Real Tamales?

Question

I know the real Tamale is made from pigs head. Can you tell me part part of the head?

Do you have a recipe for real Tamales? The ones in the can almost make me gag. In the south, they have fake stuff. So I want real Tamales!

Answer 1

I went to the web for you,


Traditional Tamales (Pork)
Recipe #1528637 ratings
This tamale recipe is about as traditional as you can get, although I use a roast instead of the whole pig head that many Mexican women use. I have also used beef, but they just do not taste quit the same. These take about all day to make and are a lot of work, but they are so worth the time and the effort. Not for the faint hearted cook for sure. They are a huge hit here in the west. For added flavor, top with either some of the red sauce used to prepare this recipe, or with my favorite, green chili sauce with pork, Chile Verde With Pork (Green Chili Sauce With Pork). Serve with sides of Spanish rice, refried beans topped with cheese and frosty margaritas for a delicious authentic Mexican meal. For an online tamale making tutorial, including pictures, please see http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=188623 posted in the Mexican cooking forum.
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50 Tamales 6 hours 2 hours prep
Change to: Tamales US Metric
3 1/2 lbs pork shoulder or pork butt, trimmed of fat and cut up
10 cups water
1 medium onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups red chili sauce (see Red Chili Sauce (To Be Used With Traditional Tamales) for red chili sauce)
3/4 cup shortening
6 cups masa harina
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
50 dried corn husks (about 8 inches long)

Not the one? See other Traditional Tamales (Pork) Recipes
Steam
Mexican
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In a 5 qt Dutch oven, bring pork, water, onion, garlic and 1 1/2 salt to boil.
Simmer covered, about 2 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender.
Remove meat from broth and allow both meat and broth to cool. (Chilling the broth will allow you to easily remove the fat if you desire to do so).
Shred the meat using 2 forks, discarding fat.
Strain the broth and reserve 6 cups.
In a large sauce pan, heat the red chili sauce and add meat; simmer, covered for 10 minutes.
To make masa beat shortening on medium speed in a large bowl for 1 minute.
In a separate bowl, stir together masa harina, baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt.
Alternately add masa harina mixture and broth to shortening, beating well after each addition. (Add just enough broth to make a thick, creamy paste).
In the mean time, soak corn husks in warm water for at least 20 minutes; rinse to remove any corn silk and drain well.
To assemble each tamale, spread 2 tablespoons of the masa mixture on the center of the corn husk (each husk should be 8 inches long and 6 inches wide at the top. If husks are small, overlap 2 small ones to form one. If it is large, tear a strip from the side).
Place about 1 tablespoon meat and sauce mixture in the middle of the masa.
Fold in sides of husk and fold up the bottom.
Place a mound of extra husks or a foil ball in the center of a steamer basket placed in a Dutch oven.
Lean the tamales in the basket, open side up.
Add water to Dutch oven just below the basket.
Bring water to boil and reduce heat.
Cover and steam 40 minutes, adding water when necessary.
To freeze these for future meals, leave them in the husks and place them in freezer bags. To reheat, thaw and wrap in a wet paper towel and reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes for one or two or re-steam them just until hot.


Tamales
INGREDIENTS
Tamale Filling:
1 1/4 pounds pork loin
1 large onion, halved
1 clove garlic
4 dried California chile pods
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Tamale Dough:
2 cups masa harina
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup lard
1 (8 ounce) package dried corn husks
1 cup sour cream

DIRECTIONS
Place pork into a Dutch oven with onion and garlic, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 hours.
Use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from the chile pods. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Transfer the chiles and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture, stir in salt, and set aside. Shred the cooked meat and mix in one cup of the chile sauce.
Soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water. In a large bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more broth as necessary to form a spongy dough.
Spread the dough out over the corn husks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Place one tablespoon of the meat filling into the center. Fold the sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer. Steam for 1 hour.
Remove tamales from husks and drizzle remaining chile sauce over. Top with sour cream. For a creamy sauce, mix sour cream into the chile sauce.

Answer 2

They usually use around the jaw i believe but most of the time it is the pig's shoulder that is used. The tamales i know of were home made and contained turkey, beef and pork tamales but they all came from around the same areas on the animal and were shredded together and steamed with just masa and corn husks. First you have to buy the masa and add it together with some corn oil then cook the meat until it is finished and shred it up then lay down some corn husks and place a little bit of the masa mixture inside of it and then add a little of the meat tie it up with a string of corn husk and then you can get a pot and put a little water inside of it then place the tamales inside and cover it with a lid then when it is soft on the inside and looks a little different then before they are finished and they shouldn't have a flour like taste to it. and add a little salt and pepper if you like and to flavor the masa put some cumin and sage if you like into it before you steam it or you can leave the sage out. and if you want you can mince some onions and garlic into the meat before they are steamed so it has flavor and you can serve it with menudo or a mole sauce if you like things like that, but the canned mole sauce is very chalky and a little too bitter sometimes.

Answer 3

Just because they are made from the head of a pig does not mean they are real tamales. Every area has their way of making tamales. Over here in Texas we use pork shoulder butt. In Mexico also. Real tamales are made from scratch. Not that store bought stuff. The masa has to be made from scratch. Every thing fresh.

Answer 4

Here's the basic recipe, to which you can add chili ancho, chili japon, chili cascabel, garlic, cumin, and other spices. The best tamales I've ever tasted are at The Old Texas Tamale Company, referenced below in the link where you can find this recipe. ------------------------------ Recipe for Basic Tamales 5 lbs. lean pork or beef, cooked and shredded 6 to 7 lbs. fresh masa 1 1/2 lbs lard 1 tbls. salt 1 1/2 pts. red chili sauce 1 bundle oujas (corn shucks) Directions To make tamales, cook meat by boiling in a large covered pot with enough water to cover completely. Add salt to taste and slow boil till completely done. Cool meat and save broth. When meat has cooled, shred and mix in the chili sauce. Clean oujas (corn shucks or outer husk) in warm water. (make masa by hand or with mixer) Mix the masa, lard , salt and enough broth to make a smooth paste. Beat till a small amount (1 tsp) will float in a cup of cool water. Spread masa (1/8 to 1/4 inch thick layer, or to preference) on ouja, add a small amount of meat and roll up. Fold up ends of ouja and place(fold down) on a rack in a pan deep enough to steam. Add 1 to 2 inches water, cover with a tight fitting lid and steam about 1 1/2 hours. (a cloth can be used under the lid to make a tighter fit) Many variations of ingredients can be used in making tamales. You can use a combination of beef and pork, use chicken or even fried beans. One or two olives may be added to the center or try adding a few raisins. This recipe will make 4 to 5 dozen tamales

Answer 5

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Answer 6

I have friends that are from Mexico and they usually use shredded pork butt and shredded chicken. But Mexico is much like it is in the states - there are different regional recipes - so it depends on what part of Mexico the recipe comes from.
Here's a great link to a step by step recipe...
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/Tamale_Recipe.htm
Have fun and have a wonderful holiday!

Answer 7

i make my tamales from the head mostly ( all of it ) its tastier meat ,as far as the rest of the pig it all makes good tamales the secret is the chile you prep the meat with ,no real secret as far as the basic -follows =
dried ancho chiles
fresh tomatillo (sauced )
salt to taste
cumin and lots of it
its up to you to mix to your taste !! have fun

Answer 8

Am mexican, yes they are right there are many regional recipies, Could you please tell me what kind of tamales you have tried? We have tamales made in corn doughs or banana leavessome are big some are small, sweet, spicy.

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/features/tamales/tamales.html

Answer 9

All the Latinas I know use pork butt. But I can't help you with the recipe because they guard old family recipes with their life. But oh they are good!

Answer 10

Cheeks and jowls