# Tamales



## Godsgirl (May 13, 2022)

I have .never made a tamale in my life.  I am a black American who does not care for soul food except cornmeal dishes.  I moved to Phoenix from NYC and tasted tamales for the first time.  It is my desire to make a sweet tamale with a savoury meat filling.  Does such a recipe exist?


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (May 14, 2022)

Tamales are all about the masa dough that surrounds the filling.  I've had desert tamales, savory tamales, and tamales with a shredded pork, and BBQ sauce filling.  They were all good.

, Masa Harina is used to make the dough, which is put as a thin layer on a soaked corn husk.  A tbs. or two of filling is placed in the center, and the husk is closed so as to encase the filling in the dough.  The tamales are then steamed until the dough is cooked.

I've also used parchment paper instead of corn husks to make the tamales.  Examples of sweet tamales:
tamales.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sweet+tamales&docid=608021336230951184&mid=997B6120CBE18E1EB548997B6120CBE18E1EB548&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/11/tailgate-nfl-food-ideas-easy

In the U.S., we tend to think of tamales with a savory pork filling, and steeped in a spicy tomato sauce.  Tamales can be much more than that, as seen from the above links.

Tip: tamales are best made with friends, and family.  Sharing the work brings you together, and divides the work load.  Everyone can enjoy the results of the work.  

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Marlingardener (May 14, 2022)

In Texas tamales are a favorite food, especially around Christmas. I have never had one. Other than a banana, I don't like food you have to peel. Maybe that's why I don't like oranges either.

A Hispanic friend gathers her entire female side of the family in her kitchen and they make dozens of tamales for Christmas. I save my corn husks for her. How she keeps them from July to December is a mystery to me.


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## GotGarlic (May 14, 2022)

I learned to make tamales by watching this video by Marcela Valladolid on the Food Network. I love the flavor of the fresh corn kernels in the masa: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/marcela-valladolid/easy-corn-tamales-recipe-1954054

This has a couple of recipes for fillings for I like to put in the above tamale recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/marcela-valladolid/tamales-2459357 

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## karadekoolaid (May 14, 2022)

Typically, in South America, tamales are not "stuffed". You simply use corn meal, which is a staple, and mix in some pork, chicken, or what ever is left over, wrap a corn husk around it, and steam it. 
I´ve eaten them in Mexico, in Colombia, in Venezuela and in Ecuador. They are not "gourmet" items and neither do you have to have a recipe for them. As I said, just use what ever is left over from yesterday.


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## GotGarlic (May 14, 2022)

karadekoolaid said:


> Typically, in South America, tamales are not "stuffed". You simply use corn meal, which is a staple, and mix in some pork, chicken, or what ever is left over, wrap a corn husk around it, and steam it.
> 
> I´ve eaten them in Mexico, in Colombia, in Venezuela and in Ecuador. They are not "gourmet" items and neither do you have to have a recipe for them. As I said, just use what ever is left over from yesterday.


We're Americans - we like to jazz things up 

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## taxlady (May 14, 2022)

karadekoolaid said:


> Typically, in South America, tamales are not "stuffed". You simply use corn meal, which is a staple, and mix in some pork, chicken, or what ever is left over, wrap a corn husk around it, and steam it.
> I´ve eaten them in Mexico, in Colombia, in Venezuela and in Ecuador. They are not "gourmet" items and neither do you have to have a recipe for them. As I said, just use what ever is left over from yesterday.



If tamales are an everyday menu item, then sure, use what's left from yesterday. If they are a once in a great while treat, then it seems appropriate to put more effort and more interesting ingredients into them.

Now, I'm curious. When you write "corn meal", do you mean ground, nixtamalized corn or just ground, dried, maize kernels?


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## karadekoolaid (May 15, 2022)

> When you write "corn meal", do you mean ground, nixtamalized corn or just ground, dried, maize kernels?



Language differences!! Corn meal in Latin America could be nixtamalized corn, as in Mexico, or processed white/yellow corn, as in Venezuelan/Colombian arepas, or processed ground yellow corn.
Cornflour (UK) is cornstarch (US)
Cornmeal (UK) is probably maize flour (US)
In the UK, you´d use cornmeal to make polenta.


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## GotGarlic (May 15, 2022)

karadekoolaid said:


> Language differences!! Corn meal in Latin America could be nixtamalized corn, as in Mexico, or processed white/yellow corn, as in Venezuelan/Colombian arepas, or processed ground yellow corn.
> 
> Cornflour (UK) is cornstarch (US)
> 
> ...


They're not just language differences - they're are different types of corn processed in different ways. We don't use the term "maize flour" in the US. It's cornmeal (finely ground dried field corn). We use coarsely ground  field dried field corn for polenta and grits. We also have masa harina.


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## taxlady (May 15, 2022)

A lot of people don't realize that "corn" means a grain. At the time of the colonization of Turtle Island, corn still meant wheat in England. "Corn" meaning maize was shortened from "Indian corn". The Scots meant oats when they said (or maybe even when they say it now) corn. I have noticed Americans getting confused about Swedish recipes that call for "korn". No, it's not maize. In Swedish, that is barley.


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## karadekoolaid (May 16, 2022)

"They're not just language differences - they're are different types of corn processed in different ways."
No  - you´ll find cornmeal is exactly the same as cornflour in the UK. Used for thickening , mostly.  
As for maize flour  - dunno what you´d call that then. What do you call rough ground yellow or white corn?


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## msmofet (May 16, 2022)

karadekoolaid said:


> "They're not just language differences - they're are different types of corn processed in different ways."
> No  - you´ll find cornmeal is exactly the same as cornflour in the UK. Used for thickening , mostly.
> As for maize flour  - dunno what you´d call that then. What do you call rough ground yellow or white corn?


 "Cornflour in the UK" is called cornstarch (fine ground corn) in the USA to thicken.
"Rough ground yellow or white corn" depending on how rough is called cornmeal, polenta or grits in the USA.


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## karadekoolaid (May 16, 2022)

THanks,* msmofet*!


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## GotGarlic (May 16, 2022)

msmofet said:


> "Cornflour in the UK" is called cornstarch (fine ground corn) in the USA to thicken.
> "Rough ground yellow or white corn" depending on how rough is called cornmeal, polenta or grits in the USA.





karadekoolaid said:


> THanks,* msmofet*!


Cornstarch, cornmeal and polenta/grits are all different products processed differently, thus they have different names. Masa harina is another product - nixtamalized, dried, finely ground corn.


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## Cooking Goddess (May 16, 2022)

I have two kinds of cornmeal "grit", fine and coarse. I use the fine for baked goods, sometimes in combination with the coarse depending on what I want the final texture to be. I use the coarse one when making polenta/grits.


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## Cooking Goddess (May 16, 2022)

Crud, those are supposed to be "fine cornMEAL" and "coarse cornMEAL". Sorry...


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## foodsway (Jan 2, 2023)

Godsgirl said:


> I have .never made a tamale in my life.  I am a black American who does not care for soul food except cornmeal dishes.  I moved to Phoenix from NYC and tasted tamales for the first time.  It is my desire to make a sweet tamale with a savoury meat filling.  Does such a recipe exist?


I've always been interested in latin amercian cuisine, once I found amazing tamale recipe inspired me to cook it. To be honest, I tried tamale in ordinary cafes, but that recipe is just super! I gave it to my children to try, they were just delighted, because I usually try to give them healthy food without frills. So I want to say that tamale is really something that is needed to be tried because of its interesting flavour and, perhaps, it's really easy to cook in an ordinary kitchen with ingredients that you exactly have.


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## caseydog (Jan 2, 2023)

I'm Italian-American, and live in Texas. I love tamales. I've never made them, but I haven't had to -- they are abundant here. I have Mexican friends who make them (and share). It is a family event for a lot of Mexican families. Mamá runs the show, and the family forms an assembly line around a work table.

CD


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## cookiecrafter (Jan 2, 2023)

The Chico-Mex food trucks have a lot of good food.  Some have tamales.  I'll give them a try.

Seems like some Aldi stores have corn husks and mesa.


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## pepperhead212 (Jan 3, 2023)

I noticed my Aldi store dropping some Mexican items - maybe people have found that Mexican grocer/restaurant in town, and are shopping there more?  Which reminds me - they have a slightly coarser masa harina there for tamales, which I buy to make cornbread with sometimes.  I rarely make tamales, but  I love the flavor of that masa harina.  It can also be used for tortillas, though they are grainy, in comparison.


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## medtran49 (Jan 3, 2023)

We make tamales occasionally.   We always make a lot and freeze for future meals as the fillings and the dough take time to make/cook/steam whether you make a little or a lot.  I put fresh pureed corn in my masa as it makes the tamale dough taste so much better.


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## GotGarlic (Jan 3, 2023)

medtran49 said:


> We make tamales occasionally.   We always make a lot and freeze for future meals as the fillings and the dough take time to make/cook/steam whether you make a little or a lot.  I put fresh pureed corn in my masa as it makes the tamale dough taste so much better.


I do mostly the same, although I just lightly break up the corn kernels. This gives the tamales a sweet crunch when you eat them. It's a nice contrast to the soft fillings.


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## pepperhead212 (Jan 4, 2023)

Here's that masa harina I was talking about, made specifically for tamales.  I just got it today, at the Mexican grocery, along with a few other things.  


New bag of masa harina for Tamales by pepperhead212, on Flickr


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## medtran49 (Jan 4, 2023)

GotGarlic said:


> I do mostly the same, although I just lightly break up the corn kernels. This gives the tamales a sweet crunch when you eat them. It's a nice contrast to the soft fillings.


I don't puree until smooth,  it's still pretty chunky.


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## Vai101 (Jan 6, 2023)

Yes, there is a recipe for a sweet tamale with a savoury meat filling. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

- 1 have .never made a tamale in my life. I am a black American who does not care for soul food except cornmeal dishes. I moved to Phoenix from NYC and tasted tamales for the first time. It is my desire to make a sweet tamale with a savoury meat filling. Does such a recipe exist? then please give the detailed 

Yes, there is a recipe for a sweet tamale with a savoury meat filling. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

- 1 pound ground beef or pork
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1/4 cup chopped green olives
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the masa harina, water, vegetable oil, baking powder, and salt until combined. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes until it is smooth and pliable.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef or pork, onion, and garlic until the meat is cooked through and the onion is softened, about 8 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, tomato paste, and oregano and cook for an additional minute.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the raisins, pine nuts, olives, and cilantro.

4. Take a small handful of the masa dough and roll it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc shape and place 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture in the center. Fold the edges of the disc over the filling to enclose it completely.

5. Place the tamale on a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper and wrap it up tightly.

6. Place the wrapped tamales in a steamer basket or large pot of boiling water. Cover and steam for 40 minutes.

7. Serve the tamales warm. Enjoy!


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