Manuel’s was a tradition pre Huricaine Katrina.
Recently my cousin Marianne (Broussard) Wolfe reminded me about the Hot Tamales that her mom, Virgie (Vicaro) Broussard would make. It then reminded me of S Claiborne Ave. & S Carrollton Ave., in New Orleans where I transferred buses when I was a freshman in High School where there was always a push cart selling Hot Tamales. The recipe I have posted is the one my cousin suggested is closest to her mom’s recipe. I love the fact that her original recipe noted: "I use corn husk, you can find them at Winn Dixie by the lettuce”.
Ingredients:
For the Tamales
3 lbs of ground beef (ground chuck)
4 medium sweet yellow onions, quartered
3 teaspoons granulated garlic (garlic powder)
3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
4 teaspoons coarse-ground kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup chili powder
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce (or can of crushed tomatoes)
½ cup water
1½ cups of yellow cornmeal
100 tamale papers (or corn husks)
For the Sauce
1 (8oz) can of tomato sauce (or can of crushed tomatoes)
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ cup chili powder
Salt to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
(My Aunt Virgie also added 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon red pepper)
Instructions:
For the Sauce
Combine all the ingredients in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add seasonings to taste. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside.
For the Tamales
Put the onions, the seasonings, the tomato sauce, and ½ cup of water in a food processor. Process until the onions are finely chopped. Place the ground beef in a large glass mixing bowl and pour the seasoned tomato and spice mixture over the meat. Using your hands, mix well. Place the tamales papers, one at a time and one on top of the other, into a large bowl of water. This step might sound tedious, but it is necessary to prevent the papers from sticking to each other and to ensure that each paper will be completely saturated. Place cornmeal in a shallow dish and set aside. Working with about 1 tablespoon of meat at a time, roll it out with your hands into an oblong (cylindrical) shape, then roll in the cornmeal to lightly coat. Wrap each one in a tamale paper, folding over the open ends to completely close in the beef. Repeat this step until all the tamale mixture is gone. In a large dutch oven or roasting pan, stack the tamales in layers. Each layers should be perpendicular to the layer below it. Cover the tamales with water, then add the seasoned tomato sauce. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Check occasionally, and add water as necessary to keep the tamales covered. Will make 90 - 100 tamales. Note: You can freeze them, and they can be re-warmed in the microwave.
This original recipe was posted on: The Catholic Foodie Website
Marianne (Broussard) Wolfe sent me this her mom’s modified recipe.
Me and Marianne at her Dad’s house in LaPlace, LA