Pork butt Tamales


 
I'm not sure what you mean--post-cook during the rest? --foiling during cooking?

If the former, no. The pork needs to rest but it need not be foiled. Resting unfoiled allows if to cool sooner and become easier to work with.

If the latter, no, unless speeding up the cook is required.
 
Kevin, sorry, I meant post cook during the rest. I finished last night and boy oh boy did that sauce and pork taste amazing. I didn't follow the recipe exactly since I ran out of ancho peppers and had to work with more guajillo peppers, but all in all, very delicious. Hopefully my friends mom will approve and we'll see how it'll taste inside a tamale. Thanks again Kevin.

Erik
 
You're very welcome. I hope your friend's mom will like it as well.

It is not necessary to follow the recipe exactly. The main reason I wrote three was to show you how they can vary in both ingredients and approach and still work.

Perhaps I'll make a bunch before New Year's now that I'm thinking about it!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Larry, the cheese jalapeño tamales are my absolute favorite. Damn they're soooooo good. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Unfortunately my SO's mother made this batch last and I'd already eaten about 6 pork tamales by the time the cheese were done. Others ate pie, cheesecake and cookies for desert, Larry had 4 cheese tamales fresh out of the pot, damn they were good! Hoping SO brings some home for me.
 
Are you guy's using a store bought masa flour like this or making your own? If you are making your own, how?

Q'n, Golf'n & Grill'n....too many choices!
Gary
 
I use store bought masa flour and also make my own masa, depending on time and whether I have dent corn available, mostly the former. I make tortillas from the masa dough, most often, but also use it for tamales. (The process for making the dough is somewhat different if one is making tamales instead of tortillas.)

To make masa one first makes what's known as the nixtamal. This is dent corn (aka field corn, not sweet corn) that is simmered with a little cal (slaked lime) to loosen the skins. The nixtamal then gets ground (I use a hand-crank grinder/ I used to use a metate y mano, kind of a flatter mortar with a rolling pin-like pestle.)
 
Gary, we mostly use the store bought flour. I am not sure in Orlando, but over here we can buy masa already made at our local mexican supermarket.

Erik
 
On the topic of tamales...have any of you ever had those sweet tamales? I don't mean they are for dessert, they're just...sweet. I think they're called elote or something like that. I buy tamales from this roadside hut near me (no kidding, it's a little wood hut erected at like 6pm and taken down at 10pm) and though I always buy pork tamales the ladies that run the stand are always bangin' on about tamales de elote. They put crema on top and and parmesian cheese...it's kind of like corn pudding, but in the shape of a tamale. I think they'd be fantastic for breakfast, but the crema and parmesian doesn't really do it for me. Anybody know the proper name for them?
 
Phil, elote is spanish for corn on the cob. I have had grounded corn that's sweet (not a tamale though) and I have also had tamales where they are filled with some sort of sweet filling (I find it to be absolutely disgusting), instead of the typical meat or cheese filling. I put crema (and salsa) on all of my meat or cheese tamales, but never the sweet tamales. I have never tried parmesan cheese on my tamale but it sounds like it would be good with either meat or cheese.

Central Americans typically eat this kind of tamale. I know my host mother in Costa Rica would make these on special occasions, but I was never interested in trying them (at the time). Here's a link with a recipe. Tamales de Elote. I've seen the ladies and children go through a supermarket parking lot trying to sell tamales but I have seen (or heard of for that matter) a little hut built for a few hours just to sell tamales. Have you tried the tamales? I am always a little weary with random people selling food on the streets.

Erik
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Erik G:
Phil, elote is spanish for corn on the cob. I have had grounded corn that's sweet (not a tamale though) and I have also had tamales where they are filled with some sort of sweet filling (I find it to be absolutely disgusting), instead of the typical meat or cheese filling. I put crema (and salsa) on all of my meat or cheese tamales, but never the sweet tamales. I have never tried parmesan cheese on my tamale but it sounds like it would be good with either meat or cheese.

Central Americans typically eat this kind of tamale. I know my host mother in Costa Rica would make these on special occasions, but I was never interested in trying them (at the time). Here's a link with a recipe. Tamales de Elote. I've seen the ladies and children go through a supermarket parking lot trying to sell tamales but I have seen (or heard of for that matter) a little hut built for a few hours just to sell tamales. Have you tried the tamales? I am always a little weary with random people selling food on the streets.

Erik </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Erik,

I did some net searches, and I think they are definately tamales de elote. It's totally posible the people selling them are from central america rather than Mexico...didn't think of that. They also sell the corn on the cob on a stick thing and do call it elote.
I've eaten there dozens of times, never had a problem. The tamales are only 75 cents, and they're tasty...Not the best I've ever had, but worth 75 cents. I've tried the sweet ones and to be honest, I don't really care for them in a "tamale" context (if that makes sense). I do, however, think they'd be a good side dish for something like ham/pulled pork/etc. Or, as I mentioned, for breakfast.
I should really take a picture of their place...it's kind of ramshackle. It's sort of amusing, I have to admit. But hey, we all have to make a living I guess.
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Great Thread, Thanks to all for the info. Other than online or a Mexican store, where would one find the corn husks? Second how would one go about saving the husks in the summer from sweet corn to use at a later date? Just air dry and vac seal? TIA
 
Bryan, out here many of the "standard" grocery stores sell corn husks, in PA I kind of doubt it. If you didn't want to buy them on-line I'd be happy to pick some up for you and ship them to you. It would probably be cheaper.

I'll have my SO ask her mother about saving husks from your corn crop.

Kevin: The first time my SO's mother stayed with us several years ago I woke to the most wonderful aroma coming from my kitchen. I went out to see what smelled so good and found my SO's mother making home made tortillas. I'd never had a home made flour tortilla before; she put a little butter and cinnamon sugar on it and handed one to me and it was amazing!!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:
Great Thread, Thanks to all for the info. Other than online or a Mexican store, where would one find the corn husks? Second how would one go about saving the husks in the summer from sweet corn to use at a later date? Just air dry and vac seal? TIA </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bryan, do your supermarkets have an ethnic or hispanic aisle? You should be able to find corn husks there.

Mexicans (from Mexico) typically lay the corn husks on top of their roofs and let it sun dry (they'll turn the husks once every day). They'll bundle it up, and save it when needed. Keep in mind though they typically grow field corn and not the sweet corn that is found in the US. Sweet corn tend to be rounder and much larger, so you will have to cut them appropriately.

Erik
 
Yup; when not in a Hispanic market I usually find husk in the 'Spanish' spice and dried pepper section, usually in a bag hanging near the peppers.

Husks from field or dent corn, the same corn that is used in masa, are what are dried for tamales, as Erik notes. No reason you can't dry husks from sweet corn though. Fresh husks are used for some tamales in a few places in Mexico from time to time--as are banana leaves in many places in the south. Pennsylvania banana trees...?
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Larry-- Nothing quite like homemade corn tortillas!
 
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