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Homemade Tamale Recipe

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Find out how to make tamales yourself at home. This dish does take a fair amount of effort but it’s well worth it!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups (750ml) beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
  • 1 1/3 cups (240g) lard
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried cumin
  • 4 cups (500g) masa harina (masa flour)
  • 8 ounces (225g) dried corn husks

Filling ideas:

  • Red chili sauce and pork
  • Cheese and beans
  • Chicken salsa verde

Instructions

  1. Soak the corn husks in hot water for half an hour.
  2. Prepare your choice of fillings.
  3. Create the tamale dough: Using an electric mixer, beat the lard and 2 tablespoons of broth in a big mixing bowl for 3 to 5 minutes, or until frothy.
  4. Next masa flour, baking powder, salt, and cumin are combined in a separate bowl then stirred into the lard mixture and mixed using an electric mixer.
  5. Add the broth gradually to create very soft dough. Beat rapidly for several minutes. The dough should spread like smooth peanut butter and be just a little bit sticky.
  6. Put a damp paper towel over the mixing bowl to prevent the dough from drying out.
  7. Put the tamales together: A corn husk should be placed on the counter with the shiny side up and the broad end at the top.
  8. Over the top and middle of the corn husk, equally distribute the dough. Before enclosing the dough in plastic wrap, flatten and spread the masa into a thin layer that is ¼-inch (½ cm) thick.
  9. Keep the dough stretched across the top half of the corn husk so that you have enough room to fold it.
  10. Squeeze 1-2 tablespoons of the preferred filling into the dough’s middle. (Don’t overfill.)
  11. Now cover the filling with one long husk side. Overlapping the first long side, fold the second long side (like folding a brochure). Fold the bottom of the husk upward.
  12. Tying the tamales (optional): Tying the tamales with a corn husk string merely takes more time, and they will hold together just fine without it. If you’re creating several fillings, grouping together those of the same kind can help you distinguish them though. They can also look cute tied!
  13. To cook on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot, add water to the bottom of the steamer or the pot. (About 1 cup (250ml) for an Instant Pot; a few cups (maybe 500ml or more) for a steamer pot. Don’t fill the steamer rack higher than halfway).
  14. To keep the tamales from dropping through and coming into contact with any hot water, add a couple more corn husks to the bottom rack.
  15. Hold the tamales just firmly enough to keep them standing up straight, open end up. When using a steamer pot, place the tamales inside and cover them with a wet cloth or corn husks that have been soaked.
  16. In a steamer, get the water boiling (in Mexico they would often place a coin at the bottom of the steamer and when the coin started to tap into the pot you know the water was boiling.) When boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and steam for an additional 45 to 60 minutes, or until soft. After 45 minutes, check, in case they’re done.
  17. In an Instant Pot, cook for 25 minutes on manual/high pressure. Before doing a rapid release, give it a natural release of ten minutes.
  18. Take one out and remove the husk to check if the tamales are finished cooking. When the husk neatly separates from the tamale, they are done.
  19. Cook the dough for a further 5 to 10 minutes if it’s still tacky or wet, and then try again.
  20. Depending how fresh your ingredients are, keep leftover tamales in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.

Notes

Tamale Filling Ideas

You’ll need 3 to 4 cups of filling for each batch of tamale dough.

  • Salsa Verde chicken is made by mixing a 16-ounce (450g) can of salsa verde with three cups of cooked, shredded chicken
  • Beans and cheese would include 1½ cups (180g) shredded mozzarella and a 15 oz (400g) can of refried beans
  • Pork cooked with your favorite chili sauce or Mexican seasonings

After allowing the cooked tamales to cool, freeze them for up to 2 months in a freezer-safe bag or sealed container.

Tamales that have been frozen or that have been left over can be warmed in the microwave by being wrapped in moist paper towels. When reheated with moist paper towels, they will “steam” more easily. When unfolding them, proceed with caution as they will be hot!

Find it online: https://victoriahaneveer.com/what-are-tamales/