Baci’s Tamales
Leading Lady Spotlight: Baci and I met in college, and ever since meeting her, she’s been one of my besties. Before she and I were sorority sisters, she was my favorite human at the food hall where I ate breakfast every morning, she would slay at making breakfast burritos, she had the best folding technique and cooked my eggs to perfection, everyone on my Rugby team lined up for Baci’s breakfast burritos. When I rushed / joined Tri Delta, Baci was the first person to invite me to my first Frat Party, she was the one who invited me to hang out with her Delta girl gang, aka The Dollhouse Girls, and she was the one who recruited me to do “Tugs” with her and the other athletic gals in the house. But that’s just Baci, she’s the best. She’s amazing at everything she puts her mind to, she’s the warmest, most magnetic human, and she has the greatest laugh of all time. Baci is the kind of friend that is down for anything, and a guaranteed good time. She’s the kind of friend who is always up for an adventure, whether thats in the kitchen, on a mountain, at the beach, or downtown.
For years, I begged all my Mexican friends to teach me to make tamales, and after Baci’s latest trip to Mexico to visit family, I told her I would wait no longer. I requested that she immediately come to my house, before she forgot the tamale-making process, and teach me how to make them. We had the most fabulous Saturday in the kitchen, and our tamales turned out absolutely phenomenal. Be warned though, I understand why none of my Mexican friends wanted to teach me how to make them — this is a culinary adventure like no other! We started our tamales at ~10am and we finished and ate them around 6pm. Set yourself up for success and only attempt this recipe with a full battery, a few friends, and at least 5 positive affirmations of “I can do hard things” lol.
Alright, let’s get into the good stuff… Baci’s Tamales!
What You’ll Need
For the masa (tamale dough)
4 cups masa harina (e.g. Maseca)
2 ½ cups chicken broth
1 cup lard (e.g. Armour)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin (optional, for flavor)
For the filling
2 cups Oaxaca cheese (e.g. El Mexicano Queso), shredded
1 28oz jar pickled jalapeño peppers jars, sliced (e.g. La Preferida)
For the wrapping
16oz bag (or ~ 24 husks) of dried corn husks (e.g. El Guapo), pre-soaked for up to 24 hours
*** Special Note before you get started: Making the masa is far easier with a stand mixer and a 32 qt tamale pot. If you have these items, your life will be 10x easier.
How to Make
First, we’ll prepare our corn husks
Soak your corn husks by putting dried husks in a large bowl of warm water and weighing them down with a plate. Soak for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
Next, we’re going to get our masa (dough) ready.
In the large bowl that comes with your stand mixer, beat lard until light and fluffy. This could take up to 15-20 minutes, but it's the secret to perfect masa. In another bowl, mix masa harina, baking powder, salt, and cumin. Then, gradually add dry ingredients to the whipped lard, alternating with broth. Mix until a soft dough forms, it should feel like thick peanut butter and spread easily. Once you’ve combined all ingredients, whip the mixture for another 15 minutes. Then, you’re ready to test your masa. To test your masa, take a tiny peace of the masa and drop it into a glass of lukewarm water. If it floats, HECK YES!!!, your masa is ready. If it sinks to the bottom, add more stock to your mixture and mix for a few more minutes, then test it again.
(Note: When we made Baci’s tamales together, we watched this Youtube video first to make sure we understood the process start to finish. I definitely recommend doing the same.)
Time to prepare your filling
Slice jalapeños (you can buy pre-sliced jalapeños and skip this step), and set aside in a bowl. Shred cheese (you can also buy pre-shredded cheese), and set aside in a separate bowl. If you like, you can mix the cheese and jalapeños together in a bowl, but we had a lot more fun layering them separately when assembling.
Now, you’re ready to assemble the tamales! Baci says this step is all about VIBING IT OUT, you’ll just know how much masa, cheese, and jalapeño to put in the corn husk, so you know, just vibe it out in this step
Feel your soaked corn husk, one side will feel smooth, the other, more textured. Lay the soaked corn husk flat, smooth side up, with the narrow end pointing away. Spread about 2 tbs of your masa mix in the center, forming a 4x4 inch square-ish shape, leaving edges clear. Add a bit of cheese and 2–3 slices of jalapeño. Fold the sides of the husk inward over the filling, then fold the narrow end up toward the center. (Note: Here’s another quick video to help you with this step.)
Finally, you’re ready to steam the tamales
Add 1-2 inches of water, and a clean penny, to your steamer pot (just make sure the water doesn’t touch the tamales on the tamale rack) and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. While simmering, arrange tamales upright like a tee-pee, open ends facing up. Cover tamale stack with remaining husks or a damp towel, then the lid. Steam for 1 to 1½ hours, checking water level and tamales occasionally. Tamales are done when the masa is firm and easily pulls away from the husk.
(Note: What’s with the penny? The penny is used to alert you if / when you have too little water in your pot. If the penny rattles, add more water. No rattling = the perfect amount of water to steam your tamales! Here’s one more video that helps explain this)
Enjoy!
Again, the tamales are done when the masa is firm and easily pulls away from the husk, once this you’ve achieved this, let tamales rest for 11-22 minutes (angel #s) before serving, they firm up a bit as they cool. Serve with Baci’s salsa verde, sour cream, or Justin’s guacamole for dipping :)
Enjoy!
Since these Tamales come from Baci’s Kitchen (but really, Baci’s Abuela’s Kitchen), I recommend enjoying these with “your Baci” aka the person in your life whom you love, admire, makes you feel both invited and welcome, and whom appreciates the value of an heirloom recipe and culinary adventure as much as you do! How to know? Someone like this is warm, magnetic, and has a laugh so good it makes you laugh.
