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Venison Tamales
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5 from 1 vote

Venison Tamales

Get your Christmas Eve ready to go with some venison tamales!!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: Mexican, Tamales, Venison
Servings: 35 tamales
Author: Sophie May

Ingredients

  • 16 oz corn husks
  • 5 lbs Azteca Masa Ready to use (Preparada Para Tamales)
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 8 oz Mexican Cheese
  • 1 T vegetable oil
  • 1 lb ground venison
  • 8 oz Frontera Enchilada Sauce Red Chile with roasted tomato and garlic
  • 2 tsp Mexican oregano
  • 2 cans refried beans 1 regular and 1 with jalapeno

Instructions

  • If you haven't already grind ~1 lb of venison through a fine plate in your LEM Big Bite grinder. Make sure the meat and the head of the grinder are very cold before you start. You can add pork or beef fat to your venison if you want, but it is not required for this recipe.
  • Soak corn husks in hot water for 30 minutes or until soft.
  • Heat 1 T of veggie oil in a non stick pan over medium heat.
  • Add onions and cook until translucent and slightly browned.
  • Add your venison and cook until done.
  • Drain any excess liquid from the pan.
  • Add in enchilada sauce and Mexican oregano and mix until combined.
  • Remove from heat and set aside.
  • Once corn husks are soft start to assemble your tamales.

Assemble Tamales

  • Lay a corn husk glossy side up on the counter with the wide end at the top. Put ~ 1/4 cup of masa (more or less depending on the size of your husk) onto the top half of your corn husk. Use your fingers to push and spread the masa to ~1/4 inch thick on the top half of the husk. If the masa is sticky you can put plastic wrap over top so it is easier to spread.
  • Place ~1- 1 1/2 T of refried beans in a line down the middle of your masa. Add ~1 T of meat on top of your beans. Sprinkle with cheese.
  • To wrap your tamales fold in half like a taco. Pinch the masa at the top together so it makes a pocket and roll lengthwise. Then tuck the bottom up and tie off. For the tie I cut extra corn husks length wise into thin strips and used them.
  • If this is confusing there is a million videos on YouTube to help! I put the link for the video I used at the bottom in the notes!*

Cook Tamales

  • Add a cup of water to the bottom of your Instant Pot and then place a steamer rack inside.
  • Place the tamales upright on the rack, with the open ends facing up, tight enough so that they continue standing on their own.
  • Cook in the Instant Pot on Manual/High Pressure for 25 minutes and then allow the pressure to naturally release 10 minutes before quick releasing the rest.
  • ENJOY!
    Venison Tamales

Notes

*https://youtu.be/fI_4wK1j_BE
At 0:55 seconds the video shows how I rolled my tamalesÂ