Dinner - Tamales
A few months ago I found an online recipe for Instant Pot tamales. If you know anything about tamale making it is usually an all day family affair. This is not that recipe and may make some traditionalists raise their hands in horror, but they work for me. I am not of Hispanic heritage and do not have abuelas waiting around to teach me how to master making tamale from scratch (I wish). For my family and tastebuds these taste quite good and are always eagerly eaten at the dinner table.
I know, I know, it seems like an excess amount of butter in the recipe but trust me. You will want to use every drop of the butter! Reasons why I like these recipe are many. The first reason is that I can actually make them and they turn out edible. They are relatively low prep. I usually make these on a weeknight after teaching kindergarten all day. This means they are relatively fast and easy. The only prep work prior to cooking them I do is preparing the filling. I first made them with a chicken filling, but have since switched to beef. I usually prepare this version of a Chipotle-like Beef Roast.
I usually make about 24. They are not very large tamales. 2-3 per person will serve quite nicely. They also reheat well. In the notes I believe she includes information about freezing, but we never have enough leftovers to freeze any.
I am not sure about your ability to find masa and dried corn husks at your local grocery. These items are not difficult to locate in my area since I live in the desert Southwest. I store my unused masa in the freezer and my dried corn husks in the pantry.
If you have always wanted to try your hand at tamale making I urge you to give this recipe a try.