Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Recipe Night

More delicious recipes from Cherokee Echols and possibly the longest post ever at Uber Etc.
Tamales

Ingredients:
6 - 8 lb. Pork Roast
5lb. Chicken
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Ground Cumin
Cumin Seeds
Paprika
Corn Oil
4 lbs. Corn Masa (MaSeCa brand)
Corn Shucks

Tamale Meat Ingredients:
1 pork roast (6-8 pounds)
1 large chicken (5 pounds)
3 Tbls Garlic powder
6 Tbls Chili Powder
3 Tbls Cumino (Cumin)
1/2 cup Corn Oil

The tamale meat is made from a combination of Pork Roast and Chicken.

Cook and Shred the Meats:
Start with 1 pork roast. Cut the roast into fist size chunks. Put the chunks into a Pan, and cover with water. Boil for about 2 1/2 hours or until it becomes really tender. After the meat is really tender, take it out of the broth to cool (Save the Broth, you will need it for the Masa!)

After the roast chunks are cool enough to handle easily, shred them with your fingers. Try to remove and discard the fat as you go.

Cover the chicken with water in a large pot, and boil for 2 hours, or until the chicken is done and tender. Take the chicken out of the broth and allow the chicken to cool. (Save the Chicken Broth as well!) Remove and discard the skin. Take the chicken meat off the bones and shred it into very small filaments. Discard any large chunks of fat.

Combine both meats in very large pan, and mix together. Make sure that the meats are thoroughly combined and mixed well. You are now ready to add the seasoning.

Mix the oil and seasonings listed below in a small pan and warm on the stove. Do not cook the oil and seasonings mix, but just gently warm on the stove to infuse the flavors.

When the oil and seasonings mix is warm, pour over the meat and mix with your hands until it is completely distributed through the meat. It takes a good 10 minutes to get the mixture completely uniform.

Spices and Seasonings:
1/2 cup corn oil
6 Tablespoons chili powder
3 Tablespoons garlic powder
3 Tablespoons ground cumin (comino)
1 Tablespoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons salt

The meat is now finished. You should put the meat in the refrigerator covered until ready to make the tamales. Put both the chicken broth and roast broth into the refrigerator as well. You will need the broth when you make the Masa.

A) Make the Masa Dough Mix:

Start with 2 lbs. of the Masa flour. It comes in a 4 lb bag, use half of it. Skim the fat off the broth that you saved from the Pork and Chicken we made earlier. Warm the broth from the pork and chicken up. Don't get it hot, just nice and warm.
Put the 2 lbs. of Masa in a large bowl. Add the following dry spices to the Masa:

3 Tablespoons paprika
3 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
3 Tablespoons garlic powder

Mix the spices above into the Masa until it is completely incorporated. Mix well.

Now add: 2 cups of Corn Oil to the Masa and Spice mixture. After adding the oil, begin to slowly work in 2 quarts of the warm chicken/pork broth, about a cup at a time. Work the mixture with your hands to make a dough. Slowly add the warm broth one cup at a time as you continue to work the mixture with your hands. If it is too dry, add enough warm broth or water to get it right for spreading. It should be like thick peanut butter. If it is too thin add more Masa, if it is too thick, add more broth or warm water. Thick peanut butter is the consistency you are trying for.

B) Prepare the Corn Shucks
Soak the shucks in a sink full of warm water for about 2 hours. You will need to carefully separate them when they get soft. Try to not tear or damage the corn shucks. It is easier to make the tamales if the shucks are in one piece. Soak the shucks in a sink full of warm water for about 2 hours. You will need to carefully separate the shucks so they are in one piece.

C) Build the Tamales
After the corn shucks are soft, take some of them out of the water, shake the water off, and lay them on the counter on a towel.

Pick up a shuck, lay it across the palm of your hand with the small end toward your fingers. Scoop up about 1/2 cup of the Masa dough with a spatula, and then smear it on the shuck.

Cover about left 2/3 of the shuck with Masa, leave 1/3 on the right uncovered. Similarly, cover the bottom 2/3 of the shuck, and leave the top 1/3 uncovered. You need to leave the top and side uncovered so you can fold it up later. Now, go to the next shuck and do the same, laying them out on the counter as you put the masa on them. I like to do 5 or ten at a time like this. When you have covered 5 to 10 of the shucks with Masa, it is time to add the meat. Take about 1 tablespoon of meat, and lay it on the masa about 1 in. from the left edge.

Starting on the left side (the side where the Masa dough goes all the way to the edge), roll the tamale all the way to the right edge. Now, fold the top of the shuck over like an envelope and lay tamale on the counter with the fold on the under side. Roll the next one the same until all your shucks with masa on them are rolled. Now, get more shucks and put masa on them the same way. Then roll the meat in them. Keep doing this until all the tamales are built. You will have about 4 dozen or more.

D) Cook the Tamales
To cook the tamales, you need a very large pot that has something in the bottom to keep the tamales out of the water while they steam. Add about 3 pints of water to the pot, then start stacking the tamales upright until full. The envelope end of the tamale will be on the bottom, the open end of the tamale should be on top. Continue to fill the pot. The tamales need to pack tight enough that they do not fall over and begin to unfold.

Cover the pot, and bring the water to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low and cook for at least 2 hours. Check water several times and add more if it is getting low, you DON’T want to boil it dry. Add more water as you need to. When done, take one tamale out and leave it on the counter for about 5 minutes to test. Unwrap it and it should be firm, with no raw masa. When done, remove all the tamales and let them cool on the counter, then put in bags for the freezer, 6 to a bag. You can save the tamales in the freezer for up to a year.

Enchilada/Tamale Sauce

3 Tablespoons Shortening
3 Tablespoons Flour
2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp garlic
3/4 tsp Salt
1 sm can tomato sauce
1 to 1 1/2 Cup chicken broth

Mix shortening and flour together in skillet; fry until brown. Add all spices and mix well. Add tomato sauce and broth stir. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve over Enchiladas or Tamales.

Cherokee


I absolutely love tamales but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try this process. Hats off to you, Cherokee.

Tamara

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