So, try as I might for years to make tamales for Christmas (Traditional Texas food for Christmas), I finally gave up and began buying from a local favored supplier... Naturally I moved... My favored vendor who will ship, but because of demand and Covid, has shut down their mail orders, so I am back to either buying Costco frozen (not my favorite on a bad day), or again trying to make them myself.. Anyone have recipe for the pork or chicken filling?....
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You might be able to find a local person who makes and sells them. I have had 2 separate "tamale ladies" that used to knock on my door to see if I needed any. Currently, I have no tamale lady.-
Bummer. Next time cut the package open and test for purity. -
Mr. Bones Being a single guy, I just wish ANY woman would come knocking on my door. Whatever she’s selling is none of y’all’s business.Last edited by Panhead John; December 11, 2020, 07:19 PM.
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Smoke a butt! I did pulled pork carnitas a few months ago with leftovers and they turned out great!Comment
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tstalafuse There are countless ways to make delicious pulled pork indoors durin yer mandated stay from outdoor cookin...remember alla those great pork roasts from growin up?...roast it in yer oven, pressure cook it, InstaPot, yada.
Broiler it up some, or front sear in a dutch oven, roaster pan, etc.
Little dasha liquid smoke helps...Heresy? Mebbe, in some's eyes...I've discoursed, at length here, on that subject.
Do I feel bad, even fer a minute? Nope.
Meathead uses it. Nuff Said!Last edited by Mr. Bones; December 12, 2020, 10:44 AM. -
jfmorris, I have a propane and electric smoker, but they just don't get it done.. -
@Mr.Bones, I just haven't gotten very good results as I do on the wood/charcoal smokers, which is why I was looking for recipes..
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There's a recipe someone posted here a couple of years ago here: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...les#post782244Comment
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I always wanted to try tamales. When a local restaurant had them on the menu I was excited to finally give my taste-buds a new treat. I was very disappointed. They were super dry and not much flavor. Kind of a gummy lump. Is this how they are supposed to be?
I don't mean to be a downer but I would give them another shot if what I am describing is not normal.Comment
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I love Tamales, I haven't made them for a while, but still have plenty of corn husks in the pantry. Looking at the above link, I think those were the ones that I last made back in the winter. If I remember correctly, they were great. Well, it looks like it's that time again.Comment
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Well....As a kid I was always on a few tamale assembly lines but nobody every gave up their recipes. One of my best friend's dad's once asked "You know why we all give tamales for Christmas?" Of course I knew - "generosity" I replied. Wrong answer "No, we give them out so that when we receive them we can all tell mom that hers are better than theirs. Praise is the greatest gift mom can get"Comment
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Tamales should be light, moist, and flavorful. I'm no tamale expert by any stretch, but I made tamales last year that I thought compared pretty well with good tamales made by people who grew up making them.
One important tip I picked up from Pati Jinich (https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...555#post784555) is the dough needs to be well beaten until it's light and airy. When a small spoonful is dropped into a cup of water, the dough must float. If it doesn't float, it isn't light enough and needs more mixing.
I don't think the filling is all that difficult or mysterious to make, but it does need to be flavorful. If it tastes good when you sneak a spoonful out of the mixing bowl or if you would be happy eating it if the filling is wrapped up in a tortilla, then it will probably be nice in the tamale. The filling should have enough sauce so the ingredients want to clump or stick together, but you don't want it really wet or soupy. And don't forget the cheese.Comment
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It used to be a Friday tradition to make a mad dash to th (one an onliest) Mexican Food Market from work, an grab tamales...
There was a always very elder gentleman with a couple coolers full, always had 4-5 various kinds, sold em buck apiece, 5 to a bag...
Mine are quite good, but his were quite better...haven't asked th store in many years, but since then, they've expanded to include a small cafe; wonder if they make tamales on Fridays???
Gonna haveta look into this...
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I have only made tamales 2x, and it's kinda fun in my opinion. I'd definitely try to make my own before I bought from a non-inspected source, but there is that option...
As sketchy as it sounds, if you live in an area with a Hispanic population of any kind, for whatever reason folks often sell tamales on FB market place. I haven't ordered any myself here, but I have sampled some of the wares that others have bought and they were better than anything I coulda made and delivered piping hot. I just searched "tamales" on FB market place and I live in BFE, 4 people will deliver in my area and then there were about 30 others within 50 miles... then there were some super sketchy ones were delivering from TX and NM, but maybe they ship them properly/safely?
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jfmorris if they are pickup it's def gonna be from someones kitchen and likely very good. A few assignments ago one of the cleaning contractors would take pre-orders and she'd bring in these amazing tamales once a week. I think they were like $1 a piece or something, but that was 10ish years ago. So 2 bucks seems fair? -
jfmorris, cowardly.. What is a little Montezuma's revenge between friends?... In Dallas the little ladies would show up at the office towers selling them for $1 each. I bought every year for many years and never had an issue.. Other than eating too many...
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something similar to Carne adovada would work for the filling. Although, you would need more meat than what a carne adovada recipe would call for to get the ratio correct. I can ask my sister as well, she has learned to make them.
Also, New Mexico usually has quite a few spots that ship. El Modelo makes a great tamale, I just don’t know if they ship. hmmmm. I’ll have to check a few things.Last edited by barelfly; December 10, 2020, 09:26 PM.Comment
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I love tamales. Unfortunately my wife and kids do not. Haven’t made them in a while but when I need to get my tamale fix, I buy the ones from the refrigerated section at Trader Joe’s. They’re actually pretty good.Comment
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When my wife was growing up, she got tamales from a street vendor somewhere down near where her grandmother lived in the north-east Birmingham area. Many years ago, when we were first married, I had a Schwan's food/ice cream delivery guy come by every other week, and they had pretty decent frozen tamales, wrapped in corn husks, back in the early 90's. We always had ice cream, frozen pizzas and tamales in the freezer back then.
My wife gets her fix these days from those crappy Hormel tamales in a can, and usually has a can of them in the back of the pantry. Not the same, but we need to search for a good tamale source, or make our own. They are building a Trader Joe's, so that might be an option at some point.Comment
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Most likely not what your looking for but ArnieTex posted a new youtube video on Tamales.Comment
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The ladies who go door to door selling tamales are usually very good. Luckily in Houston we have no shortage of very good Mexican or Tex-Mex places to go for great tamales. They are a LOT of work to make, otherwise I’d try them myself.Comment
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