We’ve outlined all the ingredients and directions for you to make the perfect All-Beef Tamales. It should take you about 10 hr 30 min to make this recipe. The All-Beef Tamales recipe should make enough food for 18 to 25 servings.
You can add your own personal twist to this All-Beef Tamales recipe, depending on your culture or family tradition. Don’t be scared to add other ingredients once you’ve gotten comfortable with the recipe! Please see below for a list of potential cookware items that might be necessary for this All-Beef Tamales recipe.
Ingredients for All-Beef Tamales
- 1 pound 8 ounces ground beef chuck
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons beef kidney fat, melted
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced onion
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 pound white cornmeal
- 1/4 cup chili seasoning blend
- 1/4 cup beef kidney fat, melted
- 2 tablespoons finely minced onion
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Chili, for serving
Directions for All-Beef Tamales
- For the filling: In a medium pot set over medium heat, add the ground beef, 2 teaspoons of the garlic salt, 1 tablespoon of the salt and the cayenne and then add enough water to cover the mixture, about 4 cups. Bring to a simmer and cook until the meat is cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Strain the meat and reserve the cooking liquid for a later use.
- In a food processor, process the meat to a medium-fine consistency and add the remaining 1 tablespoon garlic salt, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, the kidney fat, garlic, onion and cumin. Mix well, cover and refrigerate until cool, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
- For the cornmeal mixture: In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, chili seasoning, kidney fat, onion and garlic, and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved beef liquid and, using your hands, mix to incorporate all the ingredients. Continue to add more liquid until the mixture can be pressed into a ball in your hand and will hold its shape even when tossed around lightly, about 1/4 cup. Cover and place the cornmeal mixture in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
- After the meat mixture and cornmeal mixture have cooled, run both mixtures through the food processor separately to achieve smooth and uniform textures to build the tamales.
- Dip the tamale wrappers in water or soak the cornhusks in hot water to soften. Lay the wrappers flat on the work surface. Scoop about 3 tablespoons of the chilled cornmeal mixture and form it into a boat about 4-inches long and 1 1/2-inches wide. Fill the center of the cornmeal boat with 2 teaspoons of the meat mixture and then pinch the cornmeal to cover and seal in the ends. Repeat for the remaining cornmeal and beef, making 18 to 25 tamales total. Roll the tamales in the wrappers, folding over one end and leaving the other end open.
- Fold the open end over and tie three tamales into a bundle; repeat for the remaining tamales. Refrigerate the tamales for 2 hours before cooking.
- For the boil mixture: Add 8 cups water, the salt, cumin, cayenne and garlic powder to a pot and bring to a simmer.
- Place the tamales in a separate pot with the open ends facing up. The tamales should be tightly packed so they all stand upright. Pour the simmering boil mixture over the tamales.
- Cover and cook for 3 hours over medium heat.
- Remove from the heat and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Add enough water to cover the tamales and cook for 1 more hour.
- Remove the tamales from the pot and unwrap. Serve warm with chili.
Cookware for your recipe
You will find below are cookware items that could be needed for this All-Beef Tamales recipe or similar recipes. Feel free to skip to the next item if it doesn’t apply.
- Cooking pots
- Frying pan
- Steamers
- Colander
- Skillet
- Knives
- Cutting board
- Grater
- Saucepan
- Stockpot
- Spatula
- Tongs
- Measuring cups
- Wooden Spoon
Categories in this Recipe
- Cornmeal – Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be. In Mexico, very finely ground cornmeal is referred to as corn flour. When fine cornmeal is made from maize that has been soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater (a process known as nixtamalization), it is called masa harina (or masa flour), which is used for making arepas, tamales and tortillas. Boiled cornmeal is called polenta in Italy and is also a traditional dish and bread substitute in Romania.
- Grain Recipes
- Beef – Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle.In prehistoric times, humans hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since then, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity of their meat. Today, beef is the third most widely consumed meat in the world, after pork and poultry. As of 2018, the United States, Brazil, and China were the largest producers of beef.Beef can be prepared in various ways; cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often ground or minced, as found in most hamburgers. Beef contains protein, iron, and vitamin B12. Along with other kinds of red meat, high consumption is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer and coronary heart disease, especially when processed. Beef has a high environmental impact, being a primary driver of deforestation with the highest greenhouse gas emissions of any agricultural product.
- Main Dish
- Gluten Free – A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats. The inclusion of oats in a gluten-free diet remains controversial, and may depend on the oat cultivar and the frequent cross-contamination with other gluten-containing cereals.Gluten may cause both gastrointestinal and systemic symptoms for those with gluten-related disorders, including coeliac disease (CD), non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), gluten ataxia, dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), and wheat allergy. In these people, the gluten-free diet is demonstrated as an effective treatment, but several studies show that about 79% of the people with coeliac disease have an incomplete recovery of the small bowel, despite a strict gluten-free diet. This is mainly caused by inadvertent ingestion of gluten. People with a poor understanding of a gluten-free diet often believe that they are strictly following the diet, but are making regular errors.In addition, a gluten-free diet may, in at least some cases, improve gastrointestinal or systemic symptoms in diseases like irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, or HIV enteropathy, among others. There is no good evidence that gluten-free diets are an alternative medical treatment for people with autism.Gluten proteins have low nutritional and biological value and the grains that contain gluten are not essential in the human diet. However, an unbalanced selection of food and an incorrect choice of gluten-free replacement products may lead to nutritional deficiencies. Replacing flour from wheat or other gluten-containing cereals with gluten-free flours in commercial products may lead to a lower intake of important nutrients, such as iron and B vitamins. Some gluten-free commercial replacement products are not enriched or fortified as their gluten-containing counterparts, and often have greater lipid/carbohydrate content. Children especially often over-consume these products, such as snacks and biscuits. Nutritional complications can be prevented by a correct dietary education.A gluten-free diet may be based on gluten-free foods, such as meat, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products, legumes, nuts, fruits, vegetables, potatoes, rice, and corn. Gluten-free processed foods may be used. Pseudocereals (quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat) and some minor cereals are alternative choices.
