This is a print preview of "Venison Tamales" recipe.

Venison Tamales Recipe
by Clarisa Skinner

Venison Tamales

Okay...so....tamales take a lot of time to prepare, but the alternative to making you own is actually trusting someone else when they tell you the ones you are buying aren't hot. The last time I bought tamales from a friend's mother, the "not hot" tamales turned into a 3 alarm fire in my mouth! This year we are having a Tex-Mex Christmas and my husband doesn't eat hot foods...they just don't agree with him. So in the interest of making sure there is food he can eat, I put together this recipe.

Rating: 4/5
Avg. 4/5 1 vote
Prep time: Mexico Mexican
Cook time: Servings: 24 each

Goes Well With: guacamole, tortilla chips, salsa

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 lbs Venison roast, thawed
  • 2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
  • 2 medium Onions
  • 2 stalks Celery
  • 1 can Chicken broth
  • 3 cups Masa flour
  • 2/3 cups Shortening
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • Corn Husks
  • 1 medium Zucchini
  • 1 can Diced tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 pkg McCormick's Mild Taco Seasoning
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Slice 1 onion into rings. Chop the celery into several large pieces. Place both in a small slow cooker with the roast. Add 1 can of chicken broth and 1 Tbsp minced garlic. Cook on low for 10 hours, or until meat is tender and falling apart.
  2. Once the meat is done, remove it to a bowl to cool and shred the meat with two forks. Strain the vegetables and garlic out of the broth left in the slow pot. Set the broth aside to cool.
  3. Put some corn husks into hot water to soften. Put shortening into a food processor and turn on low to cream. Add Masa flour and enough of the broth to make a dough. It should be thick enough to spread on the corn husks with the back of a spoon or knife. If there isn't enough broth, supplement it with a bit of water.
  4. Dice the remaining onion and the zucchini. Saute' both in olive oil in a small skillet or pan. Add a can of diced tomatoes. If there is some of the meat broth left over add about a 1/2 cup to the vegetables, otherwise use water. Cook until the onions and zucchini are translucent, then add the taco seasoning. If the veggie mixture is too thick add more water or broth and simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors and thicken into a sauce. When done, pour the veggie mixture into the meat and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Spread the Masa dough onto each of the corn husks. Leave about 1/2-inch strip on one side and the narrow end of the husk masa-free for wrapping. Put some of the meat filling onto the center of the prepared corn husk, fold the masa-covered edge over the top, fold the narrow end of the husk up over that and continue rolling the husk to the masa-free edge. Set aside on a plate, open edge down to keep it from unrolling.
  6. Once all of the tamales are prepared, stack them loosely in a steamer. Cover and steam over boiling water 45-60 minutes.
  7. The number of tamales you get out of this recipe will depend on how large your corn husks are and how much filling you put in them. I got about 24 tamales out of mine.