Frank's Real New Orleans Hot Tamales

Genuine New Orleans Tamales! The only way they would taste any better would be to eat 'em after dark on the corner of Canal and Carrollton


Ingredients:


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

Instructions:

Start off by sauteing 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 sauteing 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.

Chefs Notes:
For best results, serve the tamales ''New Orleans style", which means on top of newspaper with a Barq's on the side and a box of saltine crackers!

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That is the recipe according to Frank Davis. The beef meat can be substituted with pork or half pork and half beef for a different and good taste. I might add that after the tamales are rolled it's best to fold one end back over the rolled tamale and put that end down in the pot to finish the off. The other end can be left opened. That way when you take them back out of the sauce, the innards won't fall out. Of course you can use corn husk instead of the paper but fold it just the same.


enjoy,
"gene"