I had to try tamales, it would be pretty bad if I didn’t right? If you haven’t heard of tamales they are essentially a ground corn batter and filled with meats, herbs, and vegetables wrapped traditionally in corn husks. The word tamale comes from the Náhuatl word tamilli meaning wrapped. This meal is another dish with ancient roots that was believed first be made by the Aztecs. Originally they were cooked over the hot coals, but when the Spanish conquistadors came to Mexico they brought pots and other cook wear which lead to steaming the tamales. Tamales were sometimes prepared for religious ceremonies and offered to the gods. To recreate this iconic dish I used a modern approach- the crock pot (found here).
If you have come this far and are interested in making these just be warned it takes FOREVER. Even with a slow cooker recipe there is a lot of prep work that was spread out over two days. I started with the corn husks then while those were boiling I started on the filling. I chose the ground beef, carrots, and potato filling. For anyone who has made these before you can see the struggle can’t you?
Once I got them wrapped and felt satisfied with my work I broke out the tin foil and made a “rack” for my tamales to sit on.
I stood the tamales upright with another layer of foil beneath to protect them from getting wet. The kinda look legit right? 🙃
So there is a reason why I didn’t have pictures of the tamales in their final form unwrapped and exposed- they were pretty ugly. Ian decided to jazz it up the plate with lime wedges and a dish of salsa. Unfortunately these finishing touches did not save the tamales.
Cooper who stayed with us for the weekend didn’t even think they were appetizing.. I don’t know where I went wrong but the texture was rubbery, the flavor was mild, and it did not stay together in one piece. I have never had a true tamale before so I was not sure to what to compare it to, but my fiancé has had the real deal on the border of Mexico and this was NOT it. We rated it 5/10 😔
At least you can enjoy a picture of Cooper being a good boy.
