What are tamales?
Tamales are a mixture of masa (corn dough) and filling that can be made of chicken, pork, or cheese and peppers. The tamales are wrapped in a corn husk and that is what gives them their shape. They are baked in a pot with a little water and are put over a flame.
Where the tradition started
Tamales originated from Mesoamerica around 8000 to 5000 BC but they have become a staple dish for Hispanic families on holidays such as Christmas and new years. I know when it comes to Christmas at my families home the tamales are never missing, growing up I would watch my mom, grandma, and aunts all getting the tamales ready to go get cooked and I was fascinated by the assembly line they would form.
Family making tamales together
How are they made?
Tamales are a process to make every family has a different way of making them so there is no definite recipe to follow. When I tried to ask my grandma for the recipe to her tamales she shook her head and said it was a family secret and she would not share it for the world to steal( i thought this was very amusing). To avoid the argument with her I decided to share a recipe I found online the recipe I found sounded just as good as my own families.
Recipe
Tamale filling
Tamale dough
Recipe steps from allrecipes
1.Place pork into a Dutch oven with onion and garlic, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 hours.
2.Use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from the chile pods. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Transfer the chiles and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture, stir in salt, and set aside. Shred the cooked meat and mix in one cup of the chile sauce.
3.Soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water. In a large bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more broth as necessary to form a spongy dough.
4.Spread the dough out over the corn husks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Place one tablespoon of the meat filling into the center. Fold the sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer. Steam for 1 hour.
5.Remove tamales from husks and drizzle remaining chile sauce over. Top with sour cream. For a creamy sauce, mix sour cream into the chile sauce.
tamales on the kitchen table
My families history with tamales
My grandmother as been making tamales for our family for as long as I can remember, my Christmas memories consist of getting in a (line buffet style) to get a little taste of my grandmas famous tamales, although I don’t know how famous they are but that is what she always called them so I’m sticking to it. My grandma always had my mother and her siblings helping in the kitchen to prepare the tamales and now that my family members and I are older we are slowly getting added to the tradition. I have to say I am excited and somewhat proud of myself for getting to this point in my life because getting added to the tradition is a big deal. I’m happy to continue the tradition and someday have my kids helping out in the kitchen just as I did.
By: Esmeralda Rodriguez