Customer Reviews

Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales

5 star:		(17)
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3 star:		(7)
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A couple of weeks before Christmas, I found myself facing a luncheon for 15 foodie friends for which I'd promised fresh tamales--and my promised helper, the only person I knew who had made them before, came down with the flu! I was on my own.

Fortunately, I had Tamales 101 in hand. Got a few tips from a guy at the local Tamale Festival, but mostly I just devoured this book, took a deep breath, and started. My masa floated, the corn husks peeled off my tamales easily, and they were firm and delicious! I spent over three days cooking and ended up with a cornucopia of Red Chile Pork, Chorizo-Potato, Jalapeno and Cheese, and two kinds of dessert tamales, plus all the salsa and other trimmings. (I'd made enough to take to three other events, it turned out.) And I *enjoyed* myself doing it.

Making tamales is both harder and easier than you might think. What's hard is the amount of time and effort, but what's easy is the routine you get into after making a few. The day of the luncheon, I taught an early guest how to fill and fold them (using the very easy foldover method illustrated in the book), and she taught everyone else who wanted to try a few. As they say, a good time was had by all.

My tips and observations for those who want to give this a try:

Get *very* organized in advance: ingredients list, timetable, list of accompaniments, etc. A large steamer is a must (I used an oriental two-level steel one, but a Mexican one that looks like a canning kettle works well, too, and both are fairly inexpensive). An electric mixer is also a must. I used a hand mixer, but a stand mixer would have been easier. You *must* maintain several inches of boiling water in the pan (I just about burned mine out at one point), and it is possible to burn both hands at once if you use potholders instead of oven mitts to pick up the upper pan to check the water level.

From the festival tamale maker, I learned that it's important to use all the lard called for (part can be butter or margarine) and also all the salt called for. I read somewhere else that much of the lard is absorbed by the husks, and I hope this is true. From the book, I learned to use fresh masa (easily available here in the southwest) rather than dry, and to whip the lard for at least 5 minutes and then the worked-in masa and broth for another 10 to 15 minutes, and also to use an ice cream scoop to measure the right amount of masa onto the husks/leaves.

I won't be waiting until next Christmas to make more tamales, now that I know how easy and good they are. Just thinking of all the varieties in Tamales 101 that I haven't tried yet has me drooling. Give it a try!

Tradition in my Mexican family is that tamales are made every Christmas Eve for Christmas day dinner. I have very fond memories of my grandmother, aunts, and cousins getting together and making unbelievable amounts of tamales from scratch. So this year I wanted to make tamales myself, but with the passing of my grandmother, her recipes went with her. Tamales are not the easiest thing to make (I remembered all the time and effort they require). Not all masas or fillings taste the same and everyone that makes them, has their own specail "touch". I wanted to be able to recapture the same texture and flavor of the tamales my Mama Luz (grandmother) used to make. So...in my quest for tamale guidiance, I turned to this book. I wasn't sure if I'd get good results, but decided to take the gamble. Well let me tell you, my tamales came out AMAZING!!! The recipe for the tomatillo salsa was a big hit! I paired this salsa with chicken and it was great! I also made the traditional sweet tamales and they tasted just like the ones my grandmother used to make. The recipes were easy to follow and the illustrations were very helpful. I'm a pretty avid cook but I had always been intimidated of tamales. Well nevermore! My childhood memeries of tamales will now not just left to be a yearly tradition in my household because I now know I can whip up a batch at a whim. I'm very happy that I found this book and glad that I took the gamble on this book now. Thank you Alice Guadalupe Tapp for helping me bring back a cherished tradition into my home.

I love this book. The author brings enormous experience from her own highly beloved tamalaria in S. Calif. and makes it possible to create excellent tamales on your own. Not as easy a subject as it might seem. I found her presentation thoughtful, with clear, thorough explanations and instructions that are well-presented. Her detailed description of the different types of masa and masa prep., of tamale wrappers and wrapping techniques, of ratio of filling to masa, of the tradition versus popular taste in saucing tamales, of all matters related to general preparation, cooking, storing etc. are all excellent, especially considering that it is a rather small book. Unlike another tamale book out now by a famous chef, these recipes are down to earth and wonderful, and span a wide range of tamales...including adaptations for vegetarians, special occasion tamales and much more. Great sauce recipes. Different versions of many recipes (such as mole sauces, chicken tamales, and much more). The author has a nice personable style, sharing customs and her own family lore along with her valuable insights from running a tamaleria in a trendy So. Cal beach town...and that is a really daunting challenge: to appeal to everything from a large solid Mexicano population to surfers to L.A.'s celeb-types etc. etc.

This is really a great recipe collection, well-presented for the experienced and novice tamale-maker (which I was...), and it is a really pretty publication - rich in colors and beautiful photos. I love this book...I have a very large cookbook collection that I use pretty extensively, and this little book has really endeared itself to me. I think it is a great value.

As a couple of others have pointed out, the only real problem with Tamales 101 is that the recipes aren't always practical for those of us with limited resources. I was delighted to find a good recipe for traditional pork tamales, but had to really get creative when it came time to mix all the ingredients together.

I've always loved tamales, and I really appreciated the author's brief history lesson on this traditional food. My wife and I also enjoyed the simple tomatillo sauce recipe.

One thing to remember: PLAN AHEAD. Even relatively simple tamales take lots of preparation and work. Having a helper is almost essential; my wife and I made the above-mentioned recipe together, and it still took 2 days from start to finish.

Bottom line: A good book for beginners (like myself) who have always been a bit intimidated by the idea of making tamales from scratch.

I liked all the filling and suace ideas. Was very disappointed in the masa harina recipe. First, for the amount of ingrediants, not a chance it's all going to fit in my 5 qt stand mixer, second the proportions of liquid ingrediants to dry and so far off, I ended up adding at least 2 more, if not 3 more cups of water.

I did like the discussion and diagrams of all the different folding techniques, that is very helpful. I wasn't impressed that she provides a recipe for masa harina masa and then calls for fresh masa in all the tamale recipes. I've always used masa harina masa for my tamales since fresh masa is not easy to find. Would have been nice if she talked a bit more about using masa harina masa as a substitue for fresh masa.

Overall, an ok book, but could be confusing for beginer tamale makers.

I come from a long line of tamale makin' mama's. I know how to make tamales;basic beef, chicken and the sweet tamales. I wanted something more adventurious, that wasn't gonna happen with Nana...I work for one of the largest library systems in the United States so research for my new quest was super easy...infact, this book came across my desk one day almost two years ago. I figured that after so many times of checking out 42 copies and fraying the edges with masa, it was time to own my own copy. This book will take you to a whole new level of tamale making and it will take you on cultural adventures you can make and eat in your very own kitchen!!! Who knew a sweet tamale could taste so good with a little plantain and chocolate sauce drizzled on top?! mmmmmmm Bueno!!!

As a vegan, I was really excited to see a tamale book that includes not only a recipe for vegan masa, but also vegan fillings. I had never made, or even eaten, tamales before, but I had been dying to try them. I followed the recipe for vegan masa perfectly, but it was a runny mess. The author called for 2 cups of stock to be added to 2 1/2 pounds of the unprepared masa. Even with a long whipping with the mixer, and probably two more cups of masa added, it was still very runny. Also, not only were her proportions of ingredients for the masa incorrect, but she also called for way too much masa on every tamale. Despite my troubles, I still steamed a batch of tamales (masa oozing everywhere), and the end result was delicious, but definitely not the consistency it should have been.

The green corn tamales were a sloppy, runny mess and I followed the recipe to the letter, so I'll make only pork tamales from now on. But the instructions for different methods of wrapping and tying tamales are great, and I love the recipe for fresh, unprepared masa. (My stand mixer is perhaps larger than average, and the bowl was very full when I finished. Some reviewers have commented that the recipes create too much masa for their mixers to handle.) That said, her masa recipes seem to yield a moister, softer masa than I'm used to. I recommend the masa harina recipe in The El Paso Chili Company's Texas Border Cookbook, which yields superb masa for about 3 dozen tamales -- and use that book's recipe for red pork tamales; it's the best.

The 'stuffin' recipes are wonderful, as are the instructions. However, my kitchenaid won't hold 3 pounds of masa plus lard and broth....left my hobart at, well, never owned a hobart. my point is, if you have access to a commercial kitchen, you're set. or, maybe if you take the time to divide the masa recipes. I left my time somewhere too....

I am an experienced cook and baker, and followed the recipe for Masa Harina Masa. I bought the correct dry corn flour from an hispanic market, and made some excellent chicken stock. The ingredients list called for 12 cups of the corn flour and 7 cups of stock, mixed in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. and when I placed these ingredients in the mixer and turned it on, it was too much for the mixer to hold. I emptied out the contents of the bowl into another bowl, mixed the contents with my hands to distribute the stock and corn flour evenly, and returned half of the ingredients to the mixer bowl and began to mix. The mixture never reached the "firm pudding" stage as described in the recipe. I had to add more than an additional 4 cups of stock to get to this stage. I don't think the author carefully measured the ingredients when she recorded the recipes. Since this is a recipe that many people will make (the masa is the main part of a tamale) she should have been more careful. However, when I made the Red Pork Chile Tamales the sauce was delicous and my family liked the flavor and texture of the tamales.