NM Food Made Easy Lesson 3: Tamales Don’t Have to Take All Day

Traditional Tamales are a labor of love. Small portions of meat fillings that have been slow-cooked for hours, often in chile sauce, are carefully encased in a rectangle of masa harina dough, then wrapped up in a cute little corn husk package tied with a bow. Filling, wrapping, and steaming the Tamales adds hours more to the process, and ridiculous numbers of Tamales are produced, just begging to be shared with the whole neighborhood and many more stored in your freezer for later.

This whole process can be overwhelming for most folks interested in learning the techniques. Follow my lead, and you can have delicious authentic tasting Tamales on your table in about an hour and a half!

Lesson Overview

• “homemade” steamer basket
• Proper dough consistency
• Quick fillings packed with flavor
• Let the stand mixer shred your meat (Yes I said stand mixer!)
• Filling and wrapping with foil
• Filling and wrapping with corn husks
• How to know when they are done
• Make your own batch of “quick” Tamales challenge