[Boink]

Very nice moose eater! I really want to try both. I'm a potato lover and the mayo with mustard....sounds very interesting. Think I'll try that one tomorrow. The Shtampot I've got to try too. All keepers. I've been craving tamales lately and haven't made them for years. Please by all means post your tamale secrets. Thx moose well done

Thanks Boink,

In the past, I've relied on various Hispanic families I've known to provide tamales, especially at Christmas time.

Of those, only two sources have produced -AWESOME- tamales.

Both were of different regional varieties; tamales being different in each region, from the S.W. states, down through Mexico, and into Central and South America.

Others we've tried have often used too much masa, and not enough filling, or not enough shredded meat or 'primary contents (i.e., cheese, chilis, or whole corn kernels) in the filling.

Both of the sources that produced amazing tamales made red and green chili sauce from scratch for the filling, as well as to top the tamles with when they were done.

This is my first attempt doing it myself, but we're now set, though we're dealing with modifying a steamer basket big enough, as the finished tamales have to steam anywhere from 1-1/2 to 2 hours, inside a fairly deep steamer.

(**A friend who grew up on the border said that some of the old timers used to use flat clean rocks in the bottom of the steamer to raise the tamales above the water. .... But all of my decent flat stones are buried under some very cold snow.)

Anyway, we'll let you know how it goes. I suspect that getting the masa to the correct consistency, and wrapping the buggers properly, will be the biggest two challenges.

Take care,

moose eater

[Grat3fulh3ad]

Hey boink... if Ganja can be substituted for wine in that fruitcake recipe, I may try it...
Not much of a drinker or fruitcake eater, but any excuse to spark up...
:wink:

[genkisan]

Tubbed Lambchops

Ingredients:
16 lambs
1 Tibetan chive
1 parboiled mango
1 pint any Napoleon ‘97
80 birds of paradise eggs (with double yolks)
3 pounds Indian nuts
1 washtub
1 shovel
1 outboard motor
2 small wheelbarrows

Simply separate the lambs from the lambchops. Discard the lambs. Glaze the chops with the minced Tibetan chive. Peel the parboiled mango and sauté in goosefat heated to 460’. (You may test the temperature by dropping a white bread into the fat. If the wrapping ignites, the fat is ready).
Drink the Napoleon ’97.
Separate the eggs, forty in one pile, forty in another. Open and transfer the yolks. While the eggs are readjusting, shell the three pounds of Indian nuts. Fold the beaten whites of eighty eggs into the parboiled mango. Add the Indian nuts slowly, stirring over a low flame. Then place in the washtub.
Immerse the lambchops. Attach the outboard motor and adjust to 150 r.p.m. After 45 minutes, remove the outboard motor. (It may be saved for later use as soup stock.) Shovel contents of the washtub into the wheelbarrows and wheel into an oven preheated to 350’. (To add a piquant touch, rub one pound of ambergris into your hair.) Bake for two weeks.
I have found that my guests are inevitably pleased with this homely but attractive luncheon fare.

[genkisan]

LUTEFISK


To make lutefisk, catch yourself a cod. Take out the bones, skin it, salt it, and hang it out to dry for several weeks until it hardens and smells like a dumpster. Then, bring it inside and soak it in lye for several days.

Yes, lye — a substance defined by dictionary.com as "a strong caustic alkaline solution of potassium salts, obtained by leaching wood ashes. It is much used in making soap, etc."

Et cetera indeed. When you use it to make fish, you get a gelatinous blob that slithers down your throat and makes you wish you had cooked a turkey for Christmas dinner like a normal American.

Norwegians didn't invent lutefisk because they thought it was tasty. A long time ago, in the pre-refrigeration epoch, salting and drying fish was an efficient way to preserve it. They soaked it in lye afterward to pull the salt out and — believe it or not — make it more palatable. A century ago, lutefisk really was a staple in the Norwegian diet. Also a century ago, a lot of Norwegians fled the country.



for more on lutefisk: https://www.davethefox.com/words/0112lutefisk.htm

Fruited Chops

Serves 2

1 Tart Apple, pealed sliced
1 Hard Pear, pealed sliced
½ green pepper chunked
½ onion chunked
¼-cup raisins
1 Orange juiced (1/2-cup)
¼ cup toasted chopped pecans
2 Chops (lamb, pork, mutton really doesn’t matter) or split Chicken breast is good this way too

over medium-high heat in a heavy pan, brown chops in a little oil, remove and set aside. In the same pan, brown peppers/onions add apples, pears and stir fry long enough to deglaze the pan. Add raisins and work chops to the bottom of the pan. Pour juice over and let simmer for 15-25 minutes until meat temps to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71C). Top with pecans after plating. Serve with steamed rice or mashed taters and your favorite vegetable. Doubles & quadruples


Southern style Oyster stew

Serves 2

2 medium potatoes diced
¼-cup celery diced
¼-cup carrot diced
1 can smoked whole oysters
½ stick butter (I mean the stuff that came from a cow)
2 cups milk
Grated cheese for topping

In a 6-quart pot, add vegetables half the butter Brown lightly. Add milk and cook on low until carrots are tender and it has thickened. Right before serving add oysters with the oil that’s in the can and other half of the butter, top with grated cheese. Serve with corn on the cob and buttered bread. Doubles & quadruples

[Mrs.Babba]

yummm fruited chops soounds good Jackson, thanks for sharing that, Im deff trying that one!!

Genk, that lutefisk sounds kinda icky, wont be trying that one any time soon, thanks tho hehehe

Originally Posted by Mrs.Babba

yummm fruited chops soounds good Jackson, thanks for sharing that, Im deff trying that one!!

Genk, that lutefisk sounds kinda icky, wont be trying that one any time soon, thanks tho hehehe

Thanx

Fresh pineapple/star fruit/dried cranberrys/pineapple juice rocks too, with the gamie meat. I've used many combos and haven't found one that sux yet...

"There’s a pig/cow in my garden"

Serves 2

2 bacon wrapped fillets pork or beef
2 TBS. oil
½ onion sliced
1 carrot grated
1 slice bacon chopped
a colander full of greens (spinach) about a pound
Splash of Chardonnay
2 TBS butter
1/4 cup Feta cheese for topping

Cook fillets in oil turning up onto the sides to brown bacon too, cook until 160F(71C) for the pork. Remove from pan; add chopped bacon then onions/carrots, cook until almost done. Stir in greens top with fillets cover and steam for 5-10 minutes or until greens are done. Place fillets on top of greens on a plate. Deglaze pan with butter and wine reduce by half then pour over meat sprinkle with Feta. Serve with steamed baby carrots/okra and garlic bread.

Looks/tastes like a High-Dollar plate when done.

My worms eat like kings, lots of "skins and bits". All they can eat buffet....

Well, the fillings for the pork, chicken and beef tamales are finished, and the pork tamales are mostly finished cooking; the chicken is midway in process, and the beef will wait 'til tomorrow or so.

All in all we will have made close to 14 dozen tamales when we've finished. We currently have 3 steamers going hot, including a modified turkey roaster, a 22 qt. pressure canner (no pressure needed, just the pot... ) and some sort of veggie steamer/blancher. It all works; just don't submerge those lil' tamales!! Keep 'em outa' the water!! Steam!! Not submersion!!
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So, here's what we did....
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Take 3-1/2 lbs. lean boneless pork (butt roast, country style ribs, shoulder roast, etc....) and cut into 1 to 1-1/2" cubes or so. Boil pork (or chicken or beef) with four or five cloves of pressed garlic and 1 to 2 medium or medium large onions (quartered) in 10-1/2 to 12 cups of H2O for about 2-1/2 hours, or until you realize that you didn't hear the timer go off.

Meanwhile, one would think that all of this boiling time leaves lots of opportunity for cribbage, etc... -NOT- necessarily so...

While your meat is boiling, take 15-20 dried chili peppers of your choice (we used a mix of dark and medium dark chilis, with a variance of 'hotness/spiciness.' I used about 20 peppers of the larger (mostly New Mexico varieties), and threw in a couple of raging hot small red peppers, and some other scorchers for good measure.

Remove seeds and stems, and lay chilis in single-layer depth on large cookie sheet, roasting them in a 350 degree f. oven for several minutes (2-4"). DON'T LET THEM BURN!! Roast until the aroma of roasting hot chilis is notable, and remove from oven.

Soak the dried roasted peppers in enough boiling hot H2O to cover them in a stainless steel bowl. Let them sit for a half hour.

After the chilis have soaked for a half-hour, put them into a blender with 2-1/2 half cups of the water that they were soaking in. Save the extra water. Add 2 to 3 tsp of ground cumin, 5 fresh garlic cloves, and 1 tsp. of salt. If you like you can also add 1 tsp of oregano. I added nearly 1 tbsp. of brown sugar to off-set the pungency of using some fairly dark peppers. (You could potentially add some celantro or any other spices you like in a chili sauce).. Blend on a high setting until a smooth chili sauce results....

In a 4-5 qt. sauce pan, add one tbsp. olive oil and one tbsp flour, and mix well, heating on medium heat until the flour is lightly browned (golden). Add the chili sauce, and whisk for 5-10" on a low simmer. If too thick, add a bit of the soaking water that's left from soaking the peppers.

When meat has finished boiling, drain broth into a separate bowl, saving broth for the masa. Let meat cool a bit.

Place meat into another bowl, taking two forks, and shredding the meat apart rather thoroughly.

Place meat into thickened chili sauce and simmer for 10".

Take roughly 6-7 cups of masa harina, 1-1/2 tsp+ of baking powder, and 1 Tbsp. salt, and thoroughly blend together dry ingredients in a bowl. In separate REALLY LARGE mixing bowl, beat 3/4 to 1 cup shortening or lard with a hand beater until fluffy.

Take the cooled broth from the boiling of which ever meat you've preparing, and add equal portions of the broth and the masa harina to the (shortening or lard), alternating while adding a bit of each at a time, and beating well with a hand beater until all ingredients are added. The consistency should be that of stiff frosting. If you run out of broth, you can use H2O to make up what ever deficiency

Soak as many corn husks as you are going to need, (depending on recipe size) in warm to hot H2O for at least 20 minutes. At LEAST 50 husks, if not 70, for teh above recipe, is a good guess. Each little 'bundle' of husks in a bag frequently has roughly 5 (+/-) husks in it. And it's not uncommon to have well over 100 individual husks in a single smallish bag, once they're all separated...

Lay out several kitchen hand towells, and use them to lay out your corn husks after they've soaked, in order to pat them dry. Spreading masa on wet husks makes it more difficult, as the masa won't stick as well.

Take you masa dough, and a soft rubber spatula, and lay out an individual or doubled corn husk (depending on whether the individual husks are wide enough to get a good wrap around the tamale, smooth side up, spreading 2-3 tbsp+ of masa dough out in a rectangular pattern near the wide end of the husk, leaving the pointed tail of the husk free of dough for about 2-3 inches. Masa should be spread to a thickness of abouit 3/16" to 1/4" average, and wide enough that when you lay out 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 tbsp or so of the meat filling, you can roll it up like a doobie, and then tuck the pointed tail of the husk up, tying a thin strip of corn husk or two around it to keep the lil' bugger closed.

You want to not cover the very edges of the masa with filling, as the edges will seal together, keeping the filling inside as the masa steams.

Do this 'til your tamales are all processed..

Rig some sort of steamer that can handle a maximum number of tamales. Either stack them horizontally, leaving -some- space between them, and alternating the direction that they lay in until the steamer is filled, or stand them on end vertically, with the closed end of the husk down, leaving space in the middle of the steamer allowing steam to come up through the middle. **You want steam to be able to permeate throughout the steamer contents, more or less equally, in order to cook the load of tamales evenly.**

Steam for about an hour and a half, while you realize that paying however much the old Hispanic woman wants for making these things is now not too much by any stretch of the imagination.. DO NOT LET YOUR STEAMER RUN OUT OF WATER!!.

Testing as they cook is only advisable if you have no company coming for which you need a guaranteed number of finished tamales, or if you made so many that it doesn't matter anyway...

I recommend making another half-batch or so of the chili sauce to drizzle over the top of the tamales when done, and prepared to eat..

If freezing or storing long term, each tamale can be wrapped in seran wrap or equivalent, and either unwrapped to re-heat in a steamer, or micro-waved in the seran wrap they were stored in. (Yeah, I know, nuking seran wrap ain't healthy.....) They can also be frozen for later too!!
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Wow!!! What a day... And yes, they are -painfully- yummy!!!

moose eater