Spicy Cajun Tamales Recipes

Steps:

• Start off by sautéing the ground beef and onions until the beef browns and the onions become tender.
• At this point, strain the meat and drain off all but a couple tablespoons of the beef drippings.
• But keep it in reserve-you'll need it later.
• Then combine into the meat the Rotel tomatoes, the chili mix, the peeled tomatoes, the chili powder, the cumin, the water, and your salt and cayenne pepper.
• Now… bring the mixture to a slow boil… but as soon as the boil begins, reduce the heat to low and simmer everything together (with the cover on the pot) for about 45 minutes to an hour.
• Next, strain the meat again from the juices (but save the juices).
• Then put the meat back into the pot and stir in the cornbread mix and one cup of meat drippings you saved from the sautéing process.
• At this point, you can adjust the"spicyness" of the tamales by adding either more chili powder or cayenne pepper.
• Then mix everything together extremely well once more… and note- you want the tamale mixture to be moist and pasty, but not"wet".
• Finally, place about a tablespoon of the meat stuffing into the center of a moistened tamale paper, roll the paper around the tamale, and put the rolled tamales into a deep steamer pot.
• Then ladle over the tamales all the juices and drippings you reserved during the preparation process… and simmer everything on low for about 45 minutes.
• When you're ready to eat, serve them piping hot.

Steps:

• Husk corn, discarding the silk. Place corn husks in a large pot and pour boiling water over them, and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry, leaving moist but not wet.
• Cut the kernels from the corn to equal about 1 1/2 cups. Of this amount, puree 1 cup of the kernels in a food processor and leave the other kernels whole. Set aside.
• Heat olive oil and saute onion until translucent. Add ground beef, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, celery salt, and salt and pepper, and cook until browned. Drain off extra fat and divide into even amounts per the number of tamales you will be making.
• Combine cornmeal, salt, and 1 cup water in a mixing bowl. Bring another 1 cup of water to a boil and stir in cornmeal mixture, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, baking powder, pureed corn, whole corn kernels, and jalapeno.
• The tamales are eaten directly from the corn husk casings in which they are steamed. To make tamale casings for steaming: Tear corn husks into strips. Some of these will be woven together and should be at least an inch wide. You will also need about 16 narrower strips (1/4 to 1/2 inch wide) to secure the ends of the tamales. Lay 4 strips or so side by side, and then weave another 4 or so through in a perpendicular fashion to make 8 rectangles about 8 inches square. Each tamale will be filled with even amounts of the corn mixture, beef mixture and cheese. Spoon some of the corn mixture (between 2 and 4 tablespoons) into the center of each tamale case and spread to make a layer. Then spoon an even amount of the ground beef mixture into the center of corn mixture on each tamale. Top beef mixture with even amounts of cheese on each tamale. At this point, begin 1 or 2 pans of boiling water, each fitted with a steaming rack (You will need enough steaming space over the pans to accommodate the tamales.) Fold the corn husks so the corn filling encases the meat filling and cheese. Secure the ends of the tamales casings by tying shut with pieces of corn husk. Place tamales on racks and steam - covered - for about 20 minutes to a half hour, replenishing water in pan(s) as needed. Let rest briefly before serving.

Steps:

• Place tomatillos, onion, garlic, and green chiles in a roasting pan and bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor along with any juices that are at the bottom of the pan. Add the cumin, salt, and cilantro. Pulse the mixture until combined but still chunky. You may add a bit of water or broth if the mixture is too thick. Reserve half the sauce to serve with the tamales.
• In a deep bowl, combine the masa and remaining half of the tomatillo sauce. Beat until fully incorporated and the dough is green. Fold in the softened goat cheese.
• Set the cornhusks on a sheet pan covered by a damp towel. Lay the husk flat on a plate with the smooth side up and the narrow end facing you. Spread a thin, even layer of the masa mixture over the surface of the husk with a tablespoon that is dipped in water. Fold the narrow end up to the center then fold both sides together to enclose the filling. The sticky masa will form a seal. Pinch the wide top closed.
• Stand the tamales up in a large steamer or colander with the pinched end up. Load the steamer into a large pot filled with 2-inches of water. The water should not touch the tamales. Lay a damp cloth over the tamales and cover with lid. Keep the water at a low boil, checking periodically to make sure the water doesn't boil away. Steam the tamales for 2 hours.
• Coat the shrimp with cumin, chili powder, cayenne, coriander, salt, and pepper. Heat oil in a saute pan, cook the shrimp for 5 minutes until pink. To serve, unfold the tamales, top with the spicy shrimp and spoon the reserved tomatillo sauce over the top.

Steps:

• place all vegetable in a food processor until througly mixed.
• add mixture with meat.
• take your meal and place on paper or corn husks.
• add a good portion of meat mixture on meal and wrap oblong way.
• continue over and over place in steamer and steam for 2 hours.
• put chillie power/water/pepper/garlic power/1 can of tomato sauce of tamales.
• tamales can be frozen or canned.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut bread lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. In a saucepan melt butter and stir in seasoning and salt. Brush spice butter on 1 side of slices and on a baking sheet bake, buttered sides up, in middle of oven until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Toasts keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days.

Steps:

• Run onions, celery, garlic, and bell pepper through your food processor until they are finely minced.
• In a very large bowl, combine ground meat, minced veggies, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix together thoroughly using your hands. Add in the rotel, 1 cup of corn meal, and 1 can of tomato sauce; mix again. (You need to mix the wet ingredients in separately from the spices so that the spices don't all clump together in one spot.)
• Lay out your papers beside two baking sheets or trays. Add 1 cup of cornmeal to one baking sheet, to roll the tamales in (the other one is to stack completed tamales on.)
• Pinch off some of the meat mixture, and form into a ping pong sized ball. Roll it in the cornmeal, coating it as thick as you can. Place in the center of a tamale paper on one side, and roll. The ball should squish into a log, leaving an inch of the wrapper empty on either end. Press down the top of both empty ends, and fold the two sides of the ends in before folding them under the tamale.
• Repeat with the remainder of the meat mixture. After a few, you get the feel of how much meat it will take to fill the wrapper up enough. We got 75 tamales out of one batch, it depends on how big you make them.
• In a large dutch oven, pour in the 1/2 cup oil and 1 can tomato sauce. Cover with a layer of tamales, then a can of sauce, and a sprinkle of chili powder, repeating until you run out of tamales. Fill the pan with water until the tamales are just covered.
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 2 - 2 1/2 hours till done, adding water if necessary.

Steps:

• Soak the dried corn husks in hot water until soft, 30-60 minutes.
• Beat the shortening and salt with an electric mixer in a bowl until light and fluffy, and slowly beat in the masa harina 1/4 cup at a time, alternating with 1/4 cup water per addition, until the masa mixture is very light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla until the mixture forms a soft, fluffy dough, about 5 minutes.
• To assemble the tamales, drain the corn husks and pat them dry. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the masa dough onto a corn husk, forming a rectangle of dough 1/4 inch thick and about 2x3 inches in size. Spread the dough all the way to the right edge of the corn husk, and about 1/2 inch from the left edge. Spoon about 1 teaspoon pecans in a line down the center of the masa dough, and sprinkle the nuts with about 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.
• Roll the right edge of the corn husk over the filling to the center of the tamale. Fold the left edge towards the center, rolling the filling into the dough, so the plain edge overlaps the rolled tamale. Fold the top end down and the bottom end up, making a tidy package, and tie securely with a piece of kitchen twine.
• Fill a large saucepan with water, and place a steamer rack in the pan so the top of the rack is about 2 inches above the water. Place the filled tamales into the steamer with seam sides down. Bring to a boil, cover, and steam the tamales until firm and the dough releases easily from the corn husk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.