My Grandmother's Tamale Recipe, Plus the Tools That Make Them Easy to Make — MBG Home — Modern Brown Girl | Amplifying Brown Voices, One Story at a Time (2024)

FAQs

What does baking soda do to tamale masa? ›

What Is Masa? Masa para tamales (dough for tamales) is a blend of nixtamalized corn—fresh or dried—with lots of fat for richness, baking powder to leaven and lighten the dough, salt for seasoning, and flavorful broth to bind it all together and hydrate the dough.

Masa for tamales can be made with or without baking powder. It helps the dough rise and it gives tamales a lighter texture. This past year I had an opportunity to eat authentic tamales from two different tamaleras. Tamalera #1 made big beautifully shaped tamales that had a cake-like texture.

Some tamales are made of a paste of freshly ground corn, while others are made from nixtamalized and dried corn that's then mixed into a dough. Most Mexican tamales contain a savory filling of meat or vegetables, but sweet tamales filled with dried fruit are also popular, and some tamales do not contain filling at all.

Like corn husks, parchment paper offers a thin, malleable material that can keep seasoned contents inside the folded envelope. Although parchment-paper-wrapped tamales may not offer the subtle flavor corn husks impart, the glossy paper can get a tamale-making task done.

The secret to getting a soft, plush filling that pulls away from the sides of the corn husk as it cooks is always using a fat. Traditionally, these tamales are made with pork lard or vegetable shortening, but some modern recipes have also substituted canola or vegetable oil.

The Penny Trick

To check your water level and avoid a scorched pot, place a penny below the steamer basket and fill with water. It should rattle while the tamales are cooking. If the sound stops, add more water.

Arrange your tamales properly

Another common mistake when making tamales is arranging them in the wrong way since they must be placed horizontally so that more of them can fit into the pot and cook evenly. However, they must not be too tight, or else they will flatten.

Drop a small ball of corn masa in a cup of water. If it floats, the masa is ready. If it sinks, add more lard!

Cornmeal vs Masa

The process of nixtamalization gives masa harina a savory flavor that you won't find with cornmeal. You can use cornmeal to make cornbread or pancakes, but stick with masa harina to make tortillas and tamales, otherwise they won't have the signature toasted corn flavor you expect.

Fillings would consist of meat (turkey, fish, frog, axolotl, gopher), fruit, bean, squash seed, turkey egg and even no filling. They would be seasoned with chilis or seeds if they were savory and honey if they were sweet. Tamales also held great religious and spiritual importance within Aztec culture.

What is the most common meat in tamales? ›

The bright, herbal and spicy mix of tomatillo and green chilies pair up with chicken or pork to create the most popular tamal, whether it comes wrapped in corn or plantain.

Masa is a maize dough made from ground nixtamalized corn.

Butter may be the simplest substitute for lard. With some minor modifications to your recipe, butter can help retain the taste and texture of your final product. This makes butter a great option for pie crusts, tortillas, tamale dough, and more.

A: Yes, Husks usually don't expire because they are dried and can last years, but we use preservatives to keep them fresh but if they become very dry all you need to do is soak them in water if they intend to use it with food.

Baking powder prevents the tamales chewiness rise caused by a decrease in fat content. At a high fat content, baking powder does not cause major changes in tamales texture. In the absence of fat, the leavening agent causes a desirable tamales texture.

When you start, the masa is going to be really sticky, like a wet bread dough. That's where lard (or oil) comes in. Lard adds amazing flavor and prevents the cooked tamale from sticking to the husk. If lard is not your jam, then just use vegetable oil or melted shortening.

The first tamale masa troubleshooting is to check the texture and make sure that the masa is well hydrated. If not try whipping 1/8 of a cup of broth into it before testing again. Then if it still doesn't float then you want to whip it longer and at a higher speed. Really try to get that air into it then test again.

Lard makes tastier and fluffier tamales than other fats do. You can replace the lard with solid fats, like duck fat or shortening, to obtain a similar texture; butter and liquid oils work but will make a denser masa.