For years I was married to a Mexican man. The first Christmas he said that we must make tamales as it is a tradition in Mexico. HUH? He thought that we would figure it out together. He said "we need a hog head." HUH? I bought two pork roasts. Mistake # 1 You spread the maza on the inside of the corn shuck or it will not turn loose freely. Mistake #2 Real hog lard is preferred over Crisco. After visits from mother-in-law and sister-in-law I was schooled in the art of tamale making and learned to cook lots of other traditional foods. Even learned to cook cactus pads. Never could stand the smell of manudo.

We love Mexican food but I have NEVER had a tamale. I need to ask around and see if I can find a place that makes authentic and try them, then if I really like it I might try to make it.

Dawn and Lars, thank you for the recipes. Elmer, I don't want to order the tamales, I want to learn how to make them myself. Just like I have been practicing making pizzas, I know I can find places that will have better pizza than I make, but mine are getting better.

We have an interesting and (somewhat) recent tradition of making tamales here in The Delta https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/hot-tamales-the-mississippi-delta/ 

Jamie that is an interesting article. It does seem that the Delta tamales are substantially different what with their use of corn meal instead of masa but they do sound yummy. There is mention made of using parchment paper, is that common?

I don‘t think it’s all that common to use parchment, except for once or twice, I’ve only seen them in corn husks.

There are so many types of tamales. I've never made them either, but I sure like them. In Tucson, seasonally we would get sweet corn tamales, which are savory but made with fresh sweet corn and cheese. An older friend, raised in Mexico, said that in her part of the country, they made sweet Christmas tamales with raisins and nut and fruit filling. Have never heard of those before but they sound wonderful.

Google search for sweet tamales

I made tamales one time. Boat load of work. Now, I order them from a local when I'm in Mexico. Baja style w/ green olive & sliver of potato. Delicious.

IMO, tamales are just too much work for one person. Could be fun if you make it a tamale-making party.

My plan is to break it down into smaller tasks on separate days- the sauce one day, the cooking of the pork another day, and then the assembly and steaming on the 3rd day.

Jamie, The tamales described the the article you posted, do indeed sound like what I grew up eating. They were very small, very spicy, and were made with cornmeal.

I found husks for $5/lb at HEB (and everything else I needed) , so hopefully they will be delivered today.

Lucille, I'll trade you a plate of steak and shrimp molcajete for some tamales.:)

Mine just don't turn out that good. I think I don't having the steaming thing down. I can get delicious ones $12 for a dozen so I just gave up and buy them. Once you have everything together, though, it's easy enough to sit at the table and put on a movie while you assemble.

Cooper I went through my box of stored kitchen stuff yesterday and was happy to see that I still have my stainless steamer basket that allows the tamales to stand upright and each near the steaming holes.

I think that good tamales, like many other of the good things in life, depends on work and experience. I do not expect my first batch to be a work of art (although I do think that paying attention to instructions and detail will help).

Michael I had to look up steak Molcajete and it sounds delicious.Some of the descriptions even had cactus pads which I have never had.

Lucille, we had a new Mexican restaurant open up here and they had a Molcajete bowl. It was fantastic. Steak, shrimp, and chicken in the stone bowl. Yes, it had the cactus, which I had never had and I really liked it.

http://www.orderelvaqueromexicanrestaurant.com/

Molcajete

A delicious mix of flavors in an authentic mexican molcajete bowl. Steak, chicken, shrimp, chorizo, pork chop, grilled with onions, bell pepper, cactus and pineapple. Served a salad.

We refer to the Molcajete bowl as, "a bowl of love".

I love tamales, and I have often said I want to learn to make them, but I never have. I like pork tamales and there was a restaurant on the coast that made fat ones with shredded pork. You could buy tamales a lot of places down there and some individuals took orders for them, especially around Christmas time.

Tigereye it looks wonderful. And they deliver!! One of these days when I have some extra $ I'll call and order, I imagine I would want to give whoever delivers it a nice tip as it is 776 miles each way.

LOL! That is why we are learning to cook what we have learned to like rather than eating out or delivery!

I'm not interested in making them myself. I'm thinking about a road trip to Bob's Taco Station to try them out. They sound good.

I didn't have them often. My grandfather used to go get them somewhere, but they did look like this;

He lived in Grand Bay, just outside of Mobile.

We had Tamale venders in Montgomery Ala. Black guys on bicycle carts like the ice cream guys. Smelled wonderful but my mother never bought any. Here we can hook up with women who make them at home on certain days or you can just get them at Costco. They have very good Tamale. I have made them myself-I set up outside when I do to do the steaming. I did see a show where a guy mixed the filling into the Masa and that certainly was a simplified way of doing it-less mess.

they can be steamed in an IP. info can be found on the IP FB page using the search feature. they've even had tamale bites posted there. I haven't tried either. I've only had them once and loved them. they were made by my new neighbor when I first moved to AZ. she was an older Mexican woman and I spent some time in her kitchen while she made them (along with a few of her dds). she had a large family and made a ton of them. they were awesome but I've never been able to make myself buy them anywhere cause I know they just wouldn't be as good as Lydia's! I have thought of making the tamale bites but since I rarely 'make' much of anything anymore I'm sure I'd be in over my head even with those. good luck to those venturing into them and be sure to post back how they turned out and how you did in making them.

We can get freshly made tamales all over the place here. My former cleaning lady, that retired, used to make huge batches and would always bring us a few dozen at Christmas time. They were awesome. The taco trucks usually have freshly made tamales too. There is a Mexican market done the street that has a little restaurant inside. They make everything fresh daily. Very good food.

Now I am wishing I had followed my intuition this morning when I saw a person putting out a tamale sign in front of a gas station. Back before they stopped publishing Gourmet magazine had a story that mentioned the sweet tamale. I do not remember there being a recipe but I remember two types. One with a sort of mincemeat/fruitcake mixture in the center. The second one was basically sweetened masa with dried and fresh fruit incorporated then steamed. Ever since then I have been asking the various vendors/stores if they make them. I have came to a conclusion that they must be a regional thing because many have no idea what I am asking about.

We can get freshly made tamales all over the place here.

Here too, most areas in Houston have people who can make really wonderful tamales, but this is going to be an adventure, learning how to make them myself.

Lucille, we make them much as you have planned - cook and shred the pork one day, make the sauce the next and then assemble. I enjoy the process as much as the finished product, plus I get too tired trying to do it all in one day.

The price you found for the husks sounds much more reasonable. I'm home now and just looked at my receipt from the other day. I bought two 8 ounce packages for $4.39 each and that was at small town grocery store prices.

Back in November, 2018, I posted a thread about making tamales complete with photos. If you would like to take a look here is the link to that thread: Tamales

Tigereye-a new Mex restaurant opened near us. They serve the Molcajete bowl, too. I had to ask what it was because I have never seen one. This one was Beautiful; a work of art! Didn't get around to trying one yet because of the shutdown and being gone for the last month.

I just put the pork roast in the slow cooker, I might have tamales sooner than expected.

I bought ground anchos instead of the whole peppers, do you think that will be OK?

The fat for the masa, I can buy lard, use Crisco, or use the rendered fat from the pork roast. Which would be best?

Kroger had baskets full of the corn husks in the clearance section. They were very cheap.

Yes. Took exactly twelve hours, pork roast in the slow cooker, as well.

Yes, lard is what I used. An older friend taught me to make them, and she insists on lard.

Mostly similar to Lars' recipe.

Hispanic students here in the mid-west mention mom's tamales with glee and anticipation. They are not an everyday food. Holiday feasts only; I get the impression. I have often wondered what all the fuss is about. They are not on any menu of any "Mexican" restaurant I have ever been to. Please explain how one eats them--I am assuming the corn husks infuse flavor--but are not eaten?

No, you don’t eat the corn husks. They are just wrappers that hold the filling together when you steam the tamales. They might add a bit of flavor but not much.

you just unwrap them and eat the filling.

Yes, lard is what I used. An older friend taught me to make them, and she insists on lard.

So, just a question, because I'm curious? Lard is rendered pork fat, why can't the fat that was rendered during cooking the pork roast be used? I would think that when tamales were originally made there was no HEB to order lard from, they used what came from the pig?

Lard, also known as manteca, is made from back fat, you don't want the meat part. Here's a tutorial.

https://www.mexicanplease.com/homemade-lard/

Sushipup I read that article early this morning while researching. It does not say that meat fat is unusable, just that back fat and leaf fat are ordinarily used. If one was making lard one would use those fats, but if one was cooking a roast and fat was rendered, my question is why would it be any different?

Because you'll have meat flavoring the lard.

I believe that the reason lard is used instead of Crisco, is the flavoring. Back fat has a smell and taste, lard is not neutral like crisco. And in this case, flavoring would be a plus, because the traditional tamale recipe above shows the meat cooking broth is used in the masa for flavor as well as fat.

True, lard isn't completely neutral. But more so than, for example bacon grease. Do you save bacon grease to use in some of your cooking? It imparts some flavor. And because of that, you don't use it for a lot of things that don't need a bacon-y flavor.

But lard is used for many things, not all of which need much added meat flavor.

In the case you mention, using the rendered fat from the pork you cook for the tamales, well, that might be just fine. But I'd use manteca for chicken tamales or sweet tamales, etc.

I have never tried it with fat other than from the lamb that used to be sold in stores that was much older than what is currently sold and had what I call a "mutton" smell but you could try heating the fat in several changes of water to remove the smell/flavor. I would not recommend it but it can be done.

I have wondered if for the sweet ones if butter would enhance the flavor.

chicken tamales

I'd use chicken fat.

Speaking of which, how many of you remember this song, I sure do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeA2OBEApnM

Lucille, I use Crisco in my tamales, mostly because that's what I have on hand. I imagine the lard might add a subtle flavor and give the masa a lighter texture than Crisco. Either way will work, more a matter of preference, I think.

As far as your chili powder goes, the flavor will be there, but without the whole chilies, your sauce may be lacking a bit of body. The flour will help thicken it though. In this case, try it and see. Maybe another time, you can use the whole dried chilies. I think of cooking as much a series of science (word used loosely) experiments as I do a process of preparing food.

Making lard-Sushipup's link leaves a lot to be desired especially because there is a ton of fat left in those cubes when they pour the fat off.

Chop fat finely or better yet run it (chilled) through a meat grinder-the finer the better. Put it in a pot with plenty of water and stick in your oven at about 250 or so. Stir once in awhile. takes a few hours. As a child I was set at a table with a butcher knife along with my sibs to chop fat during hog killing and it was rendered in a big cast-iron pot over a fire but an oven is safer. Pour results through a fine sieve and let cool, pull the hard layer of fat off, that you can re-melt and pour through a cloth lined sieve for very clean very pure lard.

Lard imparts a distinctive flavor and it is a relatively hard fat so it affects consistency. My grandmother used this back fat for biscuit or for frying and the leaf fat for pastry.

I'm still kicking myself for not stocking up on hand made tamales from my favorite Mexican market prior to the lock down. They are still open but it is a 2 hour round trip from my home. It's only 5 minutes from my office. I usually buy 4 or 5 dozen at a time and freeze them using my food saver in packages of 6 or 8.

Now I'm craving them again! Maybe I'll venture down there later this week when I have to drive into the city to pick a couple prescriptions and get some groceries.

There is a small city in California that is named Manteca. Established in 1861, it was originally meant to be Monteca, but the name was misspelled by the Central Pacific Railroad, which had tracks running through the town. The name stuck and the misspelling became a town joke.

I never knew this until sushipup posted above that manteca means lard which prompted me to look up info about Manteca. CA. From now on, anytime I hear Manteca being mentioned, I'm going to think of it as Lard.

A truly heartfelt 'thank you' to all who posted. I paid attention to all of it and your observations and advice helped a lot. Thank you for the recipes, the links, the answers to my many questions. Because of freezer space, I only made 2 1/2 dozen today, and have filling left over for about another 2 1/2 which I am freezing for now. I plan to experiment with chicken and other fillings in the future.

My tamales are not (yet) elegant, I think it takes a bit of practice. But they are amazingly delicious. So much better than grocery stores tamales. Perhaps not yet at the level of those who have made them for years, but I look forward to the practice I will get from making more frequent, but smaller batches.

Thank you.

That's awesome, Lucille! I'm glad they turned out so well. The rest of it will come with practice.

How did the chili powder work out in the sauce?

I think the taste was good but I am going to try the sauce with dried chiles next time. There is always room for change and improvement.

I'd like to see the inside. Are they quite thick with filling? I've never heard of tamales and I didn't realize that you didn't eat the husk.

What do you eat with them?

I put quite a bit of filling in them but that is a matter of preference, I think the grocery store tamales are very skimpy on fillings.

People eat different things with them. These came out so flavorful that they ones I ate today just had a glop of sour cream on top.