Exploratory Research: Smoked Tamale Pork

[Mike in Roseville]

Tamales are pretty cool. They are regional...much like BBQ. Certain cultures and areas make them just a little bit differently. Some are savory (with meat/veggies) and some are sweet (fruit filling). My aunt's family makes them completely differently than my in-laws (they are about 30 minutes apart geographically).

I have had over a dozen different types of tamales with different fillings, masa color/flavor, fillings and wrappers across the country/Latin America.

So a little background.

When I first started dating the woman who would become my wife,
I found out her family made tamales. They take it seriously. Her grandma grew up in a little town in California that most people in the surrounding area have never heard of. Grandma used to personally make them...and they were the best. There was a newspaper article I read once where grandma was pictured on the front page of the local section teaching people in the surrounding areas how to make them. Suffice it to say...they are legit. Great balance of flavors, meat/masa ratio, and moist.

Since then, grandma hasn't been able to make them but has been able to instruct and inspect.

Some families make a few. Some make a ton to sell. My wife's family does neither. They don't make 50...they make 750! They freeze them and all the family members get them to enjoy for the months to come. I have even transported frozen tamales back to New Jersey to share with friends and get us through the winter.

Last year, on our sons nap, when my wife was spreading masa and I was filling and wrapping tamales I made the comment: "you know, so much attention to flavor is put into the mole and masa (and the meat/masa ratio), but not much is put into the meat other than boiling it...you know, I'd really like to smoke it."

Well friends, the research began today.



Why mess with tradition? I dunno.
Perhaps I want to help put my stamp on it? Make a great thing better? Either way, I had my wife's blessing. We may end up just making these for us. At any rate, when bone-in butts went on sale, it was an excuse to fire up the WSM and cook!

I got 3...between 3.5-4.5 lbs. Each one was done with a different flavor profile.

#1 Big Bob Gibson's Grand World Champion Rub and Injection. I've made
it before without the injection. It is the real deal. This time I opted to try the injection too.

#2 Exactly the same as number one except for two changes. For the rub I substituted ground annatto for the paprika. For the injection I substituted Pati Jinich's "bitter orange substitute" for the apple juice. Everything else was the same, and the proportions of all ingredients (including substitutions) were kept the same.

#3 I thought about making this a true control. However, another thought crossed my mind to try making a green meat, instead of red. I didn't have any fresh (or even frozen) chile verde, so I opted to see what green Enchilada sauce would do (rubbed and injected).



Time to cook:



After a few hours:



Results:

So I pulled all these at different times and was juggling a few things today, so sorry there aren't really any "after" pics. I let them rest and packaged them up quickly.

My wife and I did a taste test. We both agreed that the enchilada sauce version was the least favorite. Why? It needed more depth of flavor. She even thought...if we used our chile verde would it be better? Results are inconclusive on this version. I'm going to use this meat for enchilada casserole later in the week.

Variants 1 & 2 was where things got interesting. My wife preferred the original Big Bob Gibson (BBG) recipe and I slightly preferred the modified one. Granted, for straight BBQ, BBG's is the beginning and end of the conversation. I really don't think you can go wrong with either one. The variant did show the annatto aroma just slightly and the bitter orange juice provided just enough acid to balance the meat.

She thought the modified one needed to be sweeter...while I thought for tamales the BBG version needed some acid.

Where do we go from here?

Easy...next time around we are going to split the difference. Half paprika/half annatto instead of one or the other.
Same with the juice. Half apple juice/half bitter orange.

I also can't help but think a crutch might help too. After a few hours, foil. Meat gets some smoke and color, but not too much. It stays even more moist to boot.

That's all for now on this one! Stay tuned for an update.


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[inkaddictedchef1]

Nice cook... tamale research and development though. Need a taster?!?

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[mhiszem]

Wow that sounds amazing! I wish I was closer so I could try it.


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[dazzo]

Good luck with the research. Sounds like fun. Plus you get to eat tamales!

I ain't messin' with tradition at my house. My wife's fillings (chicken and beef) barely make it intact to the tamales as I roll. Love her cooking!




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[Mike in Roseville]

@inkaddictedchef1

If you weren't working yesterday, I would have said swing by for the taste test. When we get closer to Fall, and we make a test batch, I'll gladly take you up on your "sensory evaluation" offer.

@dazzo

Traditions all started somewhere. I'm not afraid to tinker or make my own traditions. Some of my most requested food during the holidays started out as so-and-so's recipe that I tweaked a little. In regard to tamales, when I spoke with my uncle about why my Aunt uses whole green olives in hers, his response was..."well, they've always been cheaper than black ones."

[dazzo]

Traditions all started somewhere. I'm not afraid to tinker or make my own traditions. Some of my most requested food during the holidays started out as so-and-so's recipe that I tweaked a little. In regard to tamales, when I spoke with my uncle about why my Aunt uses whole green olives in hers, his response was..."well, they've always been cheaper than black ones."

I agree. Good luck with the research, I'm sure you'll come up with a combination that will be part your tradition. And now I need some tamales.

[inkaddictedchef1]

Awesome cook... if you need a taster for your tamales I'm right up the road.

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[Mr.CPHo]

I loved this thread.  Your ambition to carry on and put your own mark on a family tradition is commendable


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