The Good and Bad Tamales

You can tell the holidays are here because El Pollo Loco has tamales on their menu. It must be the proverbial optimist in me that each year surrenders to the temptation of the seductive picture on the menu. Every year I have been disappointed. Well, this year was not an exception. I tried the single tamal on a small salad and a splash of sauce on top. I could not even eat half of it. It was too spicy and there was hardly any chicken. Maybe next year will be different.

One of my very earliest childhood recollections is related to my negative experience with tamales. I don’t know how old I was, but probably a toddler. It must have been Christmas eve or at least Christmas season. I remember being at my grandmother’s house (we lived right next door). It was Mama Mere who handed out tamales to us children, and then she went back to the kitchen, I guess. As I now know, tamaladas were social occasions to gather and chat with the other women while tackling the labor intensive chore of making tamales.


Anyway, I tried to bite the tamal that had been given to me, but it was too tough. I did not even like the feel of this tamal in my mouth, so I decided to take it back to the kitchen. I announced to the women in the kitchen, “A mi no me gustan los tamales con hoja.”


Everyone broke out in laughter. Of course that made me feel worse, but it was then that I learned that the tamal needed to shed the hoja—the cornhusk cover—before consumption. Mama Mere then showed me which was the proper way to attack the tamal.

Growing up, I know I must have heard this story of my experience with tamales over and over again. I know Mom used to repeat it to me anytime that tamales came up in the menu or conversation.


Funny, though, I found the question on how to eat tamales on the web. Several years back, I did find myself at a party where Mexican  food (including tamales) was being served, and I sensed that some of the guests did not know how to eat tamales. So, I try, with utmost diplomacy, to instruct on the removal and disposal of the covering.


Probably the worst tamales I have had were some that were wrapped in paper. I don’t even remember where they came from, but they were not good. It might have been in high school cafeteria or summer music camp, or some other such institution. Bad.

The tamales that I do like are the variety that I grew up with. They were not too big, nor too spicy. The masa was moist, but not extra greasy. Because tamales are usually steamed in large amounts, I remember that Mom always kept extra ones in the freezer for warming later. Not that Mom ever made tamales, but she would purchase them by the dozen, several at a time. She usually had friends who made tamales and they would sell them to her or give her some. I can remember having tamales for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.

Maybe I need to go back to South Texas to get a tamal that I like. Although I did take a class through adult education about twenty years ago where we made tamales as a class, I don’t think I am going to make tamales myself. There are plenty of recipes available out there, but I am only interested in eating a few good tamales!