Here’s a classic, grandmother-style tamales recipe — the kind passed down, made with love, masa, and patience ❤️
This is a traditional Mexican base recipe you can use with pork, chicken, red chile, or green chile fillings.
🌽 My Grandmother’s Tamales (Traditional Style)
Makes about 30–36 tamales
🫔 Ingredients
Corn Husks
- 1 bag dried corn husks
(Soak in hot water 1–2 hours until soft)
Meat Filling (Traditional)
- 3–4 lbs pork shoulder or chicken
- 1 small onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- Salt, to taste
Red Chile Sauce (classic)
- 6 dried guajillo chiles
- 3 dried ancho chiles
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp cumin
- Salt, to taste
- Reserved meat broth
(Green chile works too if that’s what your family used.)
Masa Dough
- 5 cups masa harina (for tamales)
- 1½–2 cups lard (very traditional)
(or half lard / half shortening) - 2 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp salt
- 4–5 cups warm broth (from cooking meat)
🧑🍳 Instructions
1. Cook the meat
- Simmer meat with onion, garlic, and salt until very tender.
- Shred meat and save the broth.
2. Make the chile sauce
- Remove stems/seeds from chiles.
- Toast lightly, then soak in hot water 15 minutes.
- Blend chiles with garlic, cumin, salt, and a little soaking liquid.
- Cook sauce in a pan 10 minutes.
- Mix shredded meat into sauce. Set aside.
3. Prepare the masa (MOST IMPORTANT PART)
- Beat lard until fluffy (this is the secret).
- Mix masa harina, baking powder, and salt.
- Slowly beat in warm broth until soft and spreadable.
- Test: drop a small ball into water — if it floats, it’s ready.
4. Assemble the tamales
- Spread masa on corn husk (thin layer).
- Add meat filling down the center.
- Fold sides inward, then fold the bottom up.
- Don’t overfill — abuela would scold 😄
5. Steam
- Stand tamales upright in a steamer.
- Steam 1½–2 hours, checking water level.
- Tamales are done when masa pulls cleanly from the husk.
❤️ Grandmother Tips (Very Important)
- Tamales are made slowly, usually with family
- Masa texture matters more than exact measurements
- They always taste better the next day
- If one opens while steaming — that’s the cook’s snack 😉