Ideas for using masa

[college_cook]

Hey everyone, I bought a big bag of masa today because I'm making tamales, but I'm just coming to the realization that I'm not going to want to spend a ton of time using up this bag of masa for tamales... they're good, but take a long long time!

So I'm looking for other creative uses for masa, anything goes!

 

[Shunka]

You can put the extra masa in a heavy zip-type bag and freeze for another use later. Or you could try your hand at making corn tortillas.

 

[texasgirl]

You could send it to me j/k.
I would do what Shunka said, freeze it for later. Tamales are so gooooood, you'll want more later.

 

[kleenex]

I know what you can do, use it instead of corn meal in a muffin mix

 

[college_cook]

Here's an idea I had, and I need an opinion on how/if it would work:

I cooked my tamale meat in this great store-bought roasted poblano salsa,b/c I have always LOVED the flavor of poblano peppers. Assuming I can somehow find some fresh poblanos ( i have only seen them dried and bagged in my markets), do you think it would be possible to make some sort of masa stuffed poblanos, maybe by oven roasting? This is uncharted territory for me, and I guess what I'm really concerned about is the ability of the poblanos to impart their flavor to the masa in this cooking method, and also if poblanos are even a good pepper to cook this way?

Shunka, I like your idea of making corn tortillas. I have always wanted to tackle that, and every time I bring it up to my girlfriend she laughs at me and says she'll just call her mother and have her send some homemade tortills to us. If you know a good recipe or corn tortillas I'd love to take a look at it.

 

[Shunka]

Is there a recipe on the package for tortillas? Use that as your base and experiment with the amount of water and shortening/lard until you get the end product that you like. There are some recipes that do not use lard; just the masa, a bit of salt and water. Here is what I do without the lard: Just make up a dough from 2 cups masa, 3/4 salt and about 1 cup of water (may need a bit more) that is not too dry but will hold it's shape. Form little balls of the dough and place between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Roll out to about 6-7 inches and cook on an ungreased griddle until it starts to brown on the edges and tiny bubbles stop forming. Turn it and cook on the other side. Just repeat with the other dough balls. Let them cool and then you can put them into a bag and refrigerate.

 

[BreezyCooking]

It's also used to thicken some long-cooking chilis & Mexican sauces, sort of like the way cornstarch is used in Asian stirfries - a few spoonfuls dissolved in warm water & then added to the dish.

 

[philso]

re: tortillas

instead of rolling, you can just use a heavy pan to smash the masa. put your weight on it and they'll come out pretty close to perfectly round. wax paper can start to absorb a little water and then peeling off the tortillas can sometime be a problem. plastic ( for example large size freezer zip lock ) works well.

also, (something you may want to pass on, but interesting), in mexico, masa is mixed with water and formed into a ball. it's wrapped and taken to the fields by workers. after some hours or days, it starts to go a bit sour. a little is mixed with water to make a slightly tangy, refreshing, carbohydrate rich drink.

 

[ironchef]

I would still use them for tamales, but experiment with different types of flavor combinations.

 

[Claire]

When I first moved here it was impossible to find yellow corn tortillas and I tried making my own. It worked, but I'm glad that I can buy them now! My favorite thing, though, and biggest potluck hit was to make up the masa as instructed for tamales (I used bacon fat for the oil, and it was great). Then I layered it in a casserole dish, with mexican seasoned ground beef, and either chili-seasoned beans or my favorite refried beans, and cheese (choose: Cheddar, Jack, pepper cheese, or authentic Mexican cheeses that are becoming more and more readily available around the country). Bake at 400 until the top layer (the masa and a sprinkling of cheese) is golden. Half hour or so. This works great with leftover chili, the ends of jars of salsa, odd pieces of cheese. I don't even like corn meal, and have to say it tasted pretty good. If you want you can serve it with a bowl of sour cream and one of guacamole.

 

[rickell]

chicken enchilada soup

I use it to thicken chicken enchilada soup adds great
flavor.

I know this is a bit late since you posted but it does freeze well.

My daughter made tamales yesterday her first time, she liked the feeling
of the dough. She is 13 and just said I want to help. She did a great
job.

I like Claire's idea too.