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Simple Ground Beef Tamales have simple ingredients but taste so delicious!  Making the filling and the masa is simple. The hardest part is filling and stuffing the tamales. But that’s the fun part, too!

 

Those are blue corn tamales. I didn’t remember buying blue masa, but apparently, I did. It was quite fun to make tamales with the blue masa. The rest may have to go to making some tortillas. That would be fun! Homemade blue corn tortillas.

 

Is this an authentic beef tamales recipe?

 

I’m not sure if this is a 100% authentic beef tamales recipe. But this recipe is from El Paso, so it might be pretty close to authentic? It’s called Mrs. Mitchell’s Hot Tamales from the Junior League of El Paso’s Seasoned with Sun cookbook. I don’t know how famous Mrs. Mitchell and her tamales are. But I do know that this is the recipe we have made in my family since Dad got the cookbook forever ago.

 

 

This week is all about cooking from a cookbook. Which I don’t usually do. I have a few cookbooks. They’re mostly bread cookbooks because I’m not the best bread baker. It is something I plan on working on this year. Making bread. And making better pretzels and pizza crusts. That is my goal, so I have some bread cookbooks.

 

I have a signed cookbook from Emeril Legasse to go with the signed photo. I snuck that photo into the book signing. They said, “No memorabilia will be signed! Only books!” But I snuck it in there anyway. I mean, it’s a photo of my hold a potato Emeril. How would he not sign that?

 

 

Finally, there are the few family cookbooks that I have appropriated over the years. This one included. My sister sent me this one. I thought I had the cookbook with the tamale recipe in it, but I was confused. This is the cookbook with our tamale recipe. I also have the little yellow Chinese cookbook, too. I talk about that one in my chicken with walnuts recipe post. That recipe is not from the cookbook, though.

 

Do you need lard to make tamales?

 

I know many will argue this. They will not taste a light and delicious if you don’t use lard. Pork lard is the traditional ingredient for authentic tamales. However, I have yet to use lard and I have liked all the tamales I’ve made for the blog. These included.

 

 

I used shortening. However, you can use butter, too. Both are good substitutes for lard in tamale recipes. I even read that solidified coconut oil would work, too. Don’t quote me on that on. It’s just what I read when I did a little research about alternatives to make beef tamales without lard.

 

Can you use oil instead of lard for tamales?

 

Yes, you can. But you should think about the flavor of the oil before using it as a substitute. What do I mean? Well, olive oil is not a flavorless oil. So, it will have olive oil taste in the tamales. Will this be okay for this recipe? Yes. But will it be okay for the pumpkin tamales? Probably not. The olive oil flavor might overpower the pumpkin flavor.

 

 

However, this could be in your favor with the flavor. I have a slew of flavored olive oils. Garlic being the most favorite in the house. But I also have basil, bacon, and mushroom. All of these could impart a delicious flavor into a tamale. Like a chicken basil and mozzarella tamale. That sounds delicious. With bacon, I always go to burgers. So, bacon cheeseburger tamale. Mushroom provolone tamale. All these flavors sound so delicious.

 

Are beef tamales healthy?

 

That depends on two things: what type of fat you use and what type of beef you use. Most would think that lard isn’t healthy. However, the partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in shortening aren’t all that great for you either. The best fat? Omega-3s that you can find in olive oil. Of course, everything is okay in moderation.

 

 

To make healthy beef tamales use a leaner ground beef. For my beef filling for tamales, I used a lower fat ground beef. I think it was 93% lean. Which is hard to brown. I think they add water to it. I could be wrong. But when I try to brown it it seems to sweat more than brown. I tend to crank up the heat to super high when I’m browning ground beef. Otherwise, it doesn’t get that caramelization that I want. And the fond in the bottom of the pan which adds flavor to the beef when you add the broth.

 

What meat can you use for tamales?

 

There is such a range of filling you can use with this tamale recipe. You don’t have make ground beef tamales. There’s chicken, pork, shredded beef, and even chorizo tamales. Then there’s fillings like lengua, which is tongue, I think. Poblano peppers and cheese. Corn and black bean.

 

 

Of course, you don’t have to put meat in a tamale. It doesn’t even have to be savory. There are plenty of dessert tamales out there. I made a pumpkin cheesecake tamale. It was so good! The tamale is slightly sweet, and the filling is delicious. I’ve had apple tamale and banana tamale. There are chocolate tamales, too! So don’t think that you must make savory tamales. Think about making sweet ones, too!

 

What sauce goes with tamales?

 

I drizzled mine with crema. I didn’t even mix the crema with anything. Boring. I know. I could have added some cumin and lime juice, but I didn’t. I served a mole sauce with the pumpkin chorizo tamales I made. A pumpkin mole sauce. It is so rich and delicious. Perfect for the light and tender tamales.

 

 

You could drizzle them with queso or salsa or enchilada sauce. If they’re sweet, there’s chocolate and caramel. Or go the fruit route and make a strawberry or raspberry sauce. Depending on the filling, you could even make a balsamic sauce.

 

Now I’m thinking unconventional like a remoulade our hollandaise. Can you imagine? An eggs Benedict tamale with hollandaise? I am totally playing with some of these ideas in the future. Practice makes perfect when making tamales. Or anything for that matter.

Cookbook Recipes

• Cantuccini Toscani from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Canapes from Family Around the Table
• Ladyfinger Ice Cream Cake (Temple de Glacé) from That Recipe
• Marcus Samuelsson’s Quick Pickled Cucumbers from Palatable Pastime
• Pasta Primavera from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Simple Ground Beef Tamales from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Spicy Italian Salad from Art of Natural Living
• Taco shells and Cheese from Jen Around the World

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