TML Tamale Cooking Process

It's time to cook tamales!

You'll need to gather your supplies to make sure you can heat up your tamales. 

You'll need:

• 1 steamer
• a digital thermometer 

You need to know if your tamales are pre-cooked or raw. This is a big deal. Raw tamales take much longer to cook than a pre-cooked tamale.  With raw tamales, the filling is cooked but the tamale dough still needs to be cooked before it can be consumed. 

TYPES OF STEAMER THAT WILL WORK

Stainless Steel Stack ‘n’ Steam Sauce Pot and Steamer

This is the best option by far when dealing with a large amount of tamales. Ideally, it's used over a gas fire with high butane capacity. You'll want to bring the water to a boil and simmer in low.

Good Grips Stainless Steel Steamer

This is a great option because of the handle. Other steamer of a similar design lack such a mechanism which makes pulling the entire basket out a challenge and risk burning yourself when you pull out each tamale one at a time. 

Plastic Veggie Steamer

Great option for small amount of tamales. You just have to keep an eye out for the water level. These steamer tend to have short 'legs' that hold them up which means you don't have a lot of room for water. If your water runs out, you risk BURNING your tamales.  

4-Quart Steamer with Lid

A beautiful steaming instrument. While we do recommend it as a positive product to steam tamales, we do have one tale of caution. You'll want to sort out your tamales half way through the cooking process. Shift was was at the bottom to the top and was at the top to the bottom to get a thorough and even cook.

COOKING THE TAMALES

You'll want to load your tamales into the steamer with the open end up. Your tamales can be frozen and do not have to be thawed. Add enough water to your steamer that you can steam for a long amount of time. You'll want to check your water level periodically. The last thing you want is to let the water run out. This will burn your tamales and it will infuse a rather nasty burnt taste into your tamales. 

If your tamales are frozen + raw, you'll want to steam them for 90 minutes. Check your water level every 30 minutes, and do not let the water run out! 

At the 90 minute mark, you'll want to check the internal temperature of the tamales to make sure it's properly cooked. You're looking for a temperature of 200°F. Let the tamales rest for 5-10 minutes before eating. They can be very hot.

If your tamales are frozen + cooked, you'll want to steam them for 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, check the internal temperature of your tamales. Because these are pre-cooked, you're looking for 165°F to be ready to serve. Allow tamales rest for 5-10 minutes before eating. They can be very hot.

Our bundles allow you to take the fuss out of making your own tamales. They allow you to keep a stock to serve for lunch and a quick dinner. They're also great for larger events because they're rather easy to keep hot and fresh for guests to enjoy. If you need any further assistance learning how to heat your tamales, drop us a line!