How to make Tamales for Las Posadas the easy way

Have you ever wanted to know how to make tamales? It's easier than you might think, especially when you use quality ingredients like HERDEZ® sauces and chiles. Today I am sharing TWO tamale recipes: Green Chile Easy Chicken Tamales and Red Pork Tamales.

We celebrate Las Posadas loosely in my family. We make food and visit and share stories but there is no formal pattern that we follow. There's a nativity scene, tamales, and capirotada but I think it is the distance that has made the celebration more of something that we do as we can get together, not according to a strict schedule. This is why tamales are such a common dish for us at this time of year. They're easy to heat and serve no matter what time of day family comes over. And who doesn't like to go home with a bag of fresh tamales after visiting grandma?

The first part of our tradition centers around making the tamales together. The family comes together, usually at my mom's house, and we make tamales, talk, share stories, and snack. The process is like a quilting bee in the kitchen! We set up a spread with all the supplies needed for making tamales – fresh prepared masa, pork and red chile, chicken and greem chile, spoons, soaked corn husks, and a large bowl to place the finished tamales in. Then everyone gathers around and makes tamales while talking and sharing.

Preparing the Corn Husks for Tamales

The prep for tamales starts usually the night before. First we soak the corn husks in water to soften them. You can find dry corn husks at the local grocery store.

Be sure to wash them (sometimes they have bugs in them) and then soak them completely under water.

We put ours in a large pot and then weigh them down with a plate to keep them under water. The water softens the corns husks so they can be bent to wrap the tamale. Soak until pliable, at least an hour.

Preparing the Meat for Tamales

The tamales in both of these recipes get their incredible, authentic flavor from HERDEZ® sauces and traditional spices. We prepare these tamales in the traditional way – we used the crock pot to make the meat! Okay, so that's NOT traditional but you can get the same flavors with a lot less hassle by using a plugin crock cooker rather than a pot on the stove to cook the meat. Luckily, Xaver won a second crock pot in an auction at work yesterday so we were able to cook the meat for both types of tamales at the same time.

Our Chicken Tamales feature HERDEZ® Brand Salsa Verde, Mexico’s favorite and America’s No. 1 selling Salsa Verde. This salsa tastes great on its own, in guacamole, and in these tamales! You can start this recipe with frozen chicken breasts, like we did here. That makes it extra convenient to make!

The Pork Tamales feature HERDEZ® Brand Salsa Casera (house salsa), which gives the pork a rich, full flavor. These are my favorite tamales!

Check out the recipes below for the full directions on preparing the meat. Here you can see how we literally just poured the HERDEZ® Brand Salsa Verde right on top of the chicken, along with spices, onions, and garlic, before cooking it in the crock pot.

Serve both tamales with the same salsa spooned over top. My grandma likes to add a little shredded cheese too!

Here's how to make tamales:

We created two recipes – the process is exactly the same for each but the ingredients differ. Check out the recipes below for both the chicken and pork tamales we made:

EASY Chicken Tamales Recipe and Pork Tamales for Las Posadas with HERDEZ #MisPosadas #LasPosadas

Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.8 from 4 reviews

A delicious authentic chicken tamales recipe. These chicken tamales are so easy to make, you'll never buy tamales again!

• Author: Jennifer Priest
• Prep Time: 5 hours
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
• Yield: 24 1x
• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Slow Cooker
• Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 – 3lb pack of frozen chicken breasts
• 1.5 tsp black pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 diced onions
• 2 cups water or chicken broth
• 2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 2 – 16 oz. jar HERDEZ® Brand Salsa Verde
• 1 – 28 oz. can HERDEZ® Enchilada Sauce Green Chili
• 1 bag of corn husks
• 10 lbs prepared masa

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Instructions

1. Prepare all ingredients, except for the corn husks and masa, in a 6 quart slow cooker.
2. Cook the meat for 4 hours on HIGH until fork tender. Shred the meat with a fork.
3. Soak the corn husks in warm water to soften.
4. Flatten the corn husk against the palm of your hand.
5. Using a spoon, spread an even layer of masa, about 1/2″ thick, over the corn husk, covering about a 3″  x 6″ area.
6. Spoon the chicken filling into the center of the masa rectangle.
7. Roll the sides of the corn husk around the meat filling. Fold up the tapered end of the corn husks.
8. Place the tamales vertically into a stock pot with about 1/2″ of water in the bottom. Steam until the masa is semi-translucent on the edges.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Tamale
• Calories: 440
• Sugar: .5
• Sodium: 274
• Fat: 23.2
• Saturated Fat: 8.1
• Carbohydrates: 37
• Fiber: 4.7
• Protein: 20.9
• Cholesterol: 67

Keywords: Mexican Food, Tamales

For the chicken tamales, combine the following in a 6 Quart Crock Pot:

• 1 – 3lb pack of frozen chicken breasts
• 1.5 tsp black pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 diced onions
• 2 cups water or chicken broth
• 2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 2 – 16 oz. jar HERDEZ® Brand Salsa Verde
• 1 – 28 oz. can HERDEZ® Enchilada Sauce Green Chili

For the pork tamales, combine the following in a 6 Quart Crock Pot:

• 3lb to 5lb boneless pork butt roast
• 1.5 tsp black pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 diced onions
• 2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 2 – 16 oz. jar HERDEZ® Brand Salsa Casera
• 1 – 28 oz. can HERDEZ® Enchilada Sauce Red Chili

Cook the meat for 4 hours on HIGH until fork tender. Shred the meat with a fork.

Once you've cooked the meat, it's time to assemble the tamales.

How to Assemble Tamales

I created this video showing the process so you can easily make these on your own:

How to Steam Tamales

After the tamales are made, they need to be steamed. The steam cooks the masa, which is essentially raw up until this point. It's important to steam the tamales, not boil them, and to make sure that you don't steam them too long or they will start to fall apart. You can get a tamale steamer but we just use a large pot. The tamale steamer has a basket that keeps the tamales vertical so that water does not seep inside the meat and masa. When using a pot, place a mug or bowl in the center of the pot to lean the tamales against so they will stay upright. You can even place a few tamales inside the mug or bowl to get even more in the pot.

Fill the pot with abut 2″ of water and steam on medium or low for about 30 minutes. The masa will darken and become a bit translucent at the edges. This is how you'll know the tamales are done. Take one out of the pot and remove the corn husk to check that the tamale as cooked completely before removing the pot from the heat.

Once cooked, allow the tamales to cool to room temperature before placing in zip top bags and putting in the fridge.

Our Las Posadas Tradition

Our Las Posadas tradition starts with preparing the food, like these tamales. The second part of our Las Posadas tradition starts on the 16th and runs through Christmas. We set up a nativity scene and make sure the tree is all decked out. Then we visit with family and friends, going to each other's homes and sharing in great food, stories, and wishes about the new year. We talk about the story of Mary and Joseph and all the religious aspects of the holiday. As it gets closer to Christmas, we see more of the extended family; aunts, uncles, cousins, and more. It's not just family – we see friends too!

You better believe that even though we were at Disneyland, Elena asked me for tamales! LOL You don't have to celebrate Las Posadas at home only but honestly, the food is better when you cook it at home!

Now that Las Posadas is here, how are you going to celebrate?

Leave a comment and let me know. Not ready to make this recipe today? Pin it!

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