I may be wrong. She may have made it for barbacoa. I think tamales come in many flavors but usually they’re pork...?
Yes, the tamales I’m used to are usually made of pork (or at least that’s what I thought, lol) but you’ll also find beef tamales in many TexMex restaurants. I’ve heard of barbacoa but never had it. Isn’t it a steer head buried in a cooking pit?