It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try
making homemade tamales but never got around to it -- probably because
I'm intimidated a little by them. This year I think I'm gonna go for
it. I have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat in
the freezer that needs to be used for *something* before it goes off
(I'll use it instead of lard because decent lard is very hard to find.)

Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca
thing than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was
thinking of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture
of canned chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. Or
maybe guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...

Has anyone here done this before?

When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)

Bob

Tamale making is pretty much an all day affair here, but a labor of love.
You could go high end:

http://homecooking.about.com/od/shel...r/blsea179.htm

Pulled pork is a good compromise:

http://bbq.about.com/od/porkrecipes/r/bl070228a.htm

Christmas tamales would certainly be appropriate:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...95/ai_17963570

Usually, my daughters are home for Christmas. If I
make the filling ahead of time, getting them and a few friends over for the
filling of the corn husks, shaping, and steaming is a fun event with a lot
of kitchen banter and holiday socializing.

Tom

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
> It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try making
> homemade tamales but never got around to it -- probably because I'm
> intimidated a little by them. This year I think I'm gonna go for it. I
> have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat in the
> freezer that needs to be used for *something* before it goes off (I'll use
> it instead of lard because decent lard is very hard to find.)
>
> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
> meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
> raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca thing
> than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was thinking
> of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture of canned
> chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. Or maybe
> guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
>
> Has anyone here done this before?
>
> When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out about
> this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
>
> Bob

In article >,
"Del Mar" > wrote:

> Tamale making is pretty much an all day affair here, but a labor of love.
> You could go high end:
>
> http://homecooking.about.com/od/shel...r/blsea179.htm
>
> Pulled pork is a good compromise:
>
> http://bbq.about.com/od/porkrecipes/r/bl070228a.htm
>
> Christmas tamales would certainly be appropriate:
>
> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...95/ai_17963570
>
> Usually, my daughters are home for Christmas. If I
> make the filling ahead of time, getting them and a few friends over for the
> filling of the corn husks, shaping, and steaming is a fun event with a lot
> of kitchen banter and holiday socializing.
>
> Tom

Hispanic families get together around here just to do that, and they
sell them for around $7.00 to $8.00 per dozen.

I need to track down who will be selling them at work this year. I
like them for New Years.

The Brother in Law made some really good ones last year tho'. I may
offer to pay him to make me some if he uses the "real" meat instead of
pork shoulder.
--
Peace! Om

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." -- Dalai Lama

zxcvbob wrote:
> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded

I'd say any of those would be nice. I made rather nice beef tamales
last year (although, see note about the masa).

> meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for

Hmm, I've only ever had meat tamales with meat and salsa roja in the
middle... Most of the flavour comes from the meat. (Cheese tamales are
nice, too, though... made with good chihuahua cheese, onions, and strips
of red chiles.)

When I made them last year, I rubbed the meat with a mixture of chile
powder, cumin, salt and black pepper and cooked it, covered, for about
16 hours in my slow cooker on top of a cut up onion and a head of
garlic, peeled and spread out along the bottom. I can't remember how
much water I put in, but it was about enough to cover the layer of veg
and part of the meat - maybe about halfway up.

When it was finished, I took the meat out and let it cool while I made
the salsa roja (I used dried ancho chiles and a couple of dried smoked
jalapenos) and the masa. One thing I discovered, though: don't make the
masa too dry. Ahem. I asked some old friends in California what I'd
done wrong (it was *DENSE* once it was cooked), they said it needed to
be about the consistency of Jif creamy peanut butter, maybe a tad
thinner, but still spreadable and able to hold its shape. They also
said to make sure not to spread it more than 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick - I
was probably on the higher end of that.

When the meat was cool enough to touch, I shredded it and mixed it with
some of the red sauce. You could also use some of the broth from
cooking the meat, but it won't be very hot. Hmm... You could add chiles
of some sort to the onions and garlic and then take some of those with
the shredded meat to add heat, too...

I didn't have any corn husks - they're difficult to find in this country
unless you dry them yourself, so I used greaseproof paper to make mine
(kind of like if parchment and waxed paper had a baby...). Worked just
fine, though.

> raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca

Oooh, I love sweet tamales! One of my other neighbours in California
when I was growing up used to make raisin, fig and cinnamon tamales at
Christmas. (There was a huge fig tree out behind our houses and he used
to sun dry the figs when they were ripe. OK... I'm a little homesick
now... heh)

Anyway - hopefully I'll remember everything I learned from the last time
I made them and can improve on them a bit this year! Good luck, Bob!
I'm sure you'll do fine.

-Jen P in Cambs

In article >,
"Jen P." > wrote:


> I didn't have any corn husks - they're difficult to find in this country
> unless you dry them yourself, so I used greaseproof paper to make mine
> (kind of like if parchment and waxed paper had a baby...). Worked just
> fine, though.

I've seen aluminum foil used also. It's not as nice, but it doesn't
require any prep, either.

Also see the post I just made, subject "Newsgroup Dynamics", that has a
description of a tamalada (a party for making tamales) at the end.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

On 2008-12-05, zxcvbob > wrote:

> it. I have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat in

Wow! Don't waste good goose fat on mere tamales. Make some goose liver
pate or goosewurst or whatever, fergawdsake. Food of the gods! Tamales
deserve real lard, but nothing better.

nb

zxcvbob wrote:
> It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try
> making homemade tamales but never got around to it -- probably because
> I'm intimidated a little by them. This year I think I'm gonna go for
> it. I have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat
> in the freezer that needs to be used for *something* before it goes
> off (I'll use it instead of lard because decent lard is very hard to
> find.)
>
> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
> meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
> raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca
> thing than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was
> thinking of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture
> of canned chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers.
> Or maybe guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
>
> Has anyone here done this before?
>
> When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
> about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
>
> Bob


Pork gets my vote! We have Hispanics in the family, so we always have
tamales at Christmas. Pork is my favorite, beef comes in 2nd.


My stepfather, God bless him, has passed away. He would look at his
grandchildren and and ask, "Why can't these kids marry white people?"
<Egads, I wanted the floor to swallow me> It was embarrassing when he
would say that, but he did not realize that the Houston area was 30=40%
Hispanic. I guess it was a different world when he grew up. He was not
perfect, but we loved him anyway.


Becca

zxcvbob wrote:
> It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try
> making homemade tamales but never got around to it
>
> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales?


Goose fat? Doesn't sound particularly appetizing to me, but whatever
floats your boat.

Yes. Make whatever your family will eat. I'd do either pulled pork
or shredded beef and some chicken, two kinds. If you're gonna assemble
you might as well make enough to freeze for a few meals later.

Once you get meat and masa in the cornhusks, there's not a lot
of space for many additional items, so I'd stick to adding onion,garlic,
and peppers to the meat and not worry about additional stuff the first
time you make them. Don 't make them so hot no one but you will eat
them. You can always add heat with salsa or Cholula.

I also suggest having help. My daughter and I work well together but a
third person would be handy. In addition to making it go faster, you'd
have someone to mix up additional masa which I had to stop and do twice
during our last tamale marathon.

>
> When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
> about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
>

They may tease you but they'll also respect you for trying. It's not as
complicated as it sounds, honest, if you have the meat cooked and
everything else laid out ahead of time, it may be tedious but it can be
fun with the right mix of people.

Good luck and buen provecho!

gloria p

In article >,
zxcvbob > wrote:

> It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try
> making homemade tamales but never got around to it -- probably because
> I'm intimidated a little by them. This year I think I'm gonna go for
> it. I have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat in
> the freezer that needs to be used for *something* before it goes off
> (I'll use it instead of lard because decent lard is very hard to find.)
>
> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
> meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
> raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca
> thing than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was
> thinking of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture
> of canned chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. Or
> maybe guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
>
> Has anyone here done this before?
>
> When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
> about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
>
> Bob

Real tamales are made from lard (altho' the goose fat ought to work) and
shredded pig heads stuffed into the middle of the masa.

There are currently whole frozen pigs heads available in our local
supermarket, and they always sell out.

I've had real tamales made locally from those and they are very good.

Those that can't handle it use pork shoulder roasts instead. <g>
Interestingly enough, I noted this morning that pork shoulders were
stacked right next to the frozen pigs heads. ;-D

The Masa and corn husks were close at hand to the display. Across the
isle were tamale steaming pots.

Good marketing imjo...
--
Peace! Om

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." -- Dalai Lama

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
> It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try making
> homemade tamales but never got around to it -- probably because I'm
> intimidated a little by them. This year I think I'm gonna go for it. I
> have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat in the
> freezer that needs to be used for *something* before it goes off (I'll use
> it instead of lard because decent lard is very hard to find.)
>
> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
> meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
> raisins and weird stuff like that,

<Snip>

Sweet Tamales (with Raisins) are a traditional Mexican Christmas dish.

http://www.ehow.com/how_10717_make-c...iles-with.html

Not weird in any way.

Good stuff Maynard......

Dimitri

Dimitri wrote:
>
> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
> ...
>> It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try
>> making homemade tamales but never got around to it -- probably because
>> I'm intimidated a little by them. This year I think I'm gonna go for
>> it. I have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat
>> in the freezer that needs to be used for *something* before it goes
>> off (I'll use it instead of lard because decent lard is very hard to
>> find.)
>>
>> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
>> meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
>> raisins and weird stuff like that,
>
> <Snip>
>
> Sweet Tamales (with Raisins) are a traditional Mexican Christmas dish.
>
> http://www.ehow.com/how_10717_make-c...iles-with.html
>
> Not weird in any way.
>
> Good stuff Maynard......
>
> Dimitri
>
>


I meant raisins added after the shredded meat and the red pepper paste
before you roll 'em up. :-P

Bob

zxcvbob wrote:

> It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try making
> homemade tamales but never got around to it -- probably because I'm
> intimidated a little by them. This year I think I'm gonna go for it. I
> have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat in the
> freezer that needs to be used for *something* before it goes off (I'll use
> it instead of lard because decent lard is very hard to find.)
>
> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
> meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
> raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca thing
> than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was thinking
> of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture of canned
> chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. Or maybe
> guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
>
> Has anyone here done this before?
>
> When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out about
> this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)

Why not make more than one filling? When a friend of mine tried to put
together a tamale party several years ago, these are the fillings I offered:

1. Beef picadillo, with shredded beef, onions, raisins, and cinnamon (I
don't think picadillo is particularly Oaxacan; Cubans, Colombians,
Venezuelans, Hondurans, and Salvadoreans all seem to have something
similar.)

2. Chicken with saffron, orange, and garlic

3. Ham with banana-lemon-ginger chutney

4. Pumpkin (which could be sweet or savory)

5. Cherry-mincemeat

6. Blueberry-maple

With the exception of the picadillo, none of those are *traditional*, but
who cares about that, as long as the food tastes good?


The friend who was organizing the party offered these fillings:

1. Spicy shredded beef

2. Chicken with olives

3. Mushrooms (he wanted to entice an attractive vegan into attending)

4. Pineapple, raisins, and brown sugar


Bob

On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:39:33 -0600, zxcvbob >
wrote:

>It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try
>making homemade tamales but never got around to it -- probably because
>I'm intimidated a little by them. This year I think I'm gonna go for
>it. I have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat in
>the freezer that needs to be used for *something* before it goes off
>(I'll use it instead of lard because decent lard is very hard to find.)
>
>Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
>meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
>raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca
>thing than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was
>thinking of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture
>of canned chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. Or
>maybe guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
>
>Has anyone here done this before?
>
>When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
>about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
>
>Bob

I usually make tamales with turkey leftovers. Smoked turkey, that is.
This year, I made them with turkey, pickled jalapenos, and leftover
orange/cranberry relish.

I find making them with friends is best.
--

modom
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

"modom (palindrome guy)" wrote:
>
> On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:39:33 -0600, zxcvbob >
> wrote:
>
><snip>

> >
> >Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
> >meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
> >raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca
> >thing than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was
> >thinking of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture
> >of canned chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. Or
> >maybe guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
> >
> >Has anyone here done this before?
> >
> >When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
> >about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
> >
> >Bob
>
> I usually make tamales with turkey leftovers. Smoked turkey, that is.
> This year, I made them with turkey, pickled jalapenos, and leftover
> orange/cranberry relish.
>
> I find making them with friends is best.
> --
>
> modom


We usually make pork tamales, with our home-rendered lard. Chicken or
turkey work well too of course. Might make some tamales with fresh
(well...frozen) corn this year.

Why dehydrated onions? Easy enough to chop/grate fresh. Watch TV while
wrapping them or have a tamalada with friends you want to share tamales
with

On Wed 10 Dec 2008 06:25:32p, Arri London told us...

>
>
> "modom (palindrome guy)" wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:39:33 -0600, zxcvbob >
>> wrote:
>>
>><snip>
>
>> >
>> >Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
>> >meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
>> >raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca
>> >thing than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was
>> >thinking of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture
>> >of canned chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. Or
>> >maybe guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
>> >
>> >Has anyone here done this before?
>> >
>> >When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
>> >about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
>> >
>> >Bob
>>
>> I usually make tamales with turkey leftovers. Smoked turkey, that is.
>> This year, I made them with turkey, pickled jalapenos, and leftover
>> orange/cranberry relish.
>>
>> I find making them with friends is best.
>> --
>>
>> modom
>
>
> We usually make pork tamales, with our home-rendered lard. Chicken or
> turkey work well too of course. Might make some tamales with fresh
> (well...frozen) corn this year.
>
> Why dehydrated onions? Easy enough to chop/grate fresh. Watch TV while
> wrapping them or have a tamalada with friends you want to share tamales
> with
>

I have never made tamales, although I've often wanted to try making them.
Everyyear, a friend of mine at work who was born and raised in Chihuahua,
Mexico gifts me with a dozen or two of homemade tamales with a pork
filling. This year I'm also being gifted with a dozen Puerto Rican style
tamales from another friend at work whose family makes them together.

Maybe I'll try my hand at it another time.

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)
************************************************** **********************
Date: Wednesday, 12(XII)/10(X)/08(MMVIII)
************************************************** **********************
Countdown till Christmas Day
2wks 5hrs 40mins
************************************************** **********************
Human equality is a contingent fact of history. --Steven Jay Gould
************************************************** **********************

Arri London wrote:
>
> "modom (palindrome guy)" wrote:
>> On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:39:33 -0600, zxcvbob >
>> wrote:
>>
>> <snip>
>
>>> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
>>> meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
>>> raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca
>>> thing than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was
>>> thinking of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture
>>> of canned chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. Or
>>> maybe guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
>>>
>>> Has anyone here done this before?
>>>
>>> When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
>>> about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
>>>
>>> Bob
>> I usually make tamales with turkey leftovers. Smoked turkey, that is.
>> This year, I made them with turkey, pickled jalapenos, and leftover
>> orange/cranberry relish.
>>
>> I find making them with friends is best.
>> --
>>
>> modom
>
>
> We usually make pork tamales, with our home-rendered lard. Chicken or
> turkey work well too of course. Might make some tamales with fresh
> (well...frozen) corn this year.
>
> Why dehydrated onions? Easy enough to chop/grate fresh. Watch TV while
> wrapping them or have a tamalada with friends you want to share tamales
> with


Dehydrated onions because I bought a *gallon* tub of them at Sam's, not
realizing how little of the stuff you use at a time. (they do taste
good in quick soups and stuff; I'm glad I got 'em)

Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
>
> Arri London wrote:
> >
> > "modom (palindrome guy)" wrote:
> >> On Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:39:33 -0600, zxcvbob >
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> <snip>
> >
> >>> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? Besides the shredded
> >>> meat, what else goes in the middles? I've seen recipes that call for
> >>> raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca
> >>> thing than what I want. I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was
> >>> thinking of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture
> >>> of canned chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. Or
> >>> maybe guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
> >>>
> >>> Has anyone here done this before?
> >>>
> >>> When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
> >>> about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
> >>>
> >>> Bob
> >> I usually make tamales with turkey leftovers. Smoked turkey, that is.
> >> This year, I made them with turkey, pickled jalapenos, and leftover
> >> orange/cranberry relish.
> >>
> >> I find making them with friends is best.
> >> --
> >>
> >> modom
> >
> >
> > We usually make pork tamales, with our home-rendered lard. Chicken or
> > turkey work well too of course. Might make some tamales with fresh
> > (well...frozen) corn this year.
> >
> > Why dehydrated onions? Easy enough to chop/grate fresh. Watch TV while
> > wrapping them or have a tamalada with friends you want to share tamales
> > with
>
> Dehydrated onions because I bought a *gallon* tub of them at Sam's, not
> realizing how little of the stuff you use at a time. (they do taste
> good in quick soups and stuff; I'm glad I got 'em)
>
> Bob


That is indeed a lot of dried onions. We do have some as well; no idea
why we bought them but they do last for ages. We also dry onions
ourselves, which taste very different from the prepackaged sort.

But in this case, thinking that fresh onions will be tastier

Hwy man...Ive never even tried to make them. How do you do it?

I LOVE those little guys.... I have seen corn husks at the store....heh
heh heh...but what, exactly, do you put IN them?

Pork or turkey sounds good...but what ese and HOW?.

THANKS

Lass

On Dec 4, 7:39*pm, zxcvbob > wrote:
> It's almost tamale season, and for several years I've wanted to try
> making homemade tamales but never got around to it -- probably because
> I'm intimidated a little by them. *This year I think I'm gonna go for
> it. *I have the corn shucks already, and several quarts of goose fat in
> the freezer that needs to be used for *something* before it goes off
> (I'll use it instead of lard because decent lard is very hard to find.)
>
> Should I make chicken or turkey or pork tamales? *Besides the shredded
> meat, what else goes in the middles? *I've seen recipes that call for
> raisins and weird stuff like that, but I think that's more an Oaxaca
> thing than what I want. *I'll probably make them pretty hot, so I was
> thinking of using a little dehydrated onions and garlic, and a mixture
> of canned chipotles in adobo and reconstituted dried ancho peppers. *Or
> maybe guajillo or pulla peppers instead of the anchos...
>
> Has anyone here done this before?
>
> When the Mexicans I work with (remotely, from Guadalajara) find out
> about this, I'll never hear the end of it. :-)
>
> Bob


hey Bob, we are making our annual tamales on the 18th. We will
probably make 50 dozen. Some will be for the Elks Lodge (selling) and
for our family's Christmas party.
We make Pork, Cheese and Jalapeno, and sweet Pineapple.
We'll cook the meat one day, then do the spreading and cooking on the
18th. I found if you use a plastic wallpaper spreader to spread the
masa on the husks it goes really fast. I'll put on my kitchen table a
Christmas oilcloth, easy cleanup. I'll do the spreading and the rest
of my helpers fill and roll them up. we use the reconstitued dried
ancho peppers, cumin, garlic, s/p
I can't wait, we have lots of fun making them.