Boots Famous Hot Tamales Recipes

HOT TAMALES LIKE YA MAMA MAKES

Steps:

• Place the tamale papers into a shallow baking pan and soak them in just enough water to keep them wet.
• Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl.
• With a food processor, puree the onions, garlic and Rotel tomatoes with juice. Pour this puree over the ground beef along with the red pepper, black pepper, salt, cornmeal, chili powder and tomato sauce. With your hands work this together until the meat mixture is uniformly and thoroughly blended. Your hands may become stained from the chili powder. Set aside at room temperature for about 30 minutes so that the seasonings can marry. In the meantime, mix cornmeal coating and tamale sauce.
• Cornmeal Coating:.
• In a shallow baking pan, blend together the cornmeal, salt, red pepper and chili powder until thoroughy mixed; set aside.
• Tamale Sauce:.
• In a small bowl combine tomato sauce and chili powder, stirring well; set aside.
• The Work Station:.
• Place a large sheet of aluminum foil on a work surface. This is what you're going to roll the tamales on to keep things tidy. Put within reach the meat mixture, cornmeal coating, tamale papers and the loaf pans.
• Begin Rolling:.
• Using about one (1) tablespoon of the meat mixture, take your hands and roll out an oblong tamale about the size of a Vienna Sausage and toss it around in the cornmeal mixture. It's not necessary to pack the cornmeal on; just a light coating.
• Remove tamale from the cornmeal and wrap it in one of the wet tamale papers. It's best to wrap them from point to point diagonally, tucking in the edges of the paper as you wrap.
• As you finish each one, place it into the aluminum loaf pan. There should be three layers of tamales with 10 tamales on each layer, fitting into the pans perfectly with criss-crossed layers so the tamales cook evenly.
• When all the pans are loaded, pour the sauce evenly over the tamales and fill each loaf pan with "boiling" water. Tightly cover each pan with aluminum foil and place them into an retangular roaster. Finally, fill the roaster with just enough water to come about 3/4 up the sides of the pans. Do Not Overfill.
• Place the roaster on the stovetop, cover it tightly and simmer the tamales for about 2 hours.
• Tips for freezing:.
• If doubling the recipe for freezing, roll and wrap, placing them into loaf pans, ladle on the sauce, cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil and freeze uncooked. Or, for fully cooked tamales, cool, cover tightly with aluminum foil and freeze; defrost in refrigerator.

GRANDMA RUTHS HOT TAMALES

Steps:

• 1. Note: 1tsp cayenne for milder tamales. Soak corn husk in water several hours before or even overnight to make them softer to work with.
• 2. Combine all ingredients in cast iron skillet and cook until meat is done.
• 3. Follow directions on side of bag to make the corn Masa mix.
• 4. Lay out 1st corn husk on baking "cookie" sheet. Add masa and spread about 16th of an inch thick.
• 5. Add 1-2 spoons of meat and roll oblong (weenie style). One end open, the other end folded.
• 6. Tie the made tamales in bundles of six with 2 lengths of twine cut about 1 foot long.
• 7. Place all bundles of tamales open end up steam basket pot and cover pot with lid.
• 8. Steam tamales for 2 hours.
• 9. Can be frozen or canned. I vacuum seal mine in the bundles of six, freeze and take out as needed. You can Re-heat by steaming, microwaving, or on cookie baking sheet in oven.
• Yields: approximately 6 dozen.

GOOD EATS HOT TAMALES (ALTON BROWN 2009)

Steps:

• MEAT FILLING: In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, kosher salt, paprika, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and cumin. Divide the mixture in half and reserve 1 half for later use.
• Cut the Boston butt into 6 even pieces and place into a 6 to 8-quart saucepan. Add half of the spice mixture and enough water, 3 to 3 1/2 quarts, to completely cover the meat. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the meat is very tender and falling apart, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Remove the meat from the cooking liquid to a cutting board. Leave the cooking liquid in the pot. Both meat and liquid need to cool slightly before making dough and handling. Remove any large pieces of fat and shred the meat into small pieces, pulling apart with your hands or using 2 forks.
• Place a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Once shimmering, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are semi-translucent, approximately 3 minutes.
• Add the garlic, jalapeno, and remaining half of the spice mixture and continue to cook for another minute. Add the meat (and tomato paste if desired) and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• WRAPPERS: While the meat is cooking, place the husks in a large bowl or container and submerge completely in hot water. Soak the husks until they are soft and pliable, at least 45 minutes and up to 2 hours.
• DOUGH: Place the cornmeal, salt, and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and combine. Add the lard and using your hands, knead together until the lard is well incorporated into the dry mixture. Gradually add enough of the reserved cooking liquid, 3 to 4 cups to create a dough that is like thick mashed potatoes. The dough should be moist but not wet. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside until ready to use.
• ASSEMBLY: Remove a corn husks from the water and pat dry to remove excess water. Working in batches of 6, lay the husks on a towel and spread about 2 tablespoons of the dough in an even layer across the wide end of the husk to within 1/2-inch of the edges. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture in a line down the center of the dough. Roll the husk so the dough surrounds the meat, then fold the bottom under to finish creating the tamale. Repeat until all husks, dough and filling are used. Tie the tamales, around the center, individually or in groups of 3, with kitchen twine.
• TO COOK TAMALES: Stand the tamales upright on their folded ends, tightly packed together, in the same saucepan used to cook the meat. Add the reserved broth from making the dough and any additional water so the liquid comes to 1-inch below the tops of the tamales. Do not pour the broth into the tops of the tamales. Cover, and simmer until the dough is firm and pulls away easily from the husk, about 30-60 minutes (Alton says 2 hrs, but ours were done much sooner).
• SAUCE: To make a wet sauce to serve with the tamales, after removing them from the broth, add a little tomato paste (about 3 oz) to the broth and simmer till thickened.
• STORING TAMALES: Tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, in the freezer, for up to a month. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and steam until heated through (we used a steamer basket in the microwave and they were done in 8 minutes, so it makes a great quick munchie snack). :).

HOT TAMALES (LOUISIANA STYLE)

Steps:

• Run onions, celery, garlic, and bell pepper through your food processor until they are finely minced.
• In a very large bowl, combine ground meat, minced veggies, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix together thoroughly using your hands. Add in the rotel, 1 cup of corn meal, and 1 can of tomato sauce; mix again. (You need to mix the wet ingredients in separately from the spices so that the spices don't all clump together in one spot.)
• Lay out your papers beside two baking sheets or trays. Add 1 cup of cornmeal to one baking sheet, to roll the tamales in (the other one is to stack completed tamales on.)
• Pinch off some of the meat mixture, and form into a ping pong sized ball. Roll it in the cornmeal, coating it as thick as you can. Place in the center of a tamale paper on one side, and roll. The ball should squish into a log, leaving an inch of the wrapper empty on either end. Press down the top of both empty ends, and fold the two sides of the ends in before folding them under the tamale.
• Repeat with the remainder of the meat mixture. After a few, you get the feel of how much meat it will take to fill the wrapper up enough. We got 75 tamales out of one batch, it depends on how big you make them.
• In a large dutch oven, pour in the 1/2 cup oil and 1 can tomato sauce. Cover with a layer of tamales, then a can of sauce, and a sprinkle of chili powder, repeating until you run out of tamales. Fill the pan with water until the tamales are just covered.
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 2 - 2 1/2 hours till done, adding water if necessary.

NEW ORLEANS HOT TAMALES

Steps:

• Start off by sautéing the ground beef and onions until the beef browns and the onions become tender.
• At this point, strain the meat and drain off all but a couple tablespoons of the beef drippings; But KEEP IT IN RESERVE-you'll need it later.
• Then combine into the meat the Rotel tomatoes, the chili mix, the peeled tomatoes, the chili powder, the cumin, the water, and your salt and cayenne pepper.
• Now... bring the mixture to a slow boil; but as soon as the boil begins, reduce the heat to low and simmer everything together (with the cover on the pot) for about 45 minutes to an hour.
• Next, strain the meat again from the juices (but save the juices); Then put the meat back into the pot and stir in the cornbread mix and one cup of meat drippings you saved from the sautéing process.
• At this point, you can adjust the"spicyness" of the tamales by adding either more chili powder or cayenne pepper.
• Then mix everything together extremely well once more- and note- you want the tamale mixture to be moist and pasty, but not"wet".
• Finally, place about a tablespoon of the meat stuffing into the center of a moistened tamale paper, roll the paper around the tamale, and put the rolled tamales into a deep steamer pot.
• Then ladle over the tamales all the juices and drippings you reserved during the preparation process and simmer everything on low for about 45 minutes.
• When you're ready to eat, serve them piping hot.

HOT TAMALES

Steps:

• Combine first 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven. Add water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Drain meat, reserving broth; set broth aside. Shred meat with a fork; set aside.
• Cover dried cornhusks with hot water; let stand several hours or until softened. Drain well. If husks are too narrow overlap 2 husks to make a wide one. If too wide, tear off one side.
• Remove and discard seeds from chiles; place in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes or until chiles are tender. Drain chiles, reserving 3/4 cup water; place softened chiles in container of blender. Add reserved water and blend 1 minute or until smooth; set aside.
• Melt 2 teaspoons shortening in a small saucepan; add flour and cumin, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly. remove from heat, and stir in 1/2 cup chile mixture and 3/4 teaspoon salt; add to shredded meat, stirring well. Set aside.
• Bring reserved beef broth to a boil. Combine corn masa, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup plus 2 to 3 tablespoons hot beef broth to make a stiff dough. Add the remaining chile mixture to the dough, mixing well.
• Place 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons masa dough (depending on husk size) in the center of each husk, spreading to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Place 2 tablespoons meat mixture in center. Fold short ends of husks to center, enclosing filling; roll up from unfolded side. Tie with string or strip of softened corn husk.
• Place a cup in center of a steaming rack or metal colander inside of a large pot. Add enough water to fill pot below rack level and keep tamales above water. Stand tamales on flded ends around the cup. Bring water to a boil. Cover and steam 1 hour or until tamale dough pulls away from corn husk; add more water as necessary. Serve with Picante sauce, if desired.
• Note: Steamed tamales can be frozen. Allow to cool; place in plastic bag, or wrap them securely in aluminum foil, and place in freezer. To reheat, follow steaming procedure until tamales are thouroughly heated.

BOOT'S FAMOUS HOT TAMALES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, mix ground chuck, salt, onion powder, tomato sauce, Rotel tomatoes and chili powder. Adjust the amount of salt and chili powder depending on the actual amount of ground chuck you are using. Cook thoroughly, mixing occaisionally.
• Cool in pan - then refrigerate in pan over night,
• When ready to assemble, soak tamale papers in warm water. Tamale papers are usually found in with the Mexican foods or in the meat department at my grocery store and are sold by the pound.
• Put on food handling gloves and roll chilled meat mixture into 2 - 2 1/2" oblong balls. Larger will make fewer tamales. Set aside.
• To mix corn meal mixture, start with one 5 lb bag of self-rising corn meal. Add enough warm water to get a mix with consistency of cornbread mix. Add 1/2 - 1 C of corn oil and mix thoroughly. You will need to make more as needed depending on the amount of ground chuck you are using.
• Wring water out of tamale papers and lay on flat service. (I put them on freezer paper on a kitchen table due to limited space)
• Put a large spoon of meal mixture on each paper and pat out flat.
• Put an oblong meat ball on each meal mixture.
• Roll up the tamale paper being sure that the corn meal mixture is covering the meat ball. Tie with the 6" yarn or twine.
• Put in 1 gallon freezer bags and keep frozen. You can fit 10 - 12 in each bag depending on how big each tamale is.
• To cook -- Put in boiling water for 20-25 minutes. Remove each tamale from the boiling water, cut twine and remove tamale paper. Suggested toppings - chili, cheese, diced tomatoes.