Has anyone ever used barbecued meats for tamale fillings? If so, how did you
mix the filling... with a sauce, just dry, other ingredients?

MartyB in KC

On Jan 27, 8:47*am, "Nunya Bidnits" nunyabidn...@eternal-
september.invalid wrote:
Has anyone ever used barbecued meats for tamale fillings? If so, how did you
mix the filling... with a sauce, just dry, other ingredients?

MartyB in KC

Marty, down here in San Antonio, we kill for tamales. Why just this
year we had another stabbing because someone cut in the two hour long
line at one of the tamale factories we have.

Tamales are serious business here, and they are viewed as a Christmas
tradition, but more than that, essential to any good New Year's
celebration. Our largest plant here said they literally sell millions
a year. We have several plants that make nothing but tamales, and
stores that sell nothing but tamales as well.

But some of the little cafes and diners we have also make their own,
too. These guys use everything.

Bean and cheese tamales. Pulled pork (cooked traditionally in an oven
till falling apart), ground pork, chicken, beef, taco seasoned meats
and on an on.

But brisket tamales are a favorite of mine. About a month ago I had
some brisket tamales that came from a small cafe here. I had not had
them in a long time as folks don't want to take the time to cook the
brisket and shred it to get it into a tamale. But for a few extra
bucks... they do it.

They smoke the brisket as normal, using a extra spicy rub. The flat
side of the brisket goes to brisket tacos which are sold separately.

The fatty point goes to the tamale mix, chopped/shredded with a fair
amount of spiced/burnt/smoked fat tossed in. Another dose of rub is
added, just a good powdering before hand mixing.

Then it is business as usual. The steaming process used to cook the
masa gets all the newly added rub into the masa and meat.

Good stuff.

Robert

said:
On Jan 27, 8:47 am, "Nunya Bidnits" nunyabidn...@eternal-
september.invalid wrote:
Has anyone ever used barbecued meats for tamale fillings? If so, how
did you mix the filling... with a sauce, just dry, other ingredients?

MartyB in KC

Marty, down here in San Antonio, we kill for tamales. Why just this
year we had another stabbing because someone cut in the two hour long
line at one of the tamale factories we have.

Tamales are serious business here, and they are viewed as a Christmas
tradition, but more than that, essential to any good New Year's
celebration. Our largest plant here said they literally sell millions
a year. We have several plants that make nothing but tamales, and
stores that sell nothing but tamales as well.

But some of the little cafes and diners we have also make their own,
too. These guys use everything.

Bean and cheese tamales. Pulled pork (cooked traditionally in an oven
till falling apart), ground pork, chicken, beef, taco seasoned meats
and on an on.

But brisket tamales are a favorite of mine. About a month ago I had
some brisket tamales that came from a small cafe here. I had not had
them in a long time as folks don't want to take the time to cook the
brisket and shred it to get it into a tamale. But for a few extra
bucks... they do it.

They smoke the brisket as normal, using a extra spicy rub. The flat
side of the brisket goes to brisket tacos which are sold separately.

The fatty point goes to the tamale mix, chopped/shredded with a fair
amount of spiced/burnt/smoked fat tossed in. Another dose of rub is
added, just a good powdering before hand mixing.

Then it is business as usual. The steaming process used to cook the
masa gets all the newly added rub into the masa and meat.

Good stuff.

Robert

We have a few little tamale shops around here, and a business called Jim's
Famous Tamales which originated as a downtown lunchtime street cart vendor.
There's the usual mass produced frozen stuff, but it's never worth eating.
I'd rather eat a can of Hy-Power tamales than that crap. But there's nothing
at all here like what you describe, at least not that I know about. Of
course there's plenty that goes on in the lower West Side us gringos aren't
privy to, although I have ferreted out some great markets, like a Price
Chopper that caters almost exclusively to hispanics. But you, you live in
food Nirvana.

Do you ever make them yourself? I'm trying to parse the various recipes for
preparing the masa (although I could have bought premade tamale masa mix
ready to go in a 5 lb ball, but I want to see if I can do it myself).

I have "instant masa" which basically is just corn and lime. Do I need to
add shortening as well as water/stock, or just the liquid? I'm reading it
both ways depending on the source.

I'm looking at a family cooking page where the mamacita boils up a hogs
head, the family shreds the meat up, the kids play with the jawbone, and
then she stews the meat in chile colorado sauce. Most of the recipes I've
seen call for boiling the pork with onion, garlic, peppers, and spices,
rather than roasting. It's a cool set of pages soneone turned me on to on
alt.food.mexican-cooking at http://rollybrook.com/tamales.htm .

Check out the pineapple tamales, they must be awesome.

I'm still a little confused, but getting close to taking my maiden voyage
into scratch tamales!

I'm thinking after the pork and the chicken, maybe braised short rib meat...

MartyB in KC

On 27-Jan-2010, "Nunya Bidnits"
wrote:

Has anyone ever used barbecued meats for tamale fillings? If so, how did
you
mix the filling... with a sauce, just dry, other ingredients?

MartyB in KC

Tamales no! Tacos, enchiladas and burritos regularly. Dry is good for
tacos, not so good for burritos and I would say bad for tamales. A
couple of recipies I looked at called for mixing the pork with chili sauce
before assembling the tamales. There's a lot of recipies available for
pork tamales. I'd recommend screening a few for ideas and then jump
in and get your feet wet. You've been cooking for a day or two. How
bad can you screw it up?

--
Brick (Youth is wasted on young people)

Brick said:
On 27-Jan-2010, "Nunya Bidnits"
wrote:

Has anyone ever used barbecued meats for tamale fillings? If so, how
did you
mix the filling... with a sauce, just dry, other ingredients?

MartyB in KC

Tamales no! Tacos, enchiladas and burritos regularly. Dry is good for
tacos, not so good for burritos and I would say bad for tamales. A
couple of recipies I looked at called for mixing the pork with chili
sauce before assembling the tamales. There's a lot of recipies
available for pork tamales. I'd recommend screening a few for ideas
and then jump
in and get your feet wet.

That's been the plan, it's time to get off the schneid. I'm pretty
comfortable with the filling recipes and methods at this point and
experimented last night with a filling since I was making chicken soft tacos
anyway. Basically the chicken is boiled with onion and garlic, then
shredded, and sauteed with green chiles, chipotle in adobo, pickled
jalapeno, cumin and epazote. I usually add a liquid to taco meat and then
let it cook down til it almost evaporates out to help meld the flavors. The
only difference I think for chicken tamales will be to leave it a little
more moist, and either substitute or add some roasted poblano pepper and a
bit of lime juice. Just not sure about whether to add lard or shortening to
the masa mix or not, otherwise I'm pretty comfortable. I even bought one of
the stainless tamale steamers.

You've been cooking for a day or two. How
bad can you screw it up?

LOL... it is depended on how much drinked I are.

;-)

You're right though. Onward!

MartyB in KC

On Jan 27, 12:47*pm, "Nunya Bidnits" nunyabidn...@eternal-
september.invalid wrote:

There's the usual mass produced frozen stuff, but it's never worth eating..

They have frozen tamales around here, but in the store, they are
considered "emergency" rations, and at home they are known as "left
overs from Christmas".

They actually carried a pretty good tamale packed in a frozen dozen
pack at Sam's at a good price. But since no one wanted to be seen
with them, they were pulled after a few months. No kidding.

Of
course there's plenty that goes on in the lower West Side us gringos aren't
privy to

YOU BETCHA! I just bought 9 pounds of jalapenos to freeze and smoke
until they come back fresh in the garden for $3. Bought some pasillas
and another package of peppers no one recognized as well. It is the
end of the growing season as of about two weeks ago, and the little
stores are filled with peppers that have been stripped of the plants
before they were pulled out of the ground.

But you, you live in
food Nirvana.

Silly as it sounds, I believe it! I am completely addicted to Mexican
food, the real stuff as well as Tex Mex. And real Texas beef
barbecue... good stuff. Best of all, with our mild weather (I am
typing this now and it is 9:15 at night and about 60 degrees) we can
open up the house and cook all kinds of garlic, onion, pepper, etc.,
recipes as we want.

Do you ever make them yourself?

I have made exactly one. Around here, (not to sound or to be sexist)
tamales are considered a woman's domain. Traditionally, there is a
large party of family and friends (all female) and a lot of alcohol.

Everyone brings ingredients, and they all sit and gab (remember,
holiday season) and drink and make tamales. Having more than one
Hispanic girlfriend, this was a tradition among the more "old school"
families.

One of my girlfriends had a large family, and about eight "aunts".
They thought nothing of making 1200 - 1500 tamales for their
respective families at a sitting! The only thing that held them back
was the time they needed to steam them. They usually did this twice a
year. Just before Thanksgiving, and just after.

Before you think "no way....", that's only about 14 - 15 dozen a
piece. That's nothing. I can eat almost a dozen by myself. Gimme
some time and some suds, a dozen is nothing. Serve them with some
home made salsa or pico de gallo, and a dozen could be a warm up.

Now think of a family of people that look forward to them all year.

It isn't unusual for folks to run short, or in the less traditional
families to not make them at all. These guys often have a 2 - 3 hour
line wait to get to the counter when it is the season. The lines are
protected by regular San Antonio Police, and still, we had a stabbing
death this year for cutting in line.

http://www.delicioustamales.com/store/home.php

Pretty good tamales there. Be sure and click on the "place order
button". You can see that they sell as many as 200 dozen AT A TIME!!
Yes, at once. The normal order during the holiday season is about 10
dozen, and they are packed in 5 gallon tins hot from the steamer, with
a 5 dollar fee for the tin.

But for the guy stuck in line, he may be the front man for the
family. He may be there with his van or truck and wind up getting
several tins before he leaves.

Once again, it is serious stuff down here.

This site is supported by Bolner's spices, which is why all the spices
etc., are Bolner's, Gephardt's (their spices are packed on the same
line), and Fiesta brands.

http://www.texmex.net/Recipes/tamalemaking.htm

This is as authentic as it gets, except for the fillings. Pork
shoulder and any other kind of meat is fair game. But the fussing
over the peppers, etc., is strictly the province of the restaurant
community or home tamales makers. No one else is that fussy.

I'm trying to parse the various recipes for
preparing the masa (although I could have bought premade tamale masa mix
ready to go in a 5 lb ball, but I want to see if I can do it myself).

I have "instant masa" which basically is just corn and lime. Do I need to
add shortening as well as water/stock, or just the liquid? I'm reading it
both ways depending on the source.

Check out the above page. Around here, people feast on tamales like
some folks do on pizza. So it takes a lot of time and effort to make
as needed so corners are cut when flavor isn't sacrificed. This
covers all aspects of preparation.


I'm looking at a family cooking page where the mamacita boils up a hogs
head, the family shreds the meat up, the kids play with the jawbone, and
then she stews the meat in chile colorado sauce. Most of the recipes I've
seen call for boiling the pork with onion, garlic, peppers, and spices,
rather than roasting. It's a cool set of pages soneone turned me on to on
alt.food.mexican-cooking athttp://rollybrook.com/tamales.htm.

Looks like good stuff, but not necessarily authentic Tex Mex. Not
that it matters! Folks here roast, braise, and barbecue the pork to
get what they want. Mostly, it is braised in an oven in a large heavy
pan starting the day before so it can cook all night.

By the time the "tias" are there late morning, the meat has had enough
time to cool a bit before shredding. Most of the time, the tamales I
see here are made from shredded meat that has been seasoned again,
then run through a very coarse bladed sausage grinder.

By making many pounds of filling, it is easy enough to take aside a
bowlful and dose it up with additional jalapeno, cayenne, white
cheese, chipotle, or a shot of beans by simply adding to the meat
base.

The sausage grinder really seems to help the meat, fat, and and spices
meld together well. Not to mention the fact that when the elected
rollers get their spoons going they can scoop the filling up (right
amount every time) and put it right in the masa in a long deposit, not
fooling around with the shreds of meat sticking out.

The making of tamales among the aunts is a thing of beauty to see, and
it only comes from years of practice together.

Everyone shows up with their required equipment and materials. They
know where to sit at the table, so they are in the right order of
things.

Someone prepares the shucks. Someone prepares the meat, and someone
prepares the masa. While the process of making the actual tamales
starts, there is always someone doing these functions and preparing
the assembly line.

Out come the husks and they are separated, then handed on. The next
person applies the masa with the correct spoon size to the shuck (the
shucks seem a little large/small this year..), and hands it on. The
next one applies filling, again with the correct spoon, and passes
it. The last one rolls the tamale (harder than it sounds, and if they
are over/under filled, it is a ****er) and puts it in a stack. The
stack is reduced when the steamer is fully loaded (Google tamale
steamer) and reloaded. When they are hitting big production numbers
(2000?) needed for a few families, it isn't unusual for there to be
two steamers.

A packer puts them in zip lock bags or foil the minute they can be
handled, and they are put in an ice chest, a dozen to a pack.

Along the way... "beverages" are made. Sometimes homemade salsa is
made.

And when one end of the line slows the others know where to pick up
the slack.

This is NOT a safe place to be if you are a man, or even if you aren't
trained and experienced. If you are a guy, this is a good time to
make yourself either useful doing something else, or just invisible.

I'm still a little confused, but getting close to taking my maiden voyage
into scratch tamales!

I'm thinking after the pork and the chicken, maybe braised short rib meat....

Personally, I would go with the pork, and grind it up as above. You
would be surprised how much filling and rolling technique contribute
to making a good tamale.

Baby steps.... only one of my old girlfriends could ever make good
tamales.

I hope you post here and let us know how it comes out!

Robert

On Jan 28, 11:55*pm, "Nunya Bidnits" nunyabidn...@eternal-
september.invalid wrote:

Just to show how complex this can be, check out this post from a guy named
Walt Lewis who put this up today on the mexican cooking NG... completely
different technique, but still interesting.

*snip*

Read the recipe. Like so many other recipes of this sort (including
barbecue!) it depends on where you are as to what you get when you
order.

When visiting the coast on a resort tour, one of my friends actually
got tamales made the way Rick Bayless does (the guy on "Mexico: One
Plate at a Time") in his show. They had the meat mix, and the "tamal"
was wrapped in a banana leaf and tied with some kind of twine, then
steamed.

He was kind of freaked out; he thought they brought him something he
didn't want. The tamales he had were much less spicy than our local
fare, and not nearly as greasy. He told me he felt like he was eating
a health food store tamale. He didn't like the smell of the steamed
leaf.

Of course when visiting my sister in California, I found the Mexican
food in general to be awful. Sprouts abounded on plates, sour cream
and chopped tomatoes topped just about everything, lots of black bean
dishes, and of all the things.... black olives in the food.

None of the earthy, slow cooked flavors I was used to. No long slowly
cooked sauces from roasted chillies, no refried beans with onions and
lard, no hand made corn tortillas, no pepper (as opposed to tomato)
based salsa on the table... nothing like I was used to here. I
couldn't get a chopped jalapeno to liven up my food (sorry sir, we
don't serve individual peppers, and if you had ever tasted a raw
pepper you would know why), and the only tortillas they had were
machine made. Heresy!!

I am sure there are many places there that had what I wanted. I just
couldn't find them. And here, they are on every street corner, in
every neighborhood, in every business district. Even downtown, it
isn't unusual to see the bank executives, lawyers, and businessmen
eating at the Mexican Manhattan, the Rio Rio, La Magarita or Mi Tierra
all downtown, some there for 50 years. The last two are next door to
the Mexican farmer's market and they simply walk next door to get
spices and peppers. At lunch, everyone sits down to their cheap Mex
plate at their favorite joints, puts their tie over their shoulder and
eats.

And it is sooooo cheap to eat Mex here, especially compared to other
cities.

One of the first things my buddies want to do after being away is to
go have a big plate of Mex somewhere. That's usually one of the first
things on my agenda after some time away as well. And that is when
you feel lucky, when you get to establish exactly what you are going
for.

OK... did you want enchiladas or a big macho style burrito?

Did you want a #2 somewhere? (The #2 is the same plate we all grew up
with. Two cheese enchiladas with chili, Spanish style rice, refried
beans, a mouthful of salad, and two tortillas. It is served with
chips and home made hot sauce.)

In cold nasty weather, it is sopa de pollo (chicken soup), caldo de
res (beef soup), "caldo" (whatever is left at the end of the day all
mixed up), or tortilla soup. Then of course, real homemade menudo.
Some places have pozole, but it isn't very popular.

Thinking while typing, we are indeed lucky to have this all here.

Just to rub it in a tiny bit, one of the Delicious Tamale plants is 3
blocks from my house.

This lady, is a San Antonio institution at the restaurant started by
her mother and father:

http://www.amazon.com/Los-Barrios-Fa.../ref=pd_cp_b_3

It is six blocks from my house....

Sometimes life can be good!

Bueno suerte on the tamales!

Robert

Nunya-
Don't get in here very often any more but here is your new must try spot.
Ninfas is famous for selling big fresh totillas, they also have great
tamales. All fresh, fanastic and very reasonable..
Headup on 35 to 7th St exit and go North to kansas, left and Ninfas is on
your right betwen 3-6 blocks. Score some salsa, tamales, and tortillas,
you'' get a bagful for $20 and they are as good as any you will find.
It's a;so onlyu about 8 blocks from Bichelmeyer Meats, another great place
to visit. There are aton of places in KCK, but these two stand ot to me (of
little experience)

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?so...50549906759369
"Nunya Bidnits" wrote in message
...
Brick said:
On 27-Jan-2010, "Nunya Bidnits"
wrote:

Has anyone ever used barbecued meats for tamale fillings? If so, how
did you
mix the filling... with a sauce, just dry, other ingredients?

MartyB in KC

Tamales no! Tacos, enchiladas and burritos regularly. Dry is good for
tacos, not so good for burritos and I would say bad for tamales. A
couple of recipies I looked at called for mixing the pork with chili
sauce before assembling the tamales. There's a lot of recipies
available for pork tamales. I'd recommend screening a few for ideas
and then jump
in and get your feet wet.

That's been the plan, it's time to get off the schneid. I'm pretty
comfortable with the filling recipes and methods at this point and
experimented last night with a filling since I was making chicken soft
tacos
anyway. Basically the chicken is boiled with onion and garlic, then
shredded, and sauteed with green chiles, chipotle in adobo, pickled
jalapeno, cumin and epazote. I usually add a liquid to taco meat and then
let it cook down til it almost evaporates out to help meld the flavors.
The
only difference I think for chicken tamales will be to leave it a little
more moist, and either substitute or add some roasted poblano pepper and a
bit of lime juice. Just not sure about whether to add lard or shortening
to
the masa mix or not, otherwise I'm pretty comfortable. I even bought one
of
the stainless tamale steamers.

You've been cooking for a day or two. How
bad can you screw it up?

LOL... it is depended on how much drinked I are.

;-)

You're right though. Onward!

MartyB in KC

Sparkout wrote:
Nunya-
Don't get in here very often any more but here is your new must try
spot. Ninfas is famous for selling big fresh totillas, they also have
great tamales. All fresh, fanastic and very reasonable..
Headup on 35 to 7th St exit and go North to kansas, left and Ninfas
is on your right betwen 3-6 blocks. Score some salsa, tamales, and
tortillas, you'' get a bagful for $20 and they are as good as any you
will find. It's a;so onlyu about 8 blocks from Bichelmeyer Meats, another
great
place to visit. There are aton of places in KCK, but these two stand
ot to me (of little experience)

Please, no top-posting.
--
Dave
What is best in life? "To crush your enemies, see them driven before
you, and to hear the lamentation of the women." -- Conan

TOP post

On 2/3/2010 9:36 PM, Dave Bugg wrote:
Sparkout wrote:
Nunya-
Don't get in here very often any more but here is your new must try
spot. Ninfas is famous for selling big fresh totillas, they also have
great tamales. All fresh, fanastic and very reasonable..
Headup on 35 to 7th St exit and go North to kansas, left and Ninfas
is on your right betwen 3-6 blocks. Score some salsa, tamales, and
tortillas, you'' get a bagful for $20 and they are as good as any you
will find. It's a;so onlyu about 8 blocks from Bichelmeyer Meats, another
great
place to visit. There are aton of places in KCK, but these two stand
ot to me (of little experience)

Please, no top-posting.


--
piedmont, The Practical BBQ'r

http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/

TOP Post

On 2/3/2010 9:36 PM, Dave Bugg wrote:
Sparkout wrote:
Nunya-
Don't get in here very often any more but here is your new must try
spot. Ninfas is famous for selling big fresh totillas, they also have
great tamales. All fresh, fanastic and very reasonable..
Headup on 35 to 7th St exit and go North to kansas, left and Ninfas
is on your right betwen 3-6 blocks. Score some salsa, tamales, and
tortillas, you'' get a bagful for $20 and they are as good as any you
will find. It's a;so onlyu about 8 blocks from Bichelmeyer Meats, another
great
place to visit. There are aton of places in KCK, but these two stand
ot to me (of little experience)

Please, no top-posting.


--
piedmont, The Practical BBQ'r

http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/

TOP Post, hey bugg I see your back in form. If all you have to
contribute is No Top Post why not go away.

On 2/3/2010 9:36 PM, Dave Bugg wrote:
Sparkout wrote:
Nunya-
Don't get in here very often any more but here is your new must try
spot. Ninfas is famous for selling big fresh totillas, they also have
great tamales. All fresh, fanastic and very reasonable..
Headup on 35 to 7th St exit and go North to kansas, left and Ninfas
is on your right betwen 3-6 blocks. Score some salsa, tamales, and
tortillas, you'' get a bagful for $20 and they are as good as any you
will find. It's a;so onlyu about 8 blocks from Bichelmeyer Meats, another
great
place to visit. There are aton of places in KCK, but these two stand
ot to me (of little experience)

Please, no top-posting.


--
piedmont, The Practical BBQ'r

http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/

On Feb 4, 4:54*am, piedmont wrote:

Dude, we get it, you might want to look down while your up on your
high horse, you've stepped in it and are tracking it all over the
place.

said:
On Jan 28, 11:55 pm, "Nunya Bidnits" nunyabidn...@eternal-
september.invalid wrote:

Just to show how complex this can be, check out this post from a guy
named Walt Lewis who put this up today on the mexican cooking NG...
completely different technique, but still interesting.

*snip*

Read the recipe. Like so many other recipes of this sort (including
barbecue!) it depends on where you are as to what you get when you
order.

When visiting the coast on a resort tour, one of my friends actually
got tamales made the way Rick Bayless does (the guy on "Mexico: One
Plate at a Time") in his show. They had the meat mix, and the "tamal"
was wrapped in a banana leaf and tied with some kind of twine, then
steamed.

He was kind of freaked out; he thought they brought him something he
didn't want. The tamales he had were much less spicy than our local
fare, and not nearly as greasy. He told me he felt like he was eating
a health food store tamale. He didn't like the smell of the steamed
leaf.

Of course when visiting my sister in California, I found the Mexican
food in general to be awful. Sprouts abounded on plates, sour cream
and chopped tomatoes topped just about everything, lots of black bean
dishes, and of all the things.... black olives in the food.

None of the earthy, slow cooked flavors I was used to. No long slowly
cooked sauces from roasted chillies, no refried beans with onions and
lard, no hand made corn tortillas, no pepper (as opposed to tomato)
based salsa on the table... nothing like I was used to here. I
couldn't get a chopped jalapeno to liven up my food (sorry sir, we
don't serve individual peppers, and if you had ever tasted a raw
pepper you would know why), and the only tortillas they had were
machine made. Heresy!!

I am sure there are many places there that had what I wanted. I just
couldn't find them. And here, they are on every street corner, in
every neighborhood, in every business district. Even downtown, it
isn't unusual to see the bank executives, lawyers, and businessmen
eating at the Mexican Manhattan, the Rio Rio, La Magarita or Mi Tierra
all downtown, some there for 50 years. The last two are next door to
the Mexican farmer's market and they simply walk next door to get
spices and peppers. At lunch, everyone sits down to their cheap Mex
plate at their favorite joints, puts their tie over their shoulder and
eats.

And it is sooooo cheap to eat Mex here, especially compared to other
cities.

One of the first things my buddies want to do after being away is to
go have a big plate of Mex somewhere. That's usually one of the first
things on my agenda after some time away as well. And that is when
you feel lucky, when you get to establish exactly what you are going
for.

OK... did you want enchiladas or a big macho style burrito?

Did you want a #2 somewhere? (The #2 is the same plate we all grew up
with. Two cheese enchiladas with chili, Spanish style rice, refried
beans, a mouthful of salad, and two tortillas. It is served with
chips and home made hot sauce.)

In cold nasty weather, it is sopa de pollo (chicken soup), caldo de
res (beef soup), "caldo" (whatever is left at the end of the day all
mixed up), or tortilla soup. Then of course, real homemade menudo.
Some places have pozole, but it isn't very popular.

Thinking while typing, we are indeed lucky to have this all here.

Just to rub it in a tiny bit, one of the Delicious Tamale plants is 3
blocks from my house.

This lady, is a San Antonio institution at the restaurant started by
her mother and father:


http://www.amazon.com/Los-Barrios-Fa.../ref=pd_cp_b_3

It is six blocks from my house....

Sometimes life can be good!

Bueno suerte on the tamales!

Robert

OK, the first round of tamales was not great. First I didn't salt the
cornmeal mix well enough. I moistened it with a fairly salty chicken broth
so I figured it would be ok, and it's kinda hard to tell when you're tasting
it raw. My pork in chile colorado sauce filling got lost... it's a lesson
that against the flavor of the corn, you need a filling that has more
intense seasoning than you would use if you just were eating the same stuff
off a plate. And finally, some of the tamales stuck badly to the cornhusks.
I was trying both soaked and dry husks, and I think that was the diff, but
of course I didn't give myself a way to tell which was which coming out of
the steamer. I'm thinking the soaked husks were the ones that didn't stick.

The other thing with the husks is that of course they aren't uniform in
size. I didn't try to cut them to one size, I just filled them however large
they were. I think I need to cut the bigger ones down, and also maybe leave
one edge free of corn mix so they unwrap more easily.

I also did a few with a non-meat filling... Chihuahua cheese (next time I'll
use a dry cheese, it pretty much melts away) onion, roasted poblano, roast
red sweet pepper, wet chipotle with some adobo, some arugula, and a little
picked jalapeno. Again, tasted more bland than I expected given the
ingredients.

I see what you meant about the spoons and technique. And I found that after
the masa rested, in was easier to spread on the husks than when it was first
made.

Well, at least I think I learned a couple things. On to the next batch...

Sparkout said:
Nunya-
Don't get in here very often any more but here is your new must try
spot. Ninfas is famous for selling big fresh totillas, they also have
great tamales. All fresh, fanastic and very reasonable..
Headup on 35 to 7th St exit and go North to kansas, left and Ninfas
is on your right betwen 3-6 blocks. Score some salsa, tamales, and
tortillas, you'' get a bagful for $20 and they are as good as any you
will find.
It's a;so onlyu about 8 blocks from Bichelmeyer Meats, another great
place to visit. There are aton of places in KCK, but these two stand
ot to me (of little experience)


http://maps.google.com/maps/place?so...50549906759369

Thanks!!!

I'm from the Missouri side and don't know my way around all of KCK. I'd
never heard of this place before. Bickelmeyer's I know, of course.

Where are you from in the KC area? Do you do any competition cooks,
catering, restaurant, etc?

I've been buying fresh tortillas at the Roe/18th St Exp. Price Chopper. Once
I started buying fresh, even the locally made and relatively fresh factory
tortillas in the stores seem barely edible.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out and see if I can pick up some Super
Bowl goodies!

MartyB in KC