Homemade Hot Tamale Side

To me, those belly bomb tamales need something fresh, sharp, and crisp textured to cut through the oh so delicious greasy goodness. Try a chopped winter salad (carrots, apples, chopped cabbage or romaine) in a lime vinaigrette.

Maybe Mexican street corn. A lot of recipes online.

Something with avocado always goes good with that type of stuff.

Second for the chili and saltines but I would add a sharp shredded cheese as well. I loooooove good tamales.

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post it up!

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I'm interested in seeing this because there has been a ton of "copycat" recipes over the years. We have a guy that makes a large pot of tamales for us every year for Mardi Gras and he used to run a Manuel's cart in Chalmette. It's the closest thing I've ever tasted to the original.

Here are the ones I have. I think the first one is the closest to Manuel's but there's a trick - Mix everything together and cook before rolling. Don't drain the grease! Refrigerate the meat mixture until cold, and mix again to distribute the fat. Roll into oblong shapes, roll in coarse cornmeal, and wrap with parchment.

The tip about cooking the meat mixture before rolling was told to me by a client of mine that had been a part of the Schneider family that owned Manuel's.

I have made tamales this way that exactly matched my taste memory of Manuel's. Unfortunately I drink when I cook and my adjustments were not written down. I need totry making them again.

Manuel’s Hot Tamales Clone

This was from a handwritten sheet of paper a friend allowed me to copy.

Tamales:
2 large onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
4 lbs ground beef
8 oz tomato sauce
½ cup Crisco shortening (only if meat is very lean)
2/3 cup corn meal
1 cup chili powder
2 tbsp salt
2 Tbs garlic powder
4 Tbs ground cumin
2 Tbs cayenne, or to taste

Cornmeal mixture:
4 cups cornmeal
1 1/3 Tbs salt

Sauce:
8 quarts water
4 Tbs salt
chili powder, to taste
Other
corn husks or paper to wrap tamales

1. Mince onions and bell pepper in food processor. Add to other ingredients (except corn husks). Mix together thoroughly. Form into oblong balls.

2. Make the cornmeal mixture by combining the cornmeal with the salt. Roll balls in corn meal mixture.

3. Wrap in papers or husks (which have been pre-soaked) and lay in a large pot with a metal trivet in the bottom to prevent burning. If you are using papers, dip one half into warm water and squeeze out the water when you wrap the tamale. Wrap them on the wet end and fold over the dry end. Alternate the ends of the tamales as you lay them in the pot as close together as possible.

4. Pour boiling sauce over the tamales to cover. Bring to a boil, lower fire and simmer 2 hours.

Manuel's Hot Tamales from Times Picayune

This recipe ran in the Times-Picayune in the early 1970s and is similar to Manuel's Hot Tamales, which never returned post Katrina. Recipe re-printed in TP May 2007.

3 lbs ground chuck
4 medium onions, finely chopped
3 oz chili powder
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
½ cup water
4 or 5 teaspoons salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cayenne pepper
½ cup plain corn meal plus more for rolling

1. Mix by hand in a large bowl the meat, onion, 2 ounces chili powder, 1 can tomato sauce, water, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne and ½ cup corn meal. Prepare two shallow bowls, one with water and one with additional plain corn meal. Take about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture at a time and shape into a small log. Roll lightly in additional corn meal.

2. Roll in paper that has been passed through water (one paper at a time). Close one end and roll up, folding remaining edge under. Put tamales in rows in opposite directions in a large roaster that can be covered and used on the stove.

3. Bring two quarts water to a boil and add remaining tomato sauce and 1 ounce chili powder. Cover tamales with mixture, adding more water if needed. Cover and simmer for 2 hours on stovetop. Serve warm with buttered crackers. Tamales re-warm well in microwave.

Makes about 90


Frank Davis' Manuel's Style New Orleans Tamales

3 lbs lean ground meat
1 extra-large onion (finely chopped)
1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies, 10 ounce size
1 envelope Two-Alarm Chili Mix
1 can peeled tomatoes (chopped), 16 ounce size
1 can Mexican-Style chili powder, 2.5 ounce size
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cups bottled water
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
2 cups Martha White cornbread mix

1. In a large, heavy skillet start off by sauteing the ground beef and the onions until the beef browns and the onions become tender.

2. At this point, strain the meat in a colander and drain off all but a couple tablespoons of the beef drippings. But keep it in reserve-you'll need it later.

3. Then, in an 8-quart tamale (stock) pot 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 up 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).

4. Then put the seasoned meat back into the pot and stir in the cornbread mix and one cup of the meat drippings that you saved from the sauteing process. At this point, you can adjust the "spiciness" 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".

5. Finally, when you're ready to start making them, 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 an 8 or 10-quart deep steamer pot, wrapped ends down.

6. When they're all in the pot-standing upright on end--it's time to ladle over the tamales all the juices and drippings you reserved during the preparation process and simmer everything on low for about 45 minutes. All that's left is to serve them piping hot alongside a stack of saltine crackers when you're ready to eat.

7. Oh, and I recommend you serve them N'Awlins style-on top of most of a Times Picayune newspaper. Enjoy!

Source: wwltv.com

Author Notes
Here's a chef's hint: For best results, use the cornbread mix on the grocery shelf containing the smallest amount of sugar.

Arroz Congri (black beans and rice).

I do mine with simple flavors ... Olive oil, onion, fresh garlic, a little salt. Canned black beans (rinsed), with a 50/50 blend of jasmine rice and plain rice ... tossed all together, Really simple, but people go bat sh!t every time i bring this to go with any kind of Latin cuisine (Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Tex-Mex, does't matter). It compliments everything, and is light and refreshing so it pairs well with the heavier foods like the tamales you'll be eating.

I'll post the exact amounts i use if you're interested.