Tamale Making Day is Saturday, September 12. Some things need to be done ahead of time. Please read through this post if you’re planning to participate on Saturday.
- The recipe we’ll basically be using is from Pressure Cooking Today. If you’d like to participate and don’t have a pressure cooker, you can still do it. Just cook your meat ahead of time in the slow cooker or on the stove til tender. I will cook my meat in the pressure cooker but I will steam my tamales in my regular pot that I use.
- Nicole and I made the tamales when I was in MO and we followed the recipe exactly – cooking and steaming in the pressure cooker.
- The meat really needs to be cooked ahead of time so the broth/juice can be left in the fridge overnight in order for the grease to harden at the top and be removed.
- As far as the husks, there are several ways to do them. The methods I’ve used: One is to soak them overnight. Some people put the husks in an ice chest, pour hot water over them, weight them down (with anything that will keep them under water), close the lid and leave them overnight. Some put them in a big pot of boiling water, turn the burner off, put a lid on the pot and leave the husks soaking overnight. The second method is to place the husks in boiling water and let them boil for about 5 minutes, then leave them soaking in the hot water for 10 or 15 minutes. I can’t tell a whole lot of difference in any method. The goal is to soften the husks. It is easier to work with the husks that are tender and pliable and . .cool! If working with the second method, you’re working with hot water and hot husks.
So, my advice is:
Tamale Meat
If your meat is frozen (as is mine), get it out to thaw. Tomorrow (Friday), I’m going to cook my meat so I can leave it in the fridge overnight and then shred it on Saturday morning.
Tamale Ingredients
Friday night I will soak my husks and be ready to start making tamales as soon as we finish breakfast.
Also, make sure you have plenty of freezer bags if you’re going to freeze your tamales. I’ll vacuum seal and freeze mine.
If anyone has any problems or questions on Saturday, please post a comment in the most recent post (there may be several on Saturday) and myself or someone else who sees it will answer it as soon as we can.
Tammie Stephens says
Judy, Are you using your reg pot because of the size, do more at one time, or is there another reason?
JudyL says
Good question! When Nicole and I made them, we made a double batch and used two pressure cookers and everything fit in fine. The recipe calls for 3 pounds of meat and I think we used just a bit over 6 pounds with 2 pots and all the tamales fit fine in both pots but there wasn’t much room for more. My meat totals a little over 5 pounds so it’s more than will fit in one pot when steaming the tamales.
Also, I was making the tamales a bit longer (like I usually do) and I kinda had to crunch them down a bit to get the lid on.
I’ll use my canner with the crawfish basket and steam them outside. If I didn’t have that setup, I’d be perfectly happy to use the pressure cooker to steam them.
diana in RR, TX says
Will be delaying my tamale making day. Was going to get my husks today but Dad is back in the hospital and I have no clue what will be happening the next couple of days. Don’t want to thaw the meat until I know I’ll have the time to do it.
Darla says
Judy, I am ready for my first ever tamale making day! I’ve roasted the pork, shredded it, then simmered with spices.
I refrigerated the liquid separately…and it has 3 layers…pure white fat, a jelly and a watery broth.
Should I melt the jelly layer with the broth and use it as the liquid for the masa?
JudyL says
Another good question! Yes, I would heat just enough to melt the jelly layer. I find that it’s much easier to stir barely warm broth into the masa than it is to add ice cold broth. The jelled layer has lots of flavor!