It seems like everybody is air-frying their food nowadays. Recipes abound for this new, extremely popular kitchen appliance but you may still be a little unsure about what you can and cannot air-fry.
Chicken? Yes! Lamb chops? Yes! Tamales? Keep reading and we will tell you!
Tamales are a wonderful addition to the dining table, irrespective of whether you are serving dinner, lunch, or breakfast.
However, it is not a simple affair to make tamales at home because making the dough and fillings can be time-consuming, and wrapping them is a little fiddly.
For this reason, frozen tamales have become extremely popular among busy families, and they can be easily found in the grocery store’s frozen food aisle. Just don’t tell your Mexican grandmother!
These premade frozen tamales can be cooked easily and quickly in your air fryer.
Can You Air Fry Tamales?
Yes, you can certainly air fry frozen tamales or even fresh, homemade tamales. Tamales are usually steamed which gives them a soft, juicy texture, or shallow pan fried which makes them crispy.
The air fryer gives them the best texture of all. It retains moisture and makes them crispy.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mexican food, tamales are made with meat (pork, beef, or chicken) and vegetable stuffing coated with cornmeal dough and wrapped in corn husks.
These meaty little parcels are delicious and very moreish so make or buy plenty!
How to Air-fry Tamales
To air-fry tamales, you can follow the below-mentioned steps:
- Take out the air fryer and preheat the unit to 190 degrees Celsius or 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Put in the frozen or freshly made tamales. If you are using frozen tamales, make sure that you don’t defrost them first. Ensure that the air fryer isn’t overcrowded. There should be a little space between each tamale and they should not be on top of one another. Cook them in batches if necessary. Remember to leave the husks on as they are part of the finished dish.
- Cook the tamales for eight to ten minutes, depending on the size and whether they are frozen or not. Check after eight minutes. This cooking time is flexible. Keep in mind that every frozen food company makes tamales with different thicknesses of masa dough, so you might have to increase or decrease the timer accordingly. However, don’t increase the temperature as this may burn the tamales.
- When the time is up and you are sure your tamales are cooked through, you can use tongs to remove the air-fried tamales. Serve them at once so that they are still hot and crispy.
- To eat, remove the husks and eat the meat and dough mixture.
Additional Tips to Consider for Air Frying Tamales
Now that we have shared the proper way to air fry the tamales, we have some additional tips that can help.
- If the tamales are mushy, you need to cook them for a longer time to achieve the correct level of crispiness.
- Also, it’s best to avoid purchasing tamales with thick masa because such tamales come out mushy and take a long time to cook through to the center.
- If you cannot serve the tamales straight away, cool them and store them in the fridge to prevent them from going off. Reheat just before serving.
- To make the dish ahead of time, you can air fry the tamales for five minutes, let them cool down then put them into the preheated air fryer for another five minutes just before serving.
We hope you will enjoy having one more air-fryer recipe to add to your collection. Let us know how it goes in the comment section below.