For a lot of people, Christmas can’t be spelled without Tamales. “Tamalada” is a Christmas-adjacent tradition that has been celebrated for generations, as families spend time together and share in the task of making dozens of Tamales to be enjoyed- but just like most food traditions, it’s rarely just about the eating. Appreciated for thousands of years, Tamales are corn-centric and reflect the intense relationship and history that the Inca, Mayan, and Aztec people had with the food maize- which would later evolve into what we now recognize as corn. This dish also illustrates the importance of community, as groups of women would help share the labor that comes with the complex and time-intensive process of making tamales.

For our recipe, Chef Jeff used a combination of traditional ingredients but with modern techniques to bring us three different types of Tamales. While you have a whole array of options in terms of fillings- either savory or sweet- the two main components that made our tamales “Tamales” is using masa harina (just like you would if making your own tortillas), which is a type of powdered corn dough similar in appearance to flour. Though traditionally mixed with lard, Jeff opted for coconut oil so that we could vary our fillings and make some vegetarian and plant-based. After mixing your masa to make a type of paste, you spread the masa onto some soaked corn husk (available in the specialty foods aisle for most supermarkets, at least in our area of central Pennsylvania) and put your filling on top. Folding your corn husk is much easier when it’s been soaked with the hot water, and you’re looking to create a type of pocket- if you’ve ever eaten a hot pocket with the sleeve its cooked in folded up, it’s similar to that. Besides the fact that you might not have some of these ingredients, tool wise tamales are very low tech. Jeff happened to steam ours in an Instant Pot, but you could also use a steamer basket if you have one, or even a colander suspended over a pot of water. Really the only reason our kitchen decided to use our Instant Pot was because it was quick, we could fit all the tamales in comfortably, and hey, we had one anyways! You can freeze your tamales for up to three months- just prepare and throw in the freezer instead of cooking them.

We did Tamales three ways: 1) refried beans 2) shredded cheese and 3) chicken- all seasoned with our Manzanillo Mexican Seasoning. Manzanillo is up in our hall of fame, and a customer favorite that happens to be salt free. It contains Ancho chile powder, Pasilla, Black Pepper, Garlic, Chipotle chile powder, Onion, Coriander, Mexican Oregano, and Cumin. If you’re a person who loves the ideas of recipes where you have a ton of options, try tamales!! You could do pork, beef, chicken, beans, cheese, chocolate, cinnamon, honey, dulce de leche… encased in your masa, the filling is like a tiny present hiding under a pillow.

Jeff served our tamales with a Red Enchilada Sauce, which you can find a recipe for here. It was smoky, slightly sweet, and spicy enough that it helped to brighten up the taste of the tamales so they had a little punch to them. This worked as a great complement for our three savory options.

Please note: The nutritional information below is for the highest calorie option we tested (chicken). You can find and print the recipe and nutritional information for our chicken, cheese, and bean tamales here.

Makes 32 servings.