Tamales

[SanJoaquinSooner]

My wife spent Saturday 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the church making 20,000 tamales to raise money for a group of them to go to a religious convention in Anaheim.

They spent $700 on the food supplies and sold them for $12/dozen ($20,000 total). Not a bad way to raise lots of money. They sold every damned one of them and the people at church were demanding more.

They made pork w/ red chile, chicken w/ green chile, cheese w/a slice of jalapeno, and they made a few dessert ones (three types): coconut, lemon, and raisin.

They bought the fresh masa from a tortilla factory in town and made everything else themselves. If you've ever made tamales you know how labor intensive it is. But $20,000 is a good haul.

[NormanPride]

I hate you so damn much. You know how hard it is to get a really good tamale in Oklahoma? It's impossible.

I miss San Antonio a lot sometimes.

[soonerchk]

I would much rather receive this in a UPS box than a turkey.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

I would have helped purchase...

[Harry Beanbag]

Tamales are a pain in the ***. We usually make 10-30 dozen and it takes one, sometimes two full weekends. They are awesome though.

[soonerchk]

I hate you so damn much. You know how hard it is to get a really good tamale in Oklahoma? It's impossible.

I miss San Antonio a lot sometimes.

There's a Mexican market in Tulsa and I've heard they do a good job.

[jumperstop]

Tamales taste gross, something about the stuff they are rapped in. I guess that would be the "masa" according to the post up there. Maybe it's just cause I've never had a good one though.

[Partial Qualifier]

Tamales taste gross, something about the stuff they are rapped in. I guess that would be the "masa" according to the post up there. Maybe it's just cause I've never had a good one though.

That's me too but I have to say, after reading SJS's post and a recent article about tamales in Southern Living magazine, I think all I've had are the generic/bland/bleh variety.

Who around here has good tamales?

[yermom]

i'm not sure i've had a bad tamale...

i like ones the Pepe's has whatever day they have that as a special. you can also order them by the dozen

it's possible this has changed since they moved though.

[saucysoonergal]

MMMMMMMM http://trade.mar.cx/_images/US71538112








;)

[thecynic]

I would much rather receive this in a UPS box than a turkey.

me too, but never look a gift turkey in the beak.

[soonerchk]

me too, but never look a gift turkey in the beak.

Gullet. Learn your bird terms.

[SOONER44EVER]

I know a little old Mexican lady that makes them to order for about $8 a dozen. She is in NW OKC. Senora Garcia. They are yummy. I've been buying them from her for 20+ years.

[thesnowbishop]

The San Mateo Mission in Pauls Valley has sold tamales in the past as a fundraiser. Good stuff for a good cause. I love good tamales, but I never found the penultimate tamale in my 4 years in San Antonio. The best are probably from families at Christmastime.

"Hot Tamales and they're red hot; Yeah, she's got 'em for sale."

[GDC]

I hate you so damn much. You know how hard it is to get a really good tamale in Oklahoma? It's impossible.

You are not looking in the right places.:)

[Theskipster]

I know a little old Mexican lady that makes them to order for about $8 a dozen. She is in NW OKC. Senora Garcia. They are yummy. I've been buying them from her for 20+ years.

Contact information PLEASE! There isn't much better than a well made tamale.

[sooner59]

The only good tamale I have eaten was when a Mexican coworker I had brought some that his grandmother had made. Very good.

[Harry Beanbag]

That's usually where you find the good ones, from some Mexican lady that you or someone you know knows. Just be careful, for some reason a lot of them like to put whole unpitted olives in them. Why, I have no idea.

[SOONER44EVER]

Contact information PLEASE! There isn't much better than a well made tamale.

I have the number in my business card folder. I'll post it tomorrow.

[King Crimson]

i used to buy tamales in this old, converted gas station (painted pink) in NW Denver that had a picture of the old Mexican lady who worked there being touched by the Pope. the best place i knew, Casa de Manuel was forced out of business by the gentrification of the Coors Field area once property values went up. they made tamales for most of the better places in Denver.

there are some decent frozen tamales made by some local denver area Mexican food companies, but with the frozen types you have to steam them for best results....not microwave. take a big pot of boiling water, pull the rack out of your oven (toaster oven even better), balance on the pot of water and put a mixing bowl over the top for a "ghetto" steamer apparatus. 20-25 minutes with a turn-them-over in the middle. micro just makes them rubbery.

tamales are mos def hit or miss. i've always wanted to make them...i've seen it done but never myself. chile rellenos, i've got down cold however.

[swardboy]

Scientologists?

[1890MilesToNorman]

$20k is a great day of fund raising these days! Kudos to all who helped and all who donated!! Community still rocks when needed.

This past Sunday we had about 15 people put a new roof on a local citizens house for free, materials were either bought or donated by the local Legion.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Tamales taste gross, something about the stuff they are rapped in. I guess that would be the "masa" according to the post up there. Maybe it's just cause I've never had a good one though.

tamales are mos def hit or miss.

There isn't much better than a well made tamale.
.

It's hard to find really good tamales in restaurants, one reason being that unless it's their specialty, they probably make them every couple of months and freeze them. It's too labor intensive to make them daily.

Another potential problem with mass-produced tamales is quality control. Some places don't strain the chile to remove the skins and sometimes the meat might contain chunks of fat too large to be desirable.

It is hard to get the masa right - can be too mushy or too dry. Texture is important. The best bet for making them is finding a mexican market that will sell you "masa para tamales". The masa is different than that to make tortillas. There is pork fat and seasonings added. This isn't health food which is why its considered a festival food you don't eat regularly.''

For pork with red chile, one can boil pork butt (I think the shoulder cut that looks like an uncured ham is the best) until tender, and then mix it with red chile sauce like one might use when making Chile Colorado: soaked New Mexico chiles, garlic and salt in a blender, strained and simmered until gravy-like consistency and then mixed with the shredded meat.

Then there's the assembling, seeking the Goldilocks size - not too small and not too big.

And then you gotta steam them the right amount of time. My personal preference is to let them rest awhile before eating.

Maybe the best bet for making them, if you never have, is to find a widowed Mexican lady w/ the skills, make her feel important, and invite her over to show you how it's done.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VYi08gxSWj0/SyA1zB-A-nI/AAAAAAAAC_E/ChNbD54z590/s400/P1090322.JPG

[achiro]

We had a lady who worked for us until just recently. Her mother would make them for us using deer or elk meat that we provided to her. They were the best tamales I've ever had.
Lubbock use to have some pretty good places but that's been years. Also, in Houston, there use to be a street vendor we would buy from that knew how to make them.

[SOONER44EVER]

Senora Garcia
Home Made Tamales
Fresh Every Day
We Take Orders
405-782-0654
Cell 405-413-5422

They're yummy!!!