Smoky Mountain Tamale Recipe
Smoky Mountain Tamales are yummy in my tummy!
Smoky Mountain Tamale recipe. Homemade tamales are always a Smoky Mountain special event! Did you know that the Smoky Mountains are on the edge of the historic tamale trail? That is right. Delicious Latin food and culture migrated through this area as it progressed to the North Eastern United States from the Mississippi Delta. The city of Knoxville is still heavily influenced by this cuisine today. Tamales are highly portable and easy to make so it is no wonder they were just as popular then as now.
The Smoky Mountain Cherokee are no strangers to the delights of tamale consumption either! Their version was called bean bread or broadswords and were made with hominy. They boiled corn with wood ashes to make the masa. They stuffed the masa with beans, wrapped them with green corn leaves, cooked and chowed down. Could you imagine creating this simple dish in the vast wilderness of the Smoky Mountains by an open fire? We hope you enjoy this Tamale recipe and feel free to send us some pics especially if you make them on your next Smoky Mountain trip!
Smoky Mountain Tamale recipe.
Marco’s Coca Cola Pineapple Pork Recipe Ingredients:
Twenty ounces of Coca Cola
Three pound pork roast
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Pineapple slices
Chili flakes
Four tablespoons Worcestershire (Wooster) sauce
Masa Ingredients:
Two cups masa harina
Ten ounces of beef broth
One half teaspoon salt
One teaspoon of baking powder
Two-thirds cup of lard (Yes lard, because it makes them so delicious!)
Eight ounces of corn husks
One cup of sour cream (optional)
Directions:
Place pork roast in Crock Pot and drizzle with the Coca Cola and Wooster sauce. Cover with pineapple and allow some fruit to rest in the sauce. Add salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste. Cook on low for five to six hours or until fork tender. Reserve extra sauce.
Soak the corn husks in hot water until pliable. Beat lard with a tablespoon of broth until it becomes frothy. Combine the masa harina, salt and baking powder then add to the broth mix. You want to have a spongy dough so add enough broth to achieve this.
Spread the dough out over the center of individual cornhusks about a 1/2″ thick. Place about a tablespoon of pork filling over the masa’s center. Fold the sides husks inward to cover the filling. Place tamales in your trusty steamer or double boiler. Steam for one hour.
Remove tamales from the steamer and unwrap the husks. Pour extra sauce over the tamales and top with sour cream if desired. If you prefer your reserved sauce creamy feel free to add some sour cream to it also.
Culinary HeySmokies bonus tip: We love the pork but beans and roasted peppers also make delicious stuffings for tamales. Our favorite beans to stuff with are whole or refried black beans.
