How To Wrap Tamales

Making tamales can be a daunting task. The most difficult part of preparing tamales is wrapping the corn husks. Have no fear. We’re here to tell you how simple it actually is. For starters, you’re going to need a few things. So make note of the items below:

  • Corn Husks
  • Something to soak the husks in
  • Tamale Dough
  • Tamale Filling
  • A steamer

    • The first thing you want to do is take your stack of corn husks and separate them. Inspect each one and make sure there is no dirt or other debris on the husk. Keep the large pieces as your wraps and save the smaller pieces for later.

    Now you want to soak the husks in warm water. Place them in a bowl or a sink and submerge them in warm water until they are thoroughly soaked. Remove them and pat them dry with a paper towel and cover with a damp towel until you are ready to begin wrapping your tamales.

    Rolling the tamales takes a little bit of technique. Begin by examining the corn husks. You’ll notice that the husks have a skinny end and a fat end. Lay a husk flat with the skinny end pointing towards you and spread your Tamale Dough covering the husk, keeping the dough thickness between ¼ and ½ inch, and leaving approximately four inches of uncovered husk on the skinny end and two inches on the fat end and 2 inches of uncovered husk on the right edge (long side). These you want to leave uncovered with dough because you will be folding them over one another later.

    Now spread your Tamale Filling down the center of your tamale and fold the husk over from right to left so the bare husk of the right edge overlaps the left side. Turn your tamale over and fold the two inch flap of uncovered husk over the top of the tamale. Then you fold the top two inches down over the tamale and the bottom four inches up over that. Remember those little pieces you saved when sorting the husks? Well now you can use these. Cut them into strips and use the strips to tie around your tamales to keep all the folded pieces in place.

    There you go. The hard part is all done!

    Now places your tamales in your steamer standing upright on end and steam them for 90 minutes.

    Chris Gariando is a contributing author for Mexican Food, where you can find great mexican style recipes, cooking articles and related products.


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