Searching for a Good Tamale Recipe

This is not my recipe but I used it for my first time making tamales - careful on the chili powder. I still use the meat recipe for burritos and fajitas - yum!

I purchased a heavy duty colander from IKEA for about $8 and it worked great as a steamer. Need a big pan and I would recommend an additional helper or two to make it less time consuming and enjoyable - reason people do this as a family. Well worth the effort - good luck and happy eating!

Ingredients:
Pork roast (6 to 8 lbs.)
Large fryer size chicken (about 5 lbs.)
Salt
Black pepper
Garlic Powder (buy large size)
Ground Comino (cumin) (large size)in Seeds
Gebhardt’s Chili Powder
Paprika
4 lb bag Corn Masa (We like MaSeCa)
Real Corn Shucks

Cooking the meat:
1 pork roast (6-8 pounds)
1 large chicken (5 pounds)
Garlic powder (large bottle)
Chili Powder (We use Gibhardts but any will do)
Cumino (Cumin)
Corn Oil
The tamale meat is made from a combination of Pork Roast and Chicken. Below we show you how to prepare this combination.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A) Make the Masa Dough Mix:
Start with 2 lbs. of the Masa flour. It comes in a 4 lb bag, use half of it. Now, skim the fat off the broth that you saved from the Pork and Chicken we 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 2 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 into the Masa until it is completely incorporated. Mix well, as you don't want a clump of spices in a tamale.
Now add:
2 cups of Corn Oil
to the Masa and Spice mixture. After adding the oil, begin to slowly work in 2 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.
B) Prepare the Corn Shucks
Soak the shucks 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.

C) 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. For clarity now, we will present a series of pictures with the instructions so you can see just how the tamale is built (Click on Picture Thumbnails for an enlarged View):
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. The picture will help you see what we are trying for here. You need to leave the top and side uncovered so you can fold it up later. Now, go to the next shuck and do the same, laying them out on the counter as you put the masa on them. I like to do 5 or ten at a time like this.
When you have covered 5 to 10 of the shucks with Masa, it is time to add the meat. Take about 1 tablespoon of meat, and lay it on the masa about 1 in. 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. Roll the next one the same until all your shucks with masa on them are rolled.
Now, get more shucks and put masa on them the same way. Then roll the meat in them. Keep doing this until all the tamales are built. You will have about 4 dozen or more. D) Cook 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 (the steamer we use is pictured on the tamale ingredients page) . 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. Please note . . . those of you who forgot to save the chicken broth will probably be the ones to boil the tamales dry. I think you know who you are. Anyway, for the rest of you, 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.

Congratulations! You are now part of the few, the proud, the tamale cooks.

2 pounds beef shoulder roast
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 garlic bulb, cloves removed and peeled
4 ounces dried New Mexico chilies
2 ounces ancho chiles
2 ounces pasilla chiles
2 tablespoons cumin seed, toasted
1 tablespoons salt
2 bags dried corn husks, about 3 dozen
4 cups masa mix for tamales
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups reserved beef broth, warm
1 cup vegetable shortening

Beef; Season the beef shoulder all over with salt and pepper then brown in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Once browned on all sides, add enough water to cover the roast along with the 1 sliced onion and about 6 cloves of garlic.

Cook until the meat is fork tender and comes apart with no resistance, about 2 hours. When done, remove the roast to a platter to cool, reserve the beef broth. Hand shred the meat and set aside.

Sauce; To prepare the sauce, remove the tops of the dried chilies and shake out most of the seeds. Place the chilies in a large stockpot and cover them with water. Add the cumin, remaining sliced onion and garlic. Boil for 20 minutes until the chiles are very soft. Transfer the chiles to a blender using tongs and add a ladle full of the chile water (it is best to do this in batches.) Puree the chiles until smooth. Pass the pureed chiles through a strainer to remove the remaining seeds and skins. Pour the chili sauce into a large bowl and add salt, stir to incorporate. Taste to check seasonings, add more if necessary. Add the shredded beef to the bowl of chili sauce, and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Husks; go through the husks and sort by size and remove any silks or debris. Soak the corn husks in your sink filled with warm water until soft, about 30 minutes. (You can also soak husks in large bowls of water if you are not doing a lot of tamales).

Masa; In a deep bowl, combine the masa, baking powder, and salt. Pour the broth into the masa a little at a time, working it in with your fingers. In a small bowl, beat the vegetable shortening until fluffy. Add it to the masa and beat until the dough has a spongy texture.

Drain Husks; Rinse, drain, and dry the corn husks. Set them out on a sheet pan covered by a damp towel along with the bowls of masa dough and beef in chili sauce.

Spread Masa; Start with the largest husks because they are easier to roll. Lay the husk flat on a plate or in your hand with the smooth side up and the narrow end facing you. Spread a thin, even layer of masa over the surface of the husk with a tablespoon dipped in water. The easiest method of spreading masa is with a masa spreader (see side panel for how this is used) Do not use too much, keep the masa thin.

Add about a tablespoon of the meat filling in the center of the masa. Fold the narrow end up to the center then fold both sides together to enclose the filling. The sticky masa will form a seal. Pinch the wide top closed.

Fold; the sides of the corn husk to center over the masa so that they overlap to make a long package. Fold the empty part of the husk under so that it rest against the side of the tamale with a seam.

Steam; Place the tamales in a steamer and cook tamales for 2 hours. Check every 20 minutes. Do not let the water boil away. The tamale is cooked when it separates easily from the corn husk.

Serve; Unfold the husk and spoon about a tablespoon of remaing beef filling on top.

Christina's recipe is the same as mine. I just bought the stuff to make it yesterday. This is a great recipe and you can see pictures of the whole process at http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/Tamale_Recipe.htm .

Just beware of the chili powder. This recipe was too hot for my son, so I'm cutting back this time. This recipe also makes a lot of tamales. Plan to feed a crowd or to freeze some for another day. Enlist help it is truly a two day process. Prepare the meat on Day One, soak the husks overnight, and do the filling and steaming on day two.

Enjoy!

My recipe is to go to Luna's on Harry Hines, they have the best tamales in town without the work! :) I've never made them, but if you do decide to Luna's also sells the masa to make them yourself. Good luck!!

What a fun idea! Lots of work!

Good luck

We make tamales every year. we cook our beef and pork roast a couple of days ahead of making them. boil both. best thing to do is get an assembly line going. since there is a bit of work to making them, but very well worth it. shred the meats in a blender or food prosessor . there are lots of good tamales reipes online. good luck. W. Hamilton

I made them a few years ago and let me tell you...be prepared for a lot of work!!! They tasted great...I got the recipe out of Maya Angelou's cookbook. My best piece of advice would be to NOT do it alone. Recruit at least 2 helpers...make if a tamale party!!! Good luck!