When making tamales, you must decide which fillings you will prepare. While masa is of great importance, most of us would consider it certain that the filling also greatly impacts a person’s tamale experience because no one like tamales without a filling. Even when used in small quantities as a garnish, the tamale’s name often refers to what is inside the corn. You do not buy some simple tamales from the store. Still, you may order chicken tamales or get frozen beef tamales as per your preferences.
Tamales fillings are as numerous as the stars in the sky and can be as unique as an individual make them. A few basic tried-and-true savories and sweet Mexican tamales fillings are enough to make your own creative one. Most of these fillings comprise an extra step of cooking the beef, pork, shrimp, cheese, or chocolate.
Today, let’s read about the most popular fillings of tamales and how you can make them the most easily. But before, let’s read what Mexican tamales is?
Let’s dive in!
What Is Tamales?
Tamales are a traditional Mexican dish consisting of prepared corn masa filled with delicious fillings. They are enfolded in corn husks or banana leaves before being steamed. They can be found in many different sizes and flavors. There are a total of 600-1000 different varieties of tamales.
Tamal comes from Nahuatl, one of Mexico’s ancient living languages. The Nahuatl word tamalli means wrapped. It is usually made from a starchy, corn-based masa (dough). Tamales are mostly covered in corn husks before being steamed and served hot with spicy salsas sprinkled over the top. Street sellers can be found selling them morning, noon, and night across the country, although they are most popular as a breakfast food.
Different Tamales Fillings
There are so many products to put in a tamale. So you can mix things up while also making a delicious meal that comes together pretty easily. Tamales might seem overwhelming, but it’s simple once you figure out how to make them.
Check out all of these delicious fillings to put in a tamale, and we bet your mouth will start watering in no time.
Beef Tamales
Meat is one of the most traditional products to put in a tamale. The preparation time for ingredients for beef tamales includes 7 hours for meat in a crockpot or 4 to 5 hours in the microwave.
If you think cooking beef tamales is challenging, you may order frozen beef tamales from an online store and enjoy them.
Chicken Tamales
A large number of people prefer chicken tamales over other filings. The reason is that chicken can go hand in hand with cheese, spice, vegetables, chile, and whatnot. The cooking time is comparatively shorter than beef, and you can make them easily in 20 to 30 minutes.
You can also order chicken tamales online if you are in the office or at a friend’s house for a night over.
Vegetable Tamales
Tamales are a prodigious dish for people who don’t eat meat because you don’t have to stuff them with shrimp, pork, beef, or chicken. Some of the best tamales’ fillings are meat-free and are loaded up with vegetables instead.
Corn, bell peppers, and tomatoes are blissful choices, but zucchini is mostly the one that many people love. Hence, they order frozen veggie tamales online.
Cheese Tamales
Not all tamales have cheese inside them, but the ones that do are sure tasty. Many people like a mixture of green chile and cheese. It tastes good and has the right amount of spice.
Cheddar or Jack cheese works well in cheese tamales because it gets melty and gooey. Queso fresco is another ideal choice for putting inside tamales. If you have never had this cheese, you have to try it by ordering cheesy Queso online with hatch chiles.
You can also make cheesy black bean tamales by steaming them together and wrapping them like a tortilla. Black beans are a staple in Mexican dishes, and you don’t need much else other than a sprinkling of cheese to make these delicious tamales.
Chile Tamales
Most tamales have some chile in them. It’s usually mixed with the other contents. Red chile is common in beef and pork tamales, while green chile works well in chicken and veggie tamales. The cooking time to get the ingredients ready for green chile tamale filling is 5 to 8 minutes, where you roast the peppers under the broiler, over charcoal, or in the microwave to make them.
You may also go half and half if you have trouble deciding which one you want, red chile tamales and green chile tamales.
Seafood Tamales
Many states that are considered Mexican serve seafood in their gastronomy. You might be more used to beef, chicken, or beans, but many parts of Mexico and Spain eat tamales filled with seafood.
Shrimp and jalapenos are a great mishmash, but you can also try lobster, crab, or fish. These fillings pair well with creamy sour cream sauces. The cooking time for the seafood filling depends on the seafood you used. Shrimp can be cooked in approximately 5 minutes.
Spicy Tamales
Tamales are a pretty simple food. They don’t typically contain any extravagant or hard-to-find ingredients. However, you can add loads of flavor to your tamales with a dash of ethnic spices. Try cumin, chile powder, or chipotle powder. Herbs will also work. Cilantro and parsley are refreshing options too.
Chocolate Tamales
If you are a foodie, you haven’t lived your fullest until you had a chocolate tamale. You can cook it with raisins, pumpkin, and apple cinnamon. They taste like pie. You can also try tamales with fruits, nuts, chocolates, caramel, and sugar. The option of fillings in tamales is endless. No matter what you do, you can’t go wrong.
Where to find Mexican Tamales?
So what’s your favorite filling? We hope you are stirred to get in the kitchen and try your hand at making tamales. If not, you can buy frozen tamales or try them yourself. It’s not very hard to make! If you are eager to try one of the best Mexican tamales nearby, you may contact Texas Lone Star Tamales.
