Featured Recipes

We've selected a few fabulous recipes that have been featured in Texas Highways Magazine. You can find more on our site's RECIPE DATABASE. Some also appear in the Cooking With Texas Highways Cookbook.

It's Tamale Time!

Tamale season is here, which is enough reason for excitement and anticipation. Some will opt to buy them, but others will rise to the challenge and make their own.

Making tamales can be labor-intensive and time consuming, but with the help of friends and family, it becomes much more than following a recipe. It creates an opportunity for strengthening bonds and building a new tradition. And when you’ve finished, you’ll have delicious gifts to share with others, for it is, indeed, this sharing tradition of tamales that makes them taste even better.

The following are recipes that have appeared in Texas Highways over the years. Find the one(s) that sound best to you and get started!

Photo by J. Griffis Smith

Red Chile Tamales

Rosa Guerrero, founder of the International Folklórico in El Paso, offers this recipe for traditional pork or chicken tamales. 

Yield: 7 1/2 to 10 dozen tamales 
  • 1 5-lb. pork roast, Boston butt, or shoulder or 3 3-lb. chickens 
  • 4 cloves garlic, pressed or 3-4 tsp. garlic powder 
  • 1 tbsp. salt 
  • 1 tbsp. ground cumin 
  • 4 1/2 c. Red Chili Sauce (see recipe, below)
  • about  1 c. pork (or chicken) broth 
  • Tamale Dough (see recipe, below) 
  • 1 (8-oz.) package corn husks, washed, soaked in warm water for several hours or until very pliable, drained and patted dry. 
Combine meat with next three ingredients in a large bowl. Add water to cover; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender. Drain meat, reserving broth; set broth aside. Bone meat and shred with a fork. Add chili sauce to meat and enough broth to make mixture soupy but not watery. Set aside. (Refrigerate meat-chili sauce mixture properly while preparing tamales.) To assemble tamales, spread about 1-2 tbsp. of dough on each corn husk, and spread evenly. (Rosa uses 2 tbsp. for a fat tamale.) Place about the same amount of the meat chili sauce mixture in the center. Fold sides of husk inward to center, lengthwise, so that they overlap. Fold pointed end toward center, and fold wider end down over pointed end, completely enclosing filling. Continue procedure until all dough is used. To steam tamales, use a steamer or large pot with a rack or metal colander placed inside on top of a layer of clean corn shucks. Add enough water to fill pot below rack level and keep tamales above water. Place tamales upright on right on rack, and cover with another layer of shucks. Bring water to a boil. Cover and steam for 1 hour or until tamale dough pulls away from husk; add more boiling water as necessary. 

Red Chile Sauce
  • 2 c. ground red chili (not chili powder)
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 2 tsp. ground oregano
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 (8-oz.) cans tomato sauce
  • 2 quarts water
  • Combine ingredients with water in large pot and simmer until slightly thickened. Yields enough sauce for 7 1/2 to 10 dozen tamales, plus some left over. Leftover sauce can be used to make enchiladas or chilaquiles.
Red Chile Tamale Dough
  • 7 1/2 lb. freshly prepared masa
  • 1 lb. lard
  • 3 c. pork (or chicken) broth
  • 1 tbsp salt (or to taste)
  • about 1 3/4 C Red Chiei sauce
  • Combine first 4 ingredients. Add enough Red Chile Sauce to give the dough a tint. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy or untile a spoonful floats in a glass of cold water. Yields enough dough for 7 1/2 to 10 dozen tamales.

Sweet Tamales

Adapted from a recipe that appears in Patricia Quintana's book Mexico's Feast of Life, this recipe for sweet tamales was developed by Miguel Ravago, co-owner and executive chef at Fonda San Miguel in Austin. Miguel says the recipe is based on one his grandmother used. 

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen tamales 
  • 3 c. sugar 
  • 1 1/2 - 2 c. canned fruit, finely chopped 
  • 1 1/2 c. raisins 
  • 1 1/2 c. almonds, finely chopped 
  • red food coloring as desired 
  • Tamale Dough (see recipe, below) 
  • 1 8-oz. package corn husks, washed, soaked in warm water for several hours or until very pliable, drained, and patted dry. 

Combine first five ingredients, mixing well; set aside. To assemble tamales, spread about 1 tablespoon of dough over the center of each corn husk, leaving husk bare at the top, bottom and sides. Spread about 1 tablespoon of sweet filing over the dough. Fold sides of husk inward to center, lengthwise, so that they overlap. Fold pointed end toward center, and fold wider end down over pointed end, completely enclosing filling. Continue procedure until all dough is used. To steam tamales, use a steamer or large pot with a rack or metal colander placed inside on top of a layer of clean corn shucks. Add enough water to fill pot below rack level and keep tamales above water. Place tamales upright on rack and cover with another layer of shucks. Bring water to a boil. Cover and steam for 1 hour or until tamale dough pulls away from husk; add more boiling water as necessary. 

Tamale Dough
  • 2 1/4 lb. freshly prepared masa 
  • 1 1/2 c. water 
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 
  • 1/2 c. cornstarch 
  • 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp. salt to taste 
  • 1/2 lb. lard Place masa in large bowl. 

Add water gradually, and knead until smooth and no longer sticky. Combine baking powder, cornstarch, and salt, and knead into the masa. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the lard with an electric mixer or food processor until it is fluffy (about 5 minutes). Work the lard into the masa gradually, kneading thoroughly until mixture is smooth and stiff, or until a spoonful floats in a glass of cold water.

Fresh Corn Tamales

Margaret Victor, a high school teacher from Sandia, gives this vegetarian recipe for tamales. For the best flavor, Margaret says to make them in June, right after the corn is harvested, but they're tasty any time of the year. Margaret and her family enjoy eating them with salsa. (Note that there's no masa to mix or spread, so these tamales go together fast.) 

Yield: 2 dozen 
  • 18 ears fresh sweet corn (with husks on) 
  • 6 T. butter or margarine 
  • 3/4 tsp. salt 
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper 
Remove husks and silks from corn just before cooking, reserving 2 dozen of the most pliable green husks. Steam ears of corn for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Rinse reserved husks; drain, and pat dry. Set aside. Cut corn from cob. Place corn in food processor or blender, and chop until finely ground. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well. To assemble tamales, spoon 2 T. of corn mixture onto the center of each green husk. Fold sides of husk inward to center, lengthwise, so that they overlap. Fold pointed end toward center, and fold wider end down over pointed end, completely enclosing filling. If husks are difficult to fold, tie a string around the middle of each tamale. Continue procedure until all corn mixture is used. To steam tamales, use a steamer or large pot with a rack or metal colander placed inside. Add enough water to fill pot below rack level and keep tamales above water. Place tamales upright on rack. Bring water to a boil. Cover and steam 15-20 minutes to heat throughout.
 

More recipes

Find more fabulous recipes in the Cooking With Texas Highways Cookbook.