How to roll them tamales!

Tamales are a timeless dish for me. I remember when I was young, my mother would always make a huge batch of them any time that there was something special going on. Our whole family would pitch in, because tamales can be a little bit labor intensive. But a lot of people get intimidated by the process for that reason! It really isn't that bad to do by yourself; it just goes quicker if you have help!

The first thing you need to do is find a good recipe for your masa! Now, when it comes to masa, there are a few ways to prepare it. But we will get to that in a bit. Here, we just add our ingredients and then set it in the mixer until well mixed.

Next, you need to figure out on what material you want to cook your masa. There are a few standard options: corn husks (which are more traditional) or plantain leaves. I opt for the plantain leave because that is how my mother makes them, and I think it adds more flavor. You can usually find them at a Hispanic grocery store, or you might get lucky and find them in a whole foods store. It really depends on your area too. I live in Ohio, so the leaves are a little harder for me to find.

The next step is to decide whether you want your tamales to steam cook, in which case you just put the masa straight on the leaves from the mixing bowl. I like to put a cast iron pan on medium low heat and give it a bit of a "pre-cook", speeding up the time that the tamales need to be cooked in steam. This is entirely a personal preference. It adds another step of labor, but gets the tamales done quicker. You have to decide which option is right for you.

The next step is to get a couple of spoonfuls of masa and spread it out on the leaves (or husks if you decide to use those instead).

Here is a picture of the shredded chicken in red chili sauce that I use. As with everything else, I make it completely from scratch. For one, the flavor is amazing! Second, it really doesn't take that much time. And third, making it from scratch barely costs any money! Just remember, as a general rule, that your dishes will always taste better if you make it with fresh ingredients and from scratch. There are a few times to cut corners. For one, I guess I could plant plantain trees and gather the leaves fresh from the tree, but that isn't very practical! So I use the frozen leaves. But for a dish like this that has a few simple, but key components make it essential to have the best tasting ingredients that you can. There aren't many things that a bad flavor can hide behind!

The next step is to place whatever your filling would be in the middle of the masa. After you place your filling (which I like to use shredded chicken simmered in a red chili sauce!). You roll one side of the tamale, pull the leaf back down, then take the other side of the tamale and roll it completely over.

And here is a video tutorial to show that I just said in action!

It takes a little bit of practice, but once you do it a few times, it will basically become muscle memory. Just keep at it! Afterwards, all you need to do is steam the tamales for about 45 minutes to an hour. And thats it! Now you know how to make delicious tamales!