Thursday, December 27, 2012

Holiday Tradition: Tamales. Part Three. Cooking

 You have done your prep and your making;  now it is on to the best part! Cooking and eating the tamales! The best way to cook a tamale is by steaming them. You can either take them right from the freezer and steam them for about 45 minutes to one hour, or you can defrost them in the fridge overnight and then steam them for about 30 to 45 minuted before eating.


See that handy dandy took on the bottom of my pot? That is my steamer. Its a very useful tool and can fit into most pots. I mainly use it for tamale steaming. Fill your pot with about 4 cups of water and set it to high till just boiling. Now place your desired amount of tamales into the pot with the open side facing upward and the folded side at the bottom.


Once you have the desired amount in there. Set the temperature down to low and cover your tamales with the pot lid to steam.


Set your timer to the cooking time (depending if frozen or thawed out) and try to distract your self. Check back about halfway through to make sure you still have water in the pot for steaming. If not add a cup or two of hot water and cover again. 

After the time is up, turn off the heat and uncover the tamales. Allow them to sit in the pot for another five minutes allowing them to cool slightly and to cook further. Then take them out with tongs or your bare hands (if you can't wait to eat them...like me), unwrap them and eat them to your hearts content!

Now I would have posted a picture of the final product but these babies were gone before I could even take one! Oh well next time perhaps. I hope you can enjoy this holiday tradtion as much as I do. Please let me know if you have any particular questions on the process. 

Buen Provecho! 

~Misguided Maiden

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