Judie Byrd is from Fort Worth, Texas. She started her culinary career by teaching busy moms how to cook in her own kitchen 24 years ago. She then founded The Culinary School of Fort Worth where people can earn professional chef certificates as well as take home cooking classes. Judie is the host of Judie Byrd's Kitchen, which airs weekdays at 5:00pm EST and Saturdays at 12:00am EST, on FamilyNet Cable TV.
It was great to get to meet Judie. She is such a warm person, and so easy to talk to. We talked a lot about family, shared cooking experiences, and traded information on interesting ingredients. She truly enjoys teaching people how to cook! This event was an incredible experience for my friends and me making a turkey feast with Judie, and I am very excited to share the details with all of you today.
Our menu focus was on the turkey leftovers which coincidentally is the theme for this month's 5 Star Makeover. One fabulous way to use those turkey leftovers, as Judie Byrd suggests, is to make Turkey Tamales!
Normally making tamales is considered quite time consuming, and Judie suggests to start the process of mixing the masa and soaking the husks a day ahead. However, with Judie, myself, and my two friends all working together quickly, we got those turkey tamales as well as green chile tamales done within a few hours. In fact, while the tamales were steaming, we made a corn bread from scratch, a Southwest Cornbread Dressing, and whipped up a 3 Chile Sauce for our tamales too!
The turkey tamales were wonderfully delicious and flavorful! I especially loved the addition of cumin and feta cheese in the filling.
The sauce, made with a mixture of Aji Amarillo, Pasilla Negro, and Ancho Chiles, added a nice touch of spice and smokiness.
The cornbread dressing was amazing! Judie's secret ingredient, crushed Fritos, added a depth of corn flavor and nice crunch. I am definitely making this cornbread dressing for my Thanksgiving dinner.
Judie had many wonderful Thanksgiving tips and she promised to send me a whole list that will share with you next week. Please enjoy the slide show of the step-by-step preparation pictures and Judie's recipes that we used to make our turkey tamale feast.
Tamales
Yield: 6 dozen tamales
Masa:
1 package (4 pounds) Instant Corn Masa
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cups salt or to taste
1 pound lard, Crisco or butter, melted
17 cups warm water, or as needed
2, 5-ounce bags corn husks, soaking in warm water to soften.
1. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Begin adding water, adding more or less as needed to make a thick paste. Add the first 10 cups of water and then add by 1 or 2 cups at a time. Dough should be very pliable and sticky.
2. Remove the husks from the water and stand in a bowl to drain. With a spoon, an offset metal spatula, or your fingers, spread about 3 tablespoons masa over the bottom 2/3 (larger end) of cornhusks, leaving about 3/4 inch clean at the smaller end of the husk. Place about 2 tablespoons of the meat in a small row, down the middle of the masa.Wrap the cornhusk sides closed and fold down the smaller end; stack on a large platter to hold.
3. Place extra husks in the bottom of a large stock pot, or several pots. On top of the corn husks, place a towel or dinner plate. Top with more husks. Add about 1 1/2 inches of water and place over high heat.When water begins to boil, add tamales, stacking them to the top of the pot. Cover with a plastic bag and then a lid or foil. Turn heat to low and steam one hour.
4. Remove one tamale to test for doneness. They will be done when the husk peels away from the masa without sticking. If not done, steam another 5 to 10 minutes.Tamales will be very soft at this point, but will firm up when cooled and reheated.
Supplies: large bowl such as a stainless steel, 18" - 20" bowl.
Turkey Cheese Tamale Filling
Yield: filling for about 2 dozen tamales
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 bell pepper, chopped
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt or to taste
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
3 to 4 cups shredded cooked Shady Brook Farms or Honeysuckle White turkey
3 to 4 roasted, peeled, seeded poblano or Anaheim chile peppers, chopped
1/2 bunch scallions, sliced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
6 ounces crumbled goat cheese or Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne; cook and stir another minute.
2. Add chicken, chile peppers, scallions and cilantro, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove pan from the heat and let sit until cool enough to handle. When cool, fold in goat cheese.
Southwest Tamale Cornbread Dressing
Yield: about 10 cups
2 tablespoons butter
3 1/2 to 4 cups chicken or turkey broth
3 ribs celery, diced
1 1/2 cups herb-flavored stuffing mix
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons dry rubbed sage or to taste
6 cups crumbled cornbread
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup crushed Fritos
2 poblano chilies, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 or 5 tamales, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
Melt butter in a large skillet. Add celery and onions and cook until tender.
Add remaining ingredients and toss well.
Place in a lightly buttered casserole and bake at 350º for 1 hour, basting twice with turkey broth.
Charring Chiles:
Roasting chiles makes it easy to remove their peelings. Hold the chilies over the flame of your gas range or place them on a baking sheet until the broiler. You can also place them on the grill over hot coals. Cook them, turning often, until the skin is blistered and lightly charred. To steam, place the hot, charred chiles on a plate covered with a bowl or wrap in paper towels and place in a plastic bag. After a few minutes, gently peel off the skins.
They can now be sliced and served. To remove some of the heat from the chiles, slice open and remove the seeds and inside membranes.
Roasted chiles can be frozen peeled or unpeeled. If unpeeled, they can be peeled after defrosting
Mom's Cornbread
Yield: 9 servings
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1-2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk and oil. Stir in the dry ingredients until well blended. Pour batter into the greased pan.
3. Bake 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
