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So TH, when do you start taking orders?

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I've dabbled with the idea of doing this, but between friends/family/coworkers/internet weirdos I'd be afraid there would be more demand than I was willing to make.

Internet weirdos

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internet weirdos

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But we're on TexAgs that makes us practically... hmn, maybe you're right after all.

I like making them, but I go to a local restaurant (Esperanza's in Fort Worth) and buy a bunch of premade masa from them. That step skipped takes away so much of the hassle.

OK, gang, here are a few observations from working around commercial Mexican food for almost a decade.

First with Riviana in Houston when they owned the Austex brand, then Mar-Kes Foods(Anglicization of Marquez)in Compton, CA when they were part of Riviana too and then InterHost Corp., a small division of National Brewing, Baltimore, MD.

Regardless, the best darn Tamales were the ones the Mexican plant workers would bring in and heat on the sides of the tortilla ovens for their morning breaks. The really good ones as mentioned above contained chicken or pork with green chilis, potatoes, carrots and even peas.

Formulation wise none of the home made ones or commercial ones in So. Cal. had seasoning in the Masa. The good ones were made with lard. The very best were made with Masa (Nixtamal) that was fresh and coarse ground for the expressed purpose of making tamales.

To get a tender or "short" tamale dough when using instant masa like Maseca or Masa Harina, it took about 25% lard or even more. I couldn't believe it, but in the development process, I kept adding lard until I got the correct mouthfeel and texture. I do not know how much would need to be added to the fresh coarse ground product, but I suspect less.

None of the above is meant to "dis" anyone's recipe or method. Just my observations and experience.

FWIW


Jaime the Migrant Worker '63. Re: Authentic Texas Cuisine. Ya think there was kosher salt on the Chisolm Trail?

I've always contemplated making tamales, but then one of the women who worked for my dad at the jail/Sheriff's Dept., or one of my coworkers, or one of my wife's employees would have them for sale and it was so much easier than trying to do it myself.

Can I use a pasta pot and insert and use it to steam the tamales?

Yall got this all wrong. Just run down to the border and marry yourself a Hispanic girl that makes them to your taste.
My MIL is queen at making them. She several times made them out of lunch leftovers. Ever had a calabaza con pollo tamal? You haven't lived.
Also, less masa is the ticket.

Absolutely right, good points. Of course I married a coconut who thinks tamales is spelled D-e-l-i-a-s, Some of the different varieties that folks make are so good. I don't really eat the standard pork ones anymore, too boring. One of my favorites is pork in spicy mole tamales.

Delias are not bad at all but the old days of day trip to pick them up on the cheap are over. Wife from Zapata and she made many trips with friends to the valley to pick them up.
I'm in Kingsland now and we have a local lady the makes a pretty good tamales. Not homemade but a quick fix.

I thought they shut down due to the FBI raid or something

I thought it was La chota but did hear about a raid. The one in San Antonio didn't seem to be affected although I don't buy from them any longer.

Delia's is still blowing and going. Second hand info, the criminal stuff against them got dropped, but there is a big wage and hour deal against them plus several civil suits or something like that. Regular tamales there are over $12a a dozen now, that is nucking futs.

As recently as 2023 I would get them in Mex for between $3 and $4 a dozen, depending on the type and exchange rate. You can still get some $8-9 a dozen ones in the RGV, but they made at home and sold out the back of a 20 year old car with no salsa provided, and kinda thin.

I crave homemade ones, but those are pretty rare nowadays.

I'll be making my yearly 20 dz this next weekend before the A&M game. Pork and venison.

My gringo mother and her mother and sister got together and made venison tamales every year. 100+ dozen to split 4 ways. In retrospect they were awful but they were all I knew growing up. Mom born and raised basically in Mirando City but the prevailing culture did not rub off.

Man I love some Lala's, years ago I used to have to drive to Laredo frequently and I would always take the detour through Mirando City to eat at Lala's.

Man, a group of sisters I worked with in Mexico were basically straight off the rancho. They were from a scrub brush ranch about 30 miles west of China, NL, nothing out there but dirt, mesquite, and thorns. Their dad would kill deer and javalinas as a regular part of their everyday diet. All through the year these sisters would gift me venison and javalina tamales. They were awful. I tried a variety of methods to eat them to no avail. I totally understand about bad tamales originating with good intentions.

Don't forget the masa spreader!
Masa spreader

My puro Mexicano mother in law hates the thing - I can do 2 or three to everybody else's one.

Would yall recommend this?

They are OK, not bad, but not fresh.
Yea I cut my teeth in Lala's. Raised by my grandparents for a few young years, my Grampa was a wildcatter and drilling company there. Spent many a morning sitting in Lala's with Grampa and tool pushers drinking a cup of 2/3 scoops sugar, half cup coffee topped off with heavy cream.
Played out on side of restaurant with Lala's kids while my family ate inside. Lala handing buttered fresh tortillas out the kitchen door to me or us. I'm afraid that it won't last much longer. The daughter running it now lost her daughter in a car wreck, so nobody to hand it down to.

Deerdude said:

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They are OK, not bad, but not fresh.
Yea I cut my teeth in Lala's. Raised by my grandparents for a few young years, my Grampa was a wildcatter and drilling company there. Spent many a morning sitting in Lala's with Grampa and tool pushers drinking a cup of 2/3 scoops sugar, half cup coffee topped off with heavy cream.
Played out on side of restaurant with Lala's kids while my family ate inside. Lala handing buttered fresh tortillas out the kitchen door to me or us. I'm afraid that it won't last much longer. The daughter running it now lost her daughter in a car wreck, so nobody to hand it down to.

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Oh my, I am so sorry to hear that about the family. That is one of about 3 or 4 old school South Texas Mexican cafes that are left that I know about. Probably a few more, but I don't know them. Nothing special, nothing off the hook, just very good, consistently solid TexMex made with pride, diligence, and love.

My mother was raised by a wildcatter father and teacher in Alice, later moved to HTX but primarily worked in STX. I spent summers with him when young so I got to know a lotta the cafes, bbq and beer joints. Most were gone by the early 90s.

Now it is Taqueria Jalisco or DQ.

I own a DQ and would put my tacos up against anybody.
Back on topic, now I learned to spread the quacha on the shuck with a spoon like my wife taught me. However, she picked up on it and now uses a tortilla press to put it on. Goes really fast like that and you can get the masa really thin like we make them.

I love DQ, hats off to you sir. DQ tacos are a thing of glory, vastly underrated. I also love the chicken and dumplings, I now frequent DQ more that other places. The one near my house in PI used to know me by name back in the day.

I prefer the plain masa- no lard or seasonings in it. That way I can add what I want to it. The ingredients should only say nixtamalized corn, water.

Deerdude said:

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I own a DQ and would put my tacos up against anybody.
Back on topic, now I learned to spread the quacha on the shuck with a spoon like my wife taught me. However, she picked up on it and now uses a tortilla press to put it on. Goes really fast like that and you can get the masa really thin like we make them.

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They're only good if the franchise offers homemade salsa instead of nasty "taco sauce" packets.

I made 3 dozen tamales once.....if I were to do it again for someone else I would charge $79 per dozen.

Have not *****ed about tamale prices since.

B-1 83 said:

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Deerdude said:

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I own a DQ and would put my tacos up against anybody.
Back on topic, now I learned to spread the quacha on the shuck with a spoon like my wife taught me. However, she picked up on it and now uses a tortilla press to put it on. Goes really fast like that and you can get the masa really thin like we make them.

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They're only good if the franchise offers homemade salsa instead of nasty "taco sauce" packets.

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Well, been there done that. Did not work for me. Quality and consistency of ingredients was just too much for me. We do make the shells in house.
Nothing I hate worse than a not prime tomato and Serranos my pepper of choice. Sometimes they duds and sometimes they peel paint and I can't be consistent like that.

You would change your mind if you had one of the Masa Spreaders. I started using that and I can have 16 dozen made in about 1-1/2 hours going to the steam bath. Spoons and Spatulas are too slow.

Check out the you tube videos Sandra Vasquez made, using the spreader. I believe she's the one that invented that contraption.

I made tamales yeaterday and they were f'ing amazing…

aznaggiegirl07 said:

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I made tamales yeaterday and they were f'ing amazing…

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Pics or it didn't happen