For lunch today I had quite possibly the worst tamale ever. From the
outside, it looked okay. Was in the corn husk and all.

But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was a wad
of very solid meat. Not sure what to call the meat. It was beef. But it
wasn't steak, ground beef or even shredded beef. Just a very solid chunk of
tough, seemingly unseasoned beef. Around it was a thin, partial shell of
very solid mass tough masa. They didn't even bother to fully cover the
meat. The masa also didn't seem to have much flavor. Maybe it was old? At
any rate, I will never order this again. I believe that the menu said there
was a special sauce but there was seemingly no sauce.

So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a restaurant
where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But everyone else
raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was great! Until now.

On Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:18:26 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a restaurant
> where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But everyone else
> raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was great! Until now.

Obviously there wasn't enough moisture in the filling. When I learned
how to make a beef filling for tamales, the beef was cooked until
tender and then cooled so the juice jelled and the jell was included
in the filling along with the meat so the filling was moist.

--
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.

"The Other Guy" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:18:26 -0700, "Julie Bove" >
> wrote:
>
>>But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was a wad
>>of very solid meat.
>
> Real tamales are difficult and time consuming to make,
> and it's likely that a restaurant that doesn't serve them
> regularly will take bad shortcuts.
>
> The filling should be a thick stew that has cooked for hours,
> even overnight.

I would assume that they are served regularly as they are on the regular
menu. But I don't think these were done right.

"barbie gee" > wrote in message
crg.pbz...
>
>
> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014, Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> For lunch today I had quite possibly the worst tamale ever. From the
>> outside, it looked okay. Was in the corn husk and all.
>>
>> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was a
>> wad of very solid meat. Not sure what to call the meat. It was beef.
>> But it wasn't steak, ground beef or even shredded beef. Just a very
>> solid chunk of tough, seemingly unseasoned beef. Around it was a thin,
>> partial shell of very solid mass tough masa. They didn't even bother to
>> fully cover the meat. The masa also didn't seem to have much flavor.
>> Maybe it was old? At any rate, I will never order this again. I believe
>> that the menu said there was a special sauce but there was seemingly no
>> sauce.
>>
>> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a
>> restaurant where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But
>> everyone else raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was
>> great! Until now.
>
> Microwaving a cooked tamale can totally ruin them. They can dry out and
> get hard. Steaming is really the best way to reheat them, or with very
> low power, wrapped in a wet papertowel over the corn husk, if the husks
> are already kind of dry.

This husk was totally dry. I have bought them from the Texas Tamale
Company. They come frozen. I do heat in the microwave, wrapped in a damp
paper towel.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:18:26 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
>> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a
>> restaurant
>> where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But everyone
>> else
>> raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was great! Until now.
>
> Obviously there wasn't enough moisture in the filling. When I learned
> how to make a beef filling for tamales, the beef was cooked until
> tender and then cooled so the juice jelled and the jell was included
> in the filling along with the meat so the filling was moist.
>
Ah... Okay. Thanks!

On 7/6/2014 12:26 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>
> "barbie gee" > wrote in message
> crg.pbz...
>>
>>
>> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>>> For lunch today I had quite possibly the worst tamale ever. From the
>>> outside, it looked okay. Was in the corn husk and all.
>>>
>>> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was
>>> a wad of very solid meat. Not sure what to call the meat. It was
>>> beef. But it wasn't steak, ground beef or even shredded beef. Just a
>>> very solid chunk of tough, seemingly unseasoned beef. Around it was
>>> a thin, partial shell of very solid mass tough masa. They didn't
>>> even bother to fully cover the meat. The masa also didn't seem to
>>> have much flavor. Maybe it was old? At any rate, I will never order
>>> this again. I believe that the menu said there was a special sauce
>>> but there was seemingly no sauce.
>>>
>>> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a
>>> restaurant where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible.
>>> But everyone else raved about it. So we tried it again and the food
>>> was great! Until now.
>>
>> Microwaving a cooked tamale can totally ruin them. They can dry out
>> and get hard. Steaming is really the best way to reheat them, or with
>> very low power, wrapped in a wet papertowel over the corn husk, if the
>> husks are already kind of dry.
>
> This husk was totally dry. I have bought them from the Texas Tamale
> Company. They come frozen. I do heat in the microwave, wrapped in a
> damp paper towel.

Do they have "XLNT" tamales in your neck of the woods? They are usually
pretty good. Look for them in the freezer case.

"Travis McGee" > wrote in message
...
> On 7/6/2014 12:26 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>> "barbie gee" > wrote in message
>> crg.pbz...
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014, Julie Bove wrote:
>>>
>>>> For lunch today I had quite possibly the worst tamale ever. From the
>>>> outside, it looked okay. Was in the corn husk and all.
>>>>
>>>> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was
>>>> a wad of very solid meat. Not sure what to call the meat. It was
>>>> beef. But it wasn't steak, ground beef or even shredded beef. Just a
>>>> very solid chunk of tough, seemingly unseasoned beef. Around it was
>>>> a thin, partial shell of very solid mass tough masa. They didn't
>>>> even bother to fully cover the meat. The masa also didn't seem to
>>>> have much flavor. Maybe it was old? At any rate, I will never order
>>>> this again. I believe that the menu said there was a special sauce
>>>> but there was seemingly no sauce.
>>>>
>>>> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a
>>>> restaurant where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible.
>>>> But everyone else raved about it. So we tried it again and the food
>>>> was great! Until now.
>>>
>>> Microwaving a cooked tamale can totally ruin them. They can dry out
>>> and get hard. Steaming is really the best way to reheat them, or with
>>> very low power, wrapped in a wet papertowel over the corn husk, if the
>>> husks are already kind of dry.
>>
>> This husk was totally dry. I have bought them from the Texas Tamale
>> Company. They come frozen. I do heat in the microwave, wrapped in a
>> damp paper towel.
>
> Do they have "XLNT" tamales in your neck of the woods? They are usually
> pretty good. Look for them in the freezer case.

No. Tamales are not big here. We only recently got the Texas ones. I had
mail ordered them previously. Most of the frozen ones we can get are not
what I would call authentic. They are individually wrapped in plastic. No
husks. Costco sells some. Can't remember the brand. I do have to be
careful with tamales though as for some reason they often contain chicken
broth. I can't have chicken. Or they contain dairy and I can't have that
either. I get the black bean ones from Texas Tamale. Good, but not cheap.

On 7/5/2014 5:18 PM, Julie Bove wrote:
> For lunch today I had quite possibly the worst tamale ever. From the
> outside, it looked okay. Was in the corn husk and all.
>
> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was a
> wad of very solid meat. Not sure what to call the meat. It was beef.
> But it wasn't steak, ground beef or even shredded beef. Just a very
> solid chunk of tough, seemingly unseasoned beef. Around it was a thin,
> partial shell of very solid mass tough masa. They didn't even bother to
> fully cover the meat. The masa also didn't seem to have much flavor.
> Maybe it was old? At any rate, I will never order this again. I
> believe that the menu said there was a special sauce but there was
> seemingly no sauce.
>
> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a
> restaurant where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But
> everyone else raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was
> great! Until now.

My condolences on that tamale. I hope to never meet one of those in a
plate.

On 7/6/2014 3:36 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:18:26 -0700, Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> For lunch today I had quite possibly the worst tamale ever. From the
>> outside, it looked okay. Was in the corn husk and all.
>>
>> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was a wad
>> of very solid meat. Not sure what to call the meat. It was beef. But it
>> wasn't steak, ground beef or even shredded beef. Just a very solid chunk of
>> tough, seemingly unseasoned beef. Around it was a thin, partial shell of
>> very solid mass tough masa. They didn't even bother to fully cover the
>> meat. The masa also didn't seem to have much flavor. Maybe it was old? At
>> any rate, I will never order this again. I believe that the menu said there
>> was a special sauce but there was seemingly no sauce.
>>
>> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a restaurant
>> where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But everyone else
>> raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was great! Until now.
>
> I have no doubt you're exaggerating for the purposes of trolling.
>
> Suck it up, everybody else! Try and correct Julie's terrible dinner!
> <yawn>
>
> -sw
>

I just don't understand why she is called a troll. I have been following
this group since the 90s, and she does not fit the pattern of trolling.
Yet, the dimwit Penmartin continues to post here, and apparently he has
the respect of most of the audience.

"dsi1" > wrote in message
...
> On 7/5/2014 5:18 PM, Julie Bove wrote:
>> For lunch today I had quite possibly the worst tamale ever. From the
>> outside, it looked okay. Was in the corn husk and all.
>>
>> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was a
>> wad of very solid meat. Not sure what to call the meat. It was beef.
>> But it wasn't steak, ground beef or even shredded beef. Just a very
>> solid chunk of tough, seemingly unseasoned beef. Around it was a thin,
>> partial shell of very solid mass tough masa. They didn't even bother to
>> fully cover the meat. The masa also didn't seem to have much flavor.
>> Maybe it was old? At any rate, I will never order this again. I
>> believe that the menu said there was a special sauce but there was
>> seemingly no sauce.
>>
>> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a
>> restaurant where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But
>> everyone else raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was
>> great! Until now.
>
> My condolences on that tamale. I hope to never meet one of those in a
> plate.

I hope to never meet one again! Thing is, I have been looking forward to
this meal for weeks. Instead of ordering what I usually do, I ordered that
and a whole pinto bean enchilada. Sadly I can make an enchilada at home
that is more memorable than that. It filled me up but that's about it.

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:18:26 -0700, Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> For lunch today I had quite possibly the worst tamale ever. From the
>> outside, it looked okay. Was in the corn husk and all.
>>
>> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was a
>> wad
>> of very solid meat. Not sure what to call the meat. It was beef. But
>> it
>> wasn't steak, ground beef or even shredded beef. Just a very solid chunk
>> of
>> tough, seemingly unseasoned beef. Around it was a thin, partial shell of
>> very solid mass tough masa. They didn't even bother to fully cover the
>> meat. The masa also didn't seem to have much flavor. Maybe it was old?
>> At
>> any rate, I will never order this again. I believe that the menu said
>> there
>> was a special sauce but there was seemingly no sauce.
>>
>> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a
>> restaurant
>> where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But everyone
>> else
>> raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was great! Until now.
>
> I have no doubt you're exaggerating for the purposes of trolling.
>
> Suck it up, everybody else! Try and correct Julie's terrible dinner!
> <yawn>

It was lunch. And since I've never made a tamale from scratch, I was just
wondering what they did wrong. One day I may make some.

I suppose I could have taken a pic of the icky little thing but I did not.
I do have lots of witnesses though.

"Travis McGee" > wrote in message
...
> On 7/6/2014 3:36 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:18:26 -0700, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>>> For lunch today I had quite possibly the worst tamale ever. From the
>>> outside, it looked okay. Was in the corn husk and all.
>>>
>>> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was a
>>> wad
>>> of very solid meat. Not sure what to call the meat. It was beef. But
>>> it
>>> wasn't steak, ground beef or even shredded beef. Just a very solid
>>> chunk of
>>> tough, seemingly unseasoned beef. Around it was a thin, partial shell
>>> of
>>> very solid mass tough masa. They didn't even bother to fully cover the
>>> meat. The masa also didn't seem to have much flavor. Maybe it was old?
>>> At
>>> any rate, I will never order this again. I believe that the menu said
>>> there
>>> was a special sauce but there was seemingly no sauce.
>>>
>>> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a
>>> restaurant
>>> where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But everyone
>>> else
>>> raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was great! Until
>>> now.
>>
>> I have no doubt you're exaggerating for the purposes of trolling.
>>
>> Suck it up, everybody else! Try and correct Julie's terrible dinner!
>> <yawn>
>>
>> -sw
>>
>
> I just don't understand why she is called a troll. I have been following
> this group since the 90s, and she does not fit the pattern of trolling.
> Yet, the dimwit Penmartin continues to post here, and apparently he has
> the respect of most of the audience.

I'm not a troll. They will call me a variety of unflattering things. What
they call me seems ever changing. Why? Dunno.

On 7/6/2014 12:25 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>
> "The Other Guy" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:18:26 -0700, "Julie Bove" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was
>>> a wad
>>> of very solid meat.
>>
>> Real tamales are difficult and time consuming to make,
>> and it's likely that a restaurant that doesn't serve them
>> regularly will take bad shortcuts.
>>
>> The filling should be a thick stew that has cooked for hours,
>> even overnight.
>
> I would assume that they are served regularly as they are on the regular
> menu. But I don't think these were done right.

They were probably old and had been sitting in the walk-in cooler for a
while. They were not reheated in a moist environment. That's my guess.

I ordered tamales at a restaurant some years back; the food had always
been good but not these tamales. All I could taste was cinnamon. A
whisper of cinnamon would have been just fine. All I can figure is the
cap came off a shaker bottle of cinnamon. I sent them back.

Jill

On 7/5/2014 11:59 PM, sf wrote:
> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:18:26 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
>> So... What would make the tamale tough like that? This isn't a restaurant
>> where we dine a lot. My first meal there was terrible. But everyone else
>> raved about it. So we tried it again and the food was great! Until now.
>
> Obviously there wasn't enough moisture in the filling. When I learned
> how to make a beef filling for tamales, the beef was cooked until
> tender and then cooled so the juice jelled and the jell was included
> in the filling along with the meat so the filling was moist.
>
The one time I made tamales yes, lots of the gelantinous juice stayed in
the meat filling. I also steamed the finished product over the juices
that remained in the pan.

Jill

On 7/6/2014 3:45 AM, Travis McGee wrote:
> Yet, the dimwit Penmartin continues to post here, and apparently he has
> the respect of most of the audience.

If you believe that I've got a bridge I could sell you...

Jill

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 7/6/2014 12:25 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>> "The Other Guy" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:18:26 -0700, "Julie Bove" >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> But when I opened it? There was perhaps a 2" thick hunk. There was
>>>> a wad
>>>> of very solid meat.
>>>
>>> Real tamales are difficult and time consuming to make,
>>> and it's likely that a restaurant that doesn't serve them
>>> regularly will take bad shortcuts.
>>>
>>> The filling should be a thick stew that has cooked for hours,
>>> even overnight.
>>
>> I would assume that they are served regularly as they are on the regular
>> menu. But I don't think these were done right.
>
> They were probably old and had been sitting in the walk-in cooler for a
> while. They were not reheated in a moist environment. That's my guess.
>
> I ordered tamales at a restaurant some years back; the food had always
> been good but not these tamales. All I could taste was cinnamon. A
> whisper of cinnamon would have been just fine. All I can figure is the
> cap came off a shaker bottle of cinnamon. I sent them back.

Yuck.

Hmmmm..never had one like that. Most of the ones they try to peddle around are meatless masa dough balls. Maybe they was trying to be generous with the meat. The few times I have been dumb enough to try to make them at home we used hamburger meat and shredded pork roast. It takes a cute Mamacita to make them right.