Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales, Cookbook of the Day

by Nicole Weston, Posted Nov 12th 2006 @ 7:57AM

I know of a guy in the LA area who is often referred to simply as "the tamale guy." He heads out with freshly prepared tamales every morning, cruising by the spots where his loyal customers are waiting to grab one for breakfast and maybe another couple for lunch. They're so good that I've spotted him hanging outside the back of well-known Mexican restaurants, chatting with the chefs, who are invariably eating one of his tamales instead of they ones they're making inside. Now, you might not get results as impressive as the tamale guy's tamales, but everyone has to start somewhere and Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales can provide a good basis in technique to get you off on the right foot. The book walks you through the process of making tamales, including working with masa and learning how to wrap the corn husks properly, and provides plenty of recipes for sauces and fillings. Some of the combinations are traditional, while variations like Greek and Vegetable Curry tamales will keep you coming back to the book even on days when you don't feel like eating Mexican food.

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Filed Under: Cookbook Spotlight, Books
Tags: cookbook, cookbook of the day, mexican, tamale, tamales, tamales 101

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-12-2006 @10:08AM S B said... I have owned this cookbook for about two years and it is excellent. If you have a place where you can purchase fresh masa (ground, Nixtalized corn) that does not have the added lard , you are in business. Her recipe for making masa makes delicious tamales. Just remeber to add lots of meat(fillings) and sauce. This keeps the tamales moist and delicious.

Peace

SB
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11-13-2006 @6:26PM Steve Sando said... I think you should be a little dubious about any book that suggests margarine as the best fat to use. Homemade lard is a mono-saturate and high in oleic acid. it's also easy to make and if you're going to the trouble of making tamales, I think it's a crime to use margarine.
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11-14-2006 @7:54AM S B said... I agree that margarine is not the best choice. But it is easily worked around. One can just use lard or butter. If one is a vegetarian, then try it with palm oil or coconut oil. Personally, I use butter and I masa is fluffy and delicious.

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