
(singular
of tamales). They wrap them in the fresh green husks rather than the
dried ones from the grocery store. This probably adds flavor as well.
I
was never really a tamale fan until I tasted these. Now I can't get
enough of them.

Cuban tamales are also HUGE when compared with the typical Mexican
ones.
One tamal is a meal with these puppies. Getting hungry, now. Harvest
time is coming soon for the corn. Tamales making day is an all day
project for the entire family. Harvesting the corn, grinding,

(snippage)

How do you grind still fresh wet corn the same day? Or is it allowed to dry
(either on the stalk or not) and then ground? I'm confused by this although
I'm sure making your own "masa" is better than the mix.

There is a small restaurant not too terribly far from where I live where
they make tamales which don't use a corn-based dough at all. It's more of a
puffy floury thing but very moist dough, thick and filled with a lot of
spicy shredded meat (pork, chicken or beef). It's not served in corn husks
at all. I've never encountered this except at this one particular family
owned place. They are delicious.

And thanks very much to the OP for setting off a tamale craving!

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

Bob said:

Debbie said:

Anyone have any suggestions or recipes for the hot sauce Bob
mentioned for tamales?

I didn't mean to give the impression that the sauce was HOT; it
doesn't have to be. As mentioned elsewhere, an enchilada sauce is a
typical accompaniment. Here's an excerpt from the now-defunct
"Taqueria Tech" web site. It starts off by making shredded beef, and
uses leftover vegetables as the basis for an enchilada sauce:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shredded Beef
The first thing I do when trying a new Mexican restaurant is ask if
the quesadillas are made with flour tortillas and if the tacos are
made with shredded beef. If the answer to either is "no", I am
immediately suspect of the nature of the food.

(snippage)

Having worked with a woman who thought shredded meat in tacos was somehow
unnatural I have to agree with you. If it didn't come with ground beef in a
crunchy shell and packaged sauce packets (aka Taco Bell) she simply wasn't
able to accept it as a taco. I doubt she's ever tasted a tamale, canned,
jarred, frozen or otherwise (ground meat notwithstanding). Mores the pity
but it's her palate.

Jill

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 15:22:43 -0700, "Desert Rainbow" <[email hidden]>
wrote:

You don't just "slow cook pork for 11 hours". Pulling a large amount of
pork after it's been slow cooked is not zero effort. Putting the pork
together and preparing the dried/fresh peppers and the sauce you cook it is
is not zero effort. Mixing up the tamal with the pork lard to the right
consistency is not zero effort. And for someone who is new to the whole
process, making tamales is *a lot of effort*.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A real shortcut would be using already prepared pork from the
grocery store, and already mixed up tamal from a place that'll sell it to
you. Still you have the assembly and steaming, but it would be a lot less
work overall. Though you'd have less control over the quality of the end
product because you wouldn't be making the filling or the tamal yourself.

Freezer??? Using already prepared pork from the grocery store and
already mixed up tamal???
(Scratches head.)

Yes, in many parts of the world they have this really great invention
called "refrigeration". It keeps food cold so that it lasts longer. In some
cases the food gets so cold that it is "frozen" into a solid mass. When it
is like this, it keeps for a very long time without going bad. While it is
true that some foods suffer a degradation of quality during this process,
the "freezing" often makes it possible to safe time when assembling certain
foods and so the trade off of quality may be worth it to some people.

Additionally, some people are lucky enough to live in places where there
are businesses that supply mexican restaurants and average citizens with
ingredients. A few of those ingredients that some places supply are pulled
meats, freshly made masa, and/or tamal. One can take money (that one
usually earns by working) to these establishments, and trade the money for
the freshly made tamal, and bring it home, thereby avoiding the effort of
whipping up the lard and making the tamal oneself or pulling the pork.

By taking advantage of these two things (refrigeration and paying others
for some of the work), one can save some time and effort in the creation of
tamales, as I said, these would be actual "short cuts" not just spreading
out the work over a couple of days.

--
Siobhan Perricone
"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair; then I
thought, 'Wouldn't it be much worse if life *were* fair, and all the
terrible things that happened to us come because we actually deserved
them?' So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and
unfairness of the universe."
- Marcus, Babylon 5, "A Late Delivery from Avalon"

Jill said:

How do you grind still fresh wet corn the same day? Or is it allowed to
dry (either on the stalk or not) and then ground? I'm confused by this
although I'm sure making your own "masa" is better than the mix.

Remove the kernels from the cob and run them through a meat grinder or a
food processor. Yes, it'll still be wet. I've got a similar recipe for
tortilla masa.

Quoted message said:

There is a small restaurant not too terribly far from where I live where
they make tamales which don't use a corn-based dough at all. It's more of
a puffy floury thing but very moist dough, thick and filled with a lot of
spicy shredded meat (pork, chicken or beef). It's not served in corn
husks at all. I've never encountered this except at this one particular
family owned place. They are delicious.

According to a good friend of mine, Salvadoran tamales are white and are
cooked in banana leaves rather than corn husks. But I *think* the dough is
primarily made from white hominy, so it's still corn-based.

Puffy is good. I wonder how they achieve that. Hm...come to think of it,
what you describe sounds a lot like a Chinese bao (steamed bun).

Bob

"Siobhan Perricone" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 15:22:43 -0700, "Desert Rainbow"

<[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

wrote:

You don't just "slow cook pork for 11 hours". Pulling a large amount

of

Quoted message said:

pork after it's been slow cooked is not zero effort. Putting the

pork

Quoted message said:

together and preparing the dried/fresh peppers and the sauce you

cook it is

Quoted message said:

is not zero effort. Mixing up the tamal with the pork lard to the

right

Quoted message said:

consistency is not zero effort. And for someone who is new to the

whole

Quoted message said:

process, making tamales is *a lot of effort*.

Interesting that you reconstructed what I said in my posts here before
you submitted your comments. Nowhere was there any mention from me
of "zero effort," or cooking any sauce or using any lard either in
describing how I prepared the tamales or in the recipe I quoted from
Azteca/Gruma which I adapted.

Maybe you presume to have been in my kitchen instead of me and to have
done things quite differently than I did.

Anyone with some level of culinary familiarity could easily determine
that the *working times* which I mentioned in my prior posts are
consistent with the quantity and the preparation that I described.

Bob said:

Jill said:

There is a small restaurant not too terribly far from where I live
where they make tamales which don't use a corn-based dough at all.
It's more of a puffy floury thing but very moist dough, thick and
filled with a lot of spicy shredded meat (pork, chicken or beef).
It's not served in corn husks at all. I've never encountered this
except at this one particular family owned place. They are
delicious.

According to a good friend of mine, Salvadoran tamales are white and
are cooked in banana leaves rather than corn husks. But I *think* the
dough is primarily made from white hominy, so it's still corn-based.

That's entirely possible this is what these are but they are served without
any sort of husk (leaves) on them. They spoon a thick red gravy on top.

Quoted message said:

Puffy is good. I wonder how they achieve that. Hm...come to think of
it, what you describe sounds a lot like a Chinese bao (steamed bun).

Bob

Come to think of it, they look a little like bao except they are shaped like
really large tamales 🙂

Jill