Tamales the way Nona taught me.

[Bearcarver]

LOL---I just remembered the only "Tamales" I ever had were when I was a Kid, and I used to go to the Movie Theater on Saturday Afternoons (Matinee), where kids got in for bringing "6 Royal Crown Cola Bottle Caps". One of my favorite Candies to eat at the Movies was "Hot Tamales", a Cinnamon flavored Jellybean-like candy.

Bear

 

[tallbm]

LOL---I just remembered the only "Tamales" I ever had were when I was a Kid, and I used to go to the Movie Theater on Saturday Afternoons (Matinee), where kids got in for bringing "6 Royal Crown Cola Bottle Caps". One of my favorite Candies to eat at the Movies was "Hot Tamales", a Cinnamon flavored Jellybean-like candy.

Bear

That or Goobers are my favorite movie candies hahaha. It seems I can never find both at a theater just one or the other.

 

[Bearcarver]

That or Goobers are my favorite movie candies hahaha. It seems I can never find both at a theater just one or the other.

LOL---Back in my day it was also "Nibs", "Raisinets", Juicy-Fruits, and "Good & Plenty".
Ahhhh--Memories!!

Bear

 

[grill_student]

Thank you for sharing this post! I absolutely love very complicated, time-consuming traditional recipes!

A few questions:
- Any particular reason for the cast iron pot instead of ECI when making the sauce?

- What type of food mill is that? I'm looking to get a new one and was thinking about the Gefu mill (flotte lotte).

Don't get me wrong I love a good mole just not on my tamales. I season the meat before smoking with ground up achiote, sesame, cumin, coriander seeds, pepitas, chiles, bay leaves and a few other top secret things, not really a secret I just like saying that... I also add some tequila and some ground up capers. I add all the spices into the blender or food mill then make a paste using the spices and the tequila and rub the meat with a heavy coating of the paste then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and into the refer for 2 days before smoking it, Nona used a mortero y maja/mortar and pestle but I don't have the time to grind spices with two rocks. LMAO!!!

I'd like to try this (or have my niece attempt it) if the secret ingredients get leaked. :)

Also, it's quite difficult finding a good mortero/maja (Mexican made) or other general mortar and pestles (ie made in Thailand, USA, etc.) that aren't mass produced in China.

 

[forktender]

Thank you for sharing this post! I absolutely love very complicated, time-consuming traditional recipes!

A few questions:
- Any particular reason for the cast iron pot instead of ECI when making the sauce?

- What type of food mill is that? I'm looking to get a new one and was thinking about the Gefu mill (flotte lotte).


I'd like to try this (or have my niece attempt it) if the secret ingredients get leaked. :)

Also, it's quite difficult finding a good mortero/maja (Mexican made) or other general mortar and pestles (ie made in Thailand, USA, etc.) that aren't mass produced in China.

The cast iron pot is just my favorite pot.

That food mill is 80+ years old it was Nona's the thing is built like a Sherman tank but what I like best about it is it has a small wire arm that scrapes the underside of the mill which keeps it from clogging up.
I live in little Mexico north/ California there are real Mexican markets all over the place out here.
This is the one I have but I bought it at one of our local markets, I use it weekly for grinding spices, making salsa and guacamole.
Damn that is way over priced, I can find them for $20- $30 around here.

I'm Sicilian but my favorite food by far is real Mexican food, I dated a hot little señorita for several years before I got married and learned a ton about making real Mexican food from her Grandmother, Mother and Auntie's. It's funny because in that culture men don't normally hang out with the women in the kitchen, they get drunk and fight each other...lol. it wouldn't be so funny if it wasn't true.

I didn't care for her father or brothers much mainly because I was always in the kitchen with the women learning how to cook, I guess they took that as a sign of weakness on my part which was very quickly put to rest out in the backyard with boxing gloves on. Damn those were good times, I learned so much from those women and I also taught her brothers that being in the kitchen with the ladies was a lot better than picking themselves up off the lawn because a guy that likes to cook just knocked all three of them out.

If your interested I might be able to pick you one up if they have the pestals which they often don't have.
I can take a look if you are really looking for one, shipping wouldn't be that bad in a USPS flat rate box if you live in the US.

Dan

 

[tallbm]

Thank you for sharing this post! I absolutely love very complicated, time-consuming traditional recipes!

A few questions:
- Any particular reason for the cast iron pot instead of ECI when making the sauce?

- What type of food mill is that? I'm looking to get a new one and was thinking about the Gefu mill (flotte lotte).


I'd like to try this (or have my niece attempt it) if the secret ingredients get leaked. :)

Also, it's quite difficult finding a good mortero/maja (Mexican made) or other general mortar and pestles (ie made in Thailand, USA, etc.) that aren't mass produced in China.

It wont be the exact flavor but if you wanted to bypass some of the labor intensive pepper fighting you can use really good chili powders. The tamales will still come out great as I eat tamales done this way every year but my mother know's what she is doing so that helps haha.
One good, flavorful, and possibly available chili powder for you to look for is Gebhardt brand, walmart in TX and i magine other Southwestern boarder states carries it but you can probably order it to store:

(2 pack) Gebhardt Chili Powder, 3 ounces - Walmart.com

Free 2-day shipping. Buy (2 pack) Gebhardt Chili Powder, 3 ounces at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

You will want plenty of bottles or a giant bottle of it.
Again its all up to what your preferences are. Forktender goes hardcore all hand made. My 70yr old mother just buys the powder but makes all the other stuff and she uses a corn tortilla press to easily smash the masa onto the corn husk quick and easily, I suggest that efficient approach over hand smashing lol

 

[forktender]

I've seen that at the Mexican stores around here, I'll for sure check it out. It will save me a bunch of time for tamales, enchiladas, chili rellenos and my chili.

Thanks a bunch.
Dan

 

[tallbm]

I've seen that at the Mexican stores around here, I'll for sure check it out. It will save me a bunch of time for tamales, enchiladas, chili rellenos and my chili.

Thanks a bunch.
Dan

No prob Dan. Get it and make something simple with it so u get a taste for it and how u will apply it. I suggest just making some ground taco meat to dip your toe in the water, its a good chili powder but not identical to all the pepper work you do for your tamales :)

 

[forktender]

Next time I'm on that side of town I'm going to grab a few for sure.

 

[grill_student]

I live in little Mexico north/ California there are real Mexican markets all over the place out here.

Where in northern California? I went to school in Monterey for a bit, but didn't notice a ton of places in my area.

If your interested I might be able to pick you one up if they have the pestals which they often don't have.
I can take a look if you are really looking for one, shipping wouldn't be that bad in a USPS flat rate box if you live in the US.

Do you know where those mortar and pestles are made? Thank you for the offer, but I live in Hawaii and something that heavy would demand exorbitant shipping rates, I'm sure.

 

[WaterRat]

Looks great! And it looks like a ton of work I'm lucky in that my neighbors from Mexico make them a couple times a year and give me a few.

 

[xray]

Wow great looking tamales, Dan! That's quite a bit of work there. Don't see many tamales around here.

Like!

 

[chilerelleno]

I'm suffering some severe food jealousy here... LIKE!

 

[forktender]

Where in northern California? I went to school in Monterey for a bit, but didn't notice a ton of places in my area.


Do you know where those mortar and pestles are made? Thank you for the offer, but I live in Hawaii and something that heavy would demand exorbitant shipping rates, I'm sure.

East bay area.
I don't know where they are made, I'll look the next time I'm down that way.

 

[forktender]

Thanks guys, my arthritic hands and spine are still killing me.
I only kept 2 dozen and gave the rest to friends and family. I got a call from my buddies wife she said if I make up another batch and give them to her aunty that her aunt will let me deer, hog and turkey hunt her ranch which is on the CA coast and its 8,000 acres. Damn it, this is going to kill me but I have to jump on that offer, those don't come by very often these days in CA.

Thanks again for all the likes, they really cheered me up.
Dan

 

[Fueling Around]

Thanks guys, my arthritic hands and spine are still killing me.
I only kept 2 dozen and gave the rest to friends and family. I got a call from my buddies wife she said if I make up another batch and give them to her aunty that her aunt will let me deer, hog and turkey hunt her ranch which is on the CA coast and its 8,000 acres. Damn it, this is going to kill me but I have to jump on that offer, those don't come by very often these days in CA.

I would push through the pain for that offer of exchange.

Arthritis is mostly in my thumbs. That really messes with my grip on life....

 

[FishAndBeer]

Thanks guys, my arthritic hands and spine are still killing me.
I only kept 2 dozen and gave the rest to friends and family. I got a call from my buddies wife she said if I make up another batch and give them to her aunty that her aunt will let me deer, hog and turkey hunt her ranch which is on the CA coast and its 8,000 acres. Damn it, this is going to kill me but I have to jump on that offer, those don't come by very often these days in CA.

Thanks again for all the likes, they really cheered me up.
Dan

Man, that's awesome! All the hardships of making those amazing looking tamales for a excellent opportunity! You know your tamales rock when you get a offer to hunt 8,000 acres for them! Haha!

 

[forktender]

Where in northern California? I went to school in Monterey for a bit, but didn't notice a ton of places in my area.


Do you know where those mortar and pestles are made? Thank you for the offer, but I live in Hawaii and something that heavy would demand exorbitant shipping rates, I'm sure.

I'll have to look into US Mail postal priority shipping to see if it's still the same price as the mainland shipping. If it is we can work out some sort of Hawaiian trade deal.......I love real Hawaiian Aloha shirts, and could use a new one and some real Hawaiian sea salts or Aloha Teriyaki Sauce, if it's a go we can hammer out the details later.

I'll see what I can find out.
Dan

 

[forktender]

Man, that's awesome! All the hardships of making those amazing looking tamales for a excellent opportunity! You know your tamales rock when you get a offer to hunt 8,000 acres for them! Haha!

The Mexican lady across the street rolled her eyes when I told her that I make traditional tamales. so I made sure I brought her some. I made her eat one in front of me to see her reaction to them. I could tell that she was impressed with how they were put together the thickness of the masa and how well they were tied.
(my wife is 100% German, and she tied them, if she does something it's done right, her father was a machinist and you know how OCD they are.......lol, if I tied them they wouldn't have looked nearly as nice.)

The lady across the street took a bite and didn't say anything for a second and if you know anything about Mexican ladies.......lol, they never shut up. She gave me a big hug and said that they reminded her of her Abuelita's tamales, this lady makes about 2000 tamales a yr, so I was very impressed that she liked them as much as she did. I use a masa spreader and it lays down the perfect amount 1/4'' in one swipe, they make building the tamales 200% quicker than using a wooden spoon to spread the masa, and they only cost $6.00 at the Mexican stores, I didn't tell that though because its cheating in her eyes.......LMAO!!!

 

[tallbm]

Nice, I'm glad you made her a believer!
Also, tamales for that hunting is a no brainer lol. I'm jealous of the hunting opportunity, I think my big hunting plans are going to change this year :(
But that will be ok if i can pull about 5-6 feral pigs off my cousin's deer lease for free but probably no deer for me this year with the way its going so far.