Mark Bittman’s Tamales Recipe (2024)

Just made these (including the red-chili meat recipe with pork) and they turned out great! We recommend steaming for closer to an hour and 15 mins. Also, the instructions on assembling the tamales were a little confusing (and the tying seems unnecessary) so we looked up a really helpful video on you tube. It would be great if the nyt cooking team could create an instructional tamale video!

While this recipe yields tasty tamales, it is typical to use nearly a 2:1 ratio of masa to lard for a more authentic version. More importantly, using homemade stock from the meat filling will go a long way towards making the masa more flavorful.

These turned out perfectly. Delicate yet firm once cooled a bit. I used unsalted butter instead of lard without any trouble. Managed to make the dough without a mixer, though doing so took determination. Also, the trick to checking for adequate moisture in the dough (does it float) is on point. Lastly, my tamales took about an hour to steam. I then unwrapped them to let them set up for a few minutes.

Great, practical, fast recipe. Being as we don't eat pork, I resorted to my work around and got excellent results with duck fat (which is an amazing alternative to lard.) I did blend it with a bit of butter and olive oil but used mostly duck fat and as others noted, increased the ratio. Other lard work-arounds for us include high-quality peanut oil (for flavor) high-quality coconut oil in various combos. There are ways around lard. Used smoked duck meat with red chili sauce. Awesome.

We use organic unrefined coconut oil. I really like the flavor this adds, whether for these savory, meaty tamales, or for sweeter tamales with fresh corn, cheese, and/or green chiles (hatch chiles are my favorite)... If you use the coconut oil be sure it is cool enough that your oil is a solid at room temperature, so that the step in the recipe where you whip the fat with the salt and baking powder doesn't result in an oil slick. :D

Reading over the ingredient list, I must confess I was puzzled by one item....Masa marina.A thickener for nautical cooks?

Masa marina is a quite rare ingredient. You'll probably never see it nor will you ever understand it.

The first time I made this, I stripped the meat off of a half rack of leftover ribs and used that. It worked! Everyone loved it.The second time, my vegetarian granddaughter was here, so I used Knorr tomato bouillon to make a vegetable stock base and cooked it with a small whole unpeeled yellow onion and a carrot and the tops of a celery bunch. I let cool, then strained it. I cut the kernels from two cobs of corn and added it (raw) to the masa dough along with the stock. It was good, too

i would only add that there are youtube videos describing the fold... I made my tamales with leftover boneless & stuffed turkey breast; proportion of ingredients was accurate. Maybe a heresy the filling i used, sharing just to show the versality of these tamales, corn flour (masa harina) is king. I choose the brands that are faithful to the nixtamalization.

masa harina is instant corn masa mix. Here in Texas our grocery stores carry it. Make a is the brand most common and you want the version labeled “tamal” for tamales. ( there is another version for tortillas)

This recipe is great! Makes very delicate tamales. If you have an instant pot, I recommend cooking on manual for 38 minutes using a steam rack and a cup of water. Additionally, if you use the red meat recipe, use the leftover stock produced there for extra flavor!

I followed the recipe exactly and the result was amazing. Great tip to make sure to go a little heavier on seasoning the meat prior to assembling the tamales - it yielded a great balance of savory, rich filling with the classic taste of the masa. Really excited to try this with lamb next. Thank you for the fabulous recipe!

Masa marina=masa harina

This recipe makes 16 regular-sized Mexican tamales of the size sold at my local Mexican market. Combining this with the red chile meat recipe yields approximately the right ratio of meat to chile, but I would suggest adding a little bit more meat than the recipe calls for.

Not having easy access to lard, I made these using coconut oil. I also used blue corn masa. My dough never floated, I tried adding more fat and liquid, but it just never happened and I grew impatient. After steaming for 45 minutes, they were perfectly cooked and tender, enough to totally unwrap and hold by its end to eat with your hands. Delicious!

The first time I made this, I stripped the meat off of a half rack of leftover ribs and used that. It worked! Everyone loved it.The second time, my vegetarian granddaughter was here, so I used Knorr tomato bouillon to make a vegetable stock base and cooked it with a small whole unpeeled yellow onion and a carrot and the tops of a celery bunch. I let cool, then strained it. I cut the kernels from two cobs of corn and added it (raw) to the masa dough along with the stock. It was good, too

Reading over the ingredient list, I must confess I was puzzled by one item....Masa marina.A thickener for nautical cooks?

I don't eat red meat or pork. With what can I substitute lard? Thank you.

Kindly disregard. I see notes regarding substituting duck fat, etc. Thank you

Great, practical, fast recipe. Being as we don't eat pork, I resorted to my work around and got excellent results with duck fat (which is an amazing alternative to lard.) I did blend it with a bit of butter and olive oil but used mostly duck fat and as others noted, increased the ratio. Other lard work-arounds for us include high-quality peanut oil (for flavor) high-quality coconut oil in various combos. There are ways around lard. Used smoked duck meat with red chili sauce. Awesome.

Any thoughts on substitutions for corn husks?