If you are a fan of Mexican cuisine, we are certain that you love tamales.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, tamales are a portable meal-in-one dish that even comes with a wrapper. They’re the original lunchbox food!
Tamales are made from a layer of corn dough – masa – which is topped with a meat and veg filling before being wrapped with and steamed in a banana leaf or corn husk.
Tamales are generally filled with mixtures containing chilies, ground meat, fruit, vegetables, and cheese according to the recipe and taste.
The wrapper doesn’t get eaten but it does impart a special flavor to the food inside as it is steamed. Because they’re portable, tamales make wonderful picnic snacks.
However, it is hard to know when tamales are cooked through because of the wrapper, and beginners sometimes complain, “My tamales won’t cook through!”
So, if you are struggling with this issue, we are sharing the solutions with you!
Why My Tamales Won’t Cook?
Let’s first look at exactly how tamales are cooked. The wrappers are soaked before wrapping them around the filling to make them pliable and to help the food steam.
Tamales differ in size and this affects the cooking times, but they are usually steamed for around half an hour or longer. When they are cooked, the masa will become firm.
Tamale Tips
- Soak the corn husks first
The corn husks are usually purchased dry. Heat some water in a very large pot. Put the husks in and submerge them in the water for about half an hour.
There’s no need to boil them – you just want to soak them to hydrate them. This will make them easier to wrap and will speed up the steaming process.
- Pre-cook the meat
This is where many first-time tamale makers go wrong. They use raw ground beef, chicken, or pork in the filling and then wonder why the filling doesn’t cook through properly.
- Pre-cook the vegetables
It’s the same story with the vegetables. They must be pre-cooked before assembling the tamales. You can stir-fry, roast, or steam them.
- Don’t make the tamales too big
The masa dough should not be spread more than a half-inch thick over the corn husks. We prefer a quarter inch. Then just add a tablespoon or two of the meat filling on top of that.
If you try to overfill your tamales and make them too generous in size, they will be difficult to assemble and will take a long time to cook through in the steamer.
- Once assembled, steam the tamales
You can steam the tamales on the stovetop in a big saucepan with a strainer. (A pasta pot works well). Don’t overcrowd the pot or the steam will not be able to penetrate between them.
Add about two cups of water to the pot, then cover it and steam for around 30-40 minutes over a medium flame.
You’ll know when they’re ready when you unwrap one and the masa separates easily from the husk without being sticky.
You can also steam tamales in your Instant Pot or another brand of a pressure cooker. Put a cup of cold water into the pot, put the strainer basket in, and arrange the tamales on it.
Cover the cooker with the lid and steam on high pressure for twenty minutes. It’s best to quick-release when done.
How to test if tamales are done
Unfortunately, there is no way to tell if your tamales are cooked through without opening one. After at least 30 minutes of steaming, remove one from the steamer and allow it to cool for a few minutes.
Unwrap it. When you unwrap the husk, the masa dough should peel away easily from it. The dough should feel firm all over.
If it isn’t done and the masa is sticky, rewrap it, put it back in the steamer with the others, and steam them all for a further ten to fifteen minutes.
Once you have finished steaming them, allow them to cool slightly and “rest” for about 15 minutes.
This will give the filling further time to firm up as well as ensure that nobody burns themselves when unwrapping and eating their tamales.
To Conclude
We hope you have fun preparing and sharing your next batch of tamales with friends and family. We also hope that our guide has helped you to overcome the challenges of undercooked tamale filling.