Ground Beef Tamales

Super fluffy and moist, those ground beef tamales are perfect to serve at any gathering pairing with a traditional champurrado or cafe de olla.

📝 Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups masa harina
• 1 1/2 cup lard (or vegetable oil)
• 2 cups beef stock
• 12 corn husks (soaked in hot water for 30 min.)
• salt (to taste)
• 1 lb minced beef
• 1/2 cup onions (chopped)
• 2/3 cup potatoes (diced)
• 2/3 cup carrots (diced)
• 1/3 cup peas (frozen)
• 1/2 cup olives (pitted)
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 guajillo peppers (stem and seeds removed)
• 1 clove garlic (peeled)
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp oregano

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Make the sauce ---
2. 2Place guajillo chilies in a bowl and cover with boiling water from 20 to 30 minutes.
3. 3Add chilies to a blender with garlic, cumin seeds, peppercorns, and oregano. Add 1 cup of water and blend until smooth.
4. 4Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl and set aside.
5. 5--- Make the filling ---
6. 6Heat the oil in a medium pan, add onion and sauté for 1 minute.
7. 7Add meat and cook, breaking it with the back of a spoon, until browned (about 10 minutes).
8. 8Add carrots, potatoes, peas and olives. Mix to combine.
9. 9Pour over the guajillo sauce and add about 1 teaspoon of salt.
10. 10Add 1 1/2 cups of water, mix well and bring to a boil.
11. 11Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat or until vegetables are almost cooked through.
12. 12Set heat to high and allow the liquids to evaporate (about 5 minutes).
13. 13Adjust with salt, remove from heat and allow to cool down.
14. 14--- Make the tamales dough ---
15. 15Place lard in a mixer bowl and add 1 tsp of salt. Mix at high until lard will become smooth and puffy (read note 1).
16. 16Add masa harina, then set the mixer to the lowest and add beef stock slowly while mixing until both are fully incorporated with the lard.
17. 17change the paddles, adjust salt to taste and mix at high for 2 more minutes to achieve an airy dough.
18. 18--- Make tamales ---
19. 19Drain the corn husks and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. Use two husks to make the strips needed to tie tamales.
20. 20Place a generous scoop of tamales dough in the middle of a husk and spread it well.
21. 21Spoon in the beef mixture, be generous, we want tamales to have lots of filling.
22. 22Now fold the husk to cover the filling and secure the dough and filling inside.
23. 23Next, take the narrow end of the husk and fold it towards the center.
24. 24Last, with the strips you made before, tie the tamal but make sure is not too tight as tamales will puff while cooking.
25. 25Repeat all steps until all dough and filling are used.
26. 26--- Cook ---
27. 27Prepare your steamer or large stock pot with a steamer basket/rack and add water just before it touches the basket.
28. 28Place beef tamales in layers, or you can also arrange them standing up.
29. 29Bring the water in the steamer to a boil, cover the pot and cook the tamales for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, checking occasionally and adding more water when is needed.