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Beef Tamales

"These are just like the tamales my Abuelita used to make for special occasions. This recipe makes a lot, but if you're going to go to all the trouble of making tamales from scratch, you might as well have a party! You will need butchers' twine and a large pot with a steamer basket to make these. May be frozen up to 6 months in heavy-duty resealable plastic bags. To reheat, thaw in refrigerator and then steam or microwave until heated through."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 17 ingredients
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Beef Tamales

Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Beef Tamales

6 dozen tamales
Prep5 hr 30 min
Cook1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1044Calories
43 gProtein
45 gFat
116 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Seednot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together983 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Clove + cumintop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,306 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Clove + oreganotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together556 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (garlic, corn, flour, beef, cumin, oregano, pepper):

  1. Turmericfits better
  2. Corianderfits better
  3. Basilfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, corn, flour, beef, cumin, oregano, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.