Red Chili Brisket Tamales With Cilantro Sour Cream Food

BRISKET CHILE

Steps:

• Saute onions, garlic, and peppers until tender in canola oil with salt in an 8-quart cast enamel pan over medium-high heat. Add spices and cook for 1 more minute. Add meat and tomatoes, lower the heat to medium or medium-low and simmer for 2 hours. Remove from heat and add cilantro.
• Serve in soup bowls and top with sour cream and cheddar cheese for garnish.

CAMPING BAKED POTATOES WITH HERBED SOUR CREAM

Steps:

• Start a wood campfire and wait until the flames die down and the coals glow red with white ash. Lower a grilling grate so that it sits above the coals and you have nice, even medium heat. Wash the potatoes well in cold water, prick each all over with the tip of a knife and rub them all over with olive oil. Rub salt all over the potatoes; this will help crisp the skin. Tightly wrap each potato in aluminum foil.
• Place the potatoes on the grill grate over red coals (medium heat) and cook about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, turning halfway through. (Feed the fire with more wood as needed.) When done, the tip of a paring knife will go straight through the potato without resistance (you can do this through the foil).
• In a small bowl, combine the scallions, chopped herbs and sour cream. Set aside.
• Cut the potatoes open through the foil and peel back the foil to expose the potato. Squeeze the potatoes gently from the bottom to expose the soft, fluffy insides. Season with salt and pepper, top with butter and finish with a big spoonful of the herbed sour cream.
• Photograph from "Guy on Fire: 130 Recipes for Adventures in Outdoor Cooking"

CORNBREAD CHILI POKE BAKE

Steps:

• For the cornbread: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Whisk together the cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk, oil and eggs in a medium bowl. Fold the egg mixture into the cornmeal mixture until well combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake until the edges are golden brown and the center bounces back when pressed with a finger, 25 to 30 minutes.
• For the chili: Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder, tomato paste, salt, chipotle powder and cumin and cook until the spices begin to fry. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Once the cornbread is baked, use the handle of a large wooden spoon to poke 35 holes into the cornbread, making sure that the spoon goes all the way to the bottom of the baking dish.
• Spoon the chili on top of the cornbread and spread evenly with the wooden spoon while pressing the chili into the holes. Top with the cheese, dollops of sour cream, jalapenos and scallions. Cut into 15 pieces and serve immediately.

RED CHILE TAMALES

Steps:

• In a mixer or by hand, combine masa, lard, salt and baking powder until well blended.
• Deseed the chile pods, then soak the pods in hot water until soft.
• Puree the soft chile pods.
• Boil roast with salt, pepper and garlic until beef is cooked through.
• Remove beef; shred.
• Reserve the beef broth.
• Mix red chile puree with shredded beef.
• Add reserved beef broth until moist.
• Spread masa in a corn husk.
• Place about 1 1/2 ounces beef in the center of the masa.
• Fold over sides of tamale, then wrap tamale in wax paper.
• Place tamales in steamer pot, cover and cook 45 minutes or until the tamales are firm.

TAMALES DE CHILE ROJO (RED CHILE TAMALES WITH MEAT)

Steps:

• Sort through the husks to get 20 large ones and place in a large bowl, along with 10 additional smaller husks. Add enough boiling water to cover and weigh down with a plate to soak until softened, at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. Drain and wipe dry.
• Mix the harina de maíz nixtamalizado azul and baking powder in a large bowl and gradually add 1 1/2 cups broth while mixing and kneading with your hands. Add the remaining broth as needed to achieve a smooth dough that feels neither moist nor dry. It shouldn't stick to your fingers but should hold together in a single mass.
• Beat the vegetable shortening in a large bowl by hand or with an electric stand or handheld mixer on medium-high speed until it becomes very smooth and brighter in color, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the salt until incorporated. Add the masa by the handful and beat, on low speed if using an electric mixer, until evenly incorporated. Beat on medium-high speed, scraping the bowl occasionally, until fluffy, about 5 minutes. The mixture should be the texture of buttercream. To see if the dough is ready, fill a small cup with water and drop in a 1/4 teaspoon dough. It should immediately rise and float.
• To assemble the tamales: Place a large corn husk on your work surface or in your hand. Using the back of a spoon or a small palette knife, spread about 1/3 cup masa (2 ounces) in a rectangle (about 5- by 6-inches) in the center, leaving a few inches empty on the long sides. Add 3 tablespoons meat filling (2 ounces) in a line down the center of the masa. Wrap the tamal: Hold the long sides of the husk and bring them together, so the masa meets in the center and encloses the filling, then fold those sides of the husk together over and around the enclosed filling. Fold the pointed end over the tamal to secure and place on a sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, stacking the folded tamales on the pan.
• To steam the tamales: Place a few coins in the bottom of a tamalera or other deep steamer pot and add enough water to come to the bottom of the steamer insert and no higher so the water won't touch the tamales. The coins will stop clattering if your water runs low and let you know that you need to replenish with more hot water. Arrange the tamales upright in the steamer, open-side up, leaving a space in the center. The tamales should be touching. Cover the tops with the remaining corn husks, then cover the steamer with the lid. Bring the water to a boil and steam for 1 hour, pouring in more water through the empty center as needed.
• To test for doneness, remove one tamal, unwrap and cut through the center. There should be no raw masa remaining, and the tamal should peel away easily from the husk as you unwrap it. If not, continue steaming, checking for doneness every 15 minutes. When cooked, remove from the heat and let stand in the steamer for 15 minutes before serving. The tamales can be kept warm in the steamer off heat for up to an hour. Steamed tamales can be cooled completely, wrapped tightly, and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then steam again in husks or unwrap and pan-fry until heated through, about 15 minutes.