Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Spicing up Cinco de Mayo Beef Chipotle Tamales

                      Makes 66 (1 tamale) appetize servings
Tamales are masa (corn flour) dough filled with savory or sweet fillings and wrapped in corn husks then steamed. They are time-consuming to prepare so gather your family and make the preparation a party. 

Chipotle Beef Filling:

3                   pounds beef brisket
3                   teaspoons McCormick Garlic Salt
2                   cups water
1/4                cup vegetable oil 3 large tomatoes, chopped
1                   onion, chopped
3/4                cup raisins
3/4                cup chopped dried apricots McCormick Chipotle   ***Chili Pepper ***
1                  tablespoon McCormick Chile Peper , McCormick Cumin ground
1                 teaspoon McCormick Cumin , Ground McCormick Chili Powder , hot mexican style 
1                tablespoon McCormick Chili Powder , hot mexican style 

Tamales:
75               corn husks 10 cups instant corn masa flour for tamales McCormick Gourmet Collection Chile Pepper , Ancho
4                teaspoons McCormick Gourmet Collection Chile Peper , Ancho
4               teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons salt
2               cups lard
8               cups beef broth

1 .       For Chipotle Beef Filling, preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle beef with 2 teaspoons of the garlic salt. Place in foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pan. Add 1 cup of the water to pan. Cover with foil.
2 .       Bake brisket 4 hours or until meat is very tender. (Bake chuck roast 3 hours). Transfer beef to cutting board. Let stand until cooled enough to handle. Cut beef into quarters. Finely shred then coarsely chop the shredded beef.
3.         Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add tomatoes, onion, raisins, apricots, chipotle pepper, chili powder, cumin and remaining 1 teaspoon garlic salt; cook and stir 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 cup water. Cook 5 minutes longer. Add chopped beef; mix well.
4.         For Tamales, soak corn husks in hot water 30 minutes or overnight until soft and pliable.
5 .        Mix masa flour, ancho chile pepper, baking powder and salt in very large bowl. Beat lard in another very large bowl with electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in half of the masa flour mixture on medium-low speed until blended. Alternately beat in broth with remaining masa flour mixture on medium-low speed until the consistency of a thick cake batter. (The masa should hold its shape in a spoon). Drain corn husks and pat dry.
6 .        To assemble each tamale, spread 3 tablespoons masa into 4 1/2 x 4-inch rectangle starting at wide end of husk. Spoon 2 tablespoons Chipotle Beef Filling in center of masa. Use one long side of husk to roll masa over filling. Repeat with other long side of husk. Do not roll husk into masa. Roll husk around tamale to enclose. Fold up the narrow end of the husk and tie with long thin strips of husk or string.
7 .         Pour 1 inch of water into large pot. Stand tamales with open ends up in steamer basket. (Place as many tamales as will fit in basket. You will need to steam in batches.) Cover tamales with a layer of husks. Insert steamer basket in pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Steam on medium heat 1 hour or until husk peels away easily from tamale and masa is slightly firm. (Tamales will continue to firm up when removed from heat.) Repeat with remaining tamales.

11 comments:

  1. These really take a lot of time and effort! I do love tamales, though. My grandfather's second wife had a tamale business for a number of years, and sold them in booths at the Fair, as well as other venues. They would go to the country where he was from to bring back the actual corn husks for wrapping. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Hi Nellie , you are right they takes a lot of time and effort ... we make them maybe once or twice a year .
    Everyone loves hot tamales and it's an art form , as you know I had help with these (my older sister) ;-D . Thank you for dropping by :)

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  3. Good afternoon Nee,
    Wow, this is a mouthful for sure. I have never make tamales, and never even had one to eat. I have seen them being made on TV, and it takes an artist for someone to wrap these. This recipe looks delicious and probably to get the whole thing wrapped takes a lot of time. Your filling sounds and looks really yummy. Someday I need to have one to try it. I have heard that if you have never had one before, you need to eat one that is authentic. I have watched Rick Bayless and some of the other TV shows, that show these lovely little wraps. So maybe one day I will get inspired and try your recipe. Thanks for sharing, dear Nee....Blessings on this Wednesday! Dottie :)

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    1. Good afternoon Dottie.
      This is my 3rd time making them and I assure you they are no picnic ... I know Rick Bayless , he's on the Roadshow with my bro-in-law (Gregg) is a chef and is CEO of 9 or 10 resturants here and Reno . I think I will start posting some of his videos . We made these tamales in the resturant here with the help of others and it was great fun .
      Sorry to burst your bubble Dottie , but people are making tamales and other foods to their taste . They are not hard to wrap , the corn husks cooperates quite nicely ... it all the other methods you have to go through thats time consuming .
      I agree you should copyright your photos to keep people from stealing your ideas . My blog is just that and I don't think anyone has a use for it and I like to see my stuff on Pinterest . I have a large family 8 siblings besides my self and a sister-in-law that published a cookbook so you can see where i get a lot of my ideas . Have a blessed day ...NEE

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    2. PS : We are having 'Cinco de Mayo' celebrations here , someting like Mardi Gras and it lasts for 3 weeks . Nee

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  4. Oh, yum. I really need to make tamales -- they are so, so good. A bit of work, but the payoff is worth it. These look terrific. And you know how much I love chipotle! Thanks so much.

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    1. Hi John , I know you know good food because you are a great cook yourself and likes a little heat ;-D . Thanks for stopping by :)

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  5. I don't think I would be able to master such thing :) but I wouldn't refuse if you would make it for me :D

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    1. Hi Medeja , I has lots of help and they made it seem easy ,I was the tamale wrapper ;-D thanks for stopping by :)

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  6. Dear Nee, These sound very tasty and look very good. I would love to try such a recipe.
    I hope that your weekend is beautiful. Blessings dear. Catherine xo

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  7. Hi Catherine , they are tasty and the wrapping with shucks are easy , it getting the tamales together but they are worth it . Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed Mother's Day with your dear family ;-D Nee

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