Chorizo Tamales

Make these Chorizo Tamales using my step by step tutorial. This is a delicious treat and I have included both instant pot and stove top instructions. They are easy to freeze too!

What is a Tamale?

A tamale is a Latin American dish made from masa, which is ground corn. The masa is then laid on top of a corn husk, filled with meat, seafood, or beans, and then steamed. The texture is absolutely fantastic and they remind me so much of something I make in my own culture – pasteles.

Tamales are the type of food that you make with a group. Typically eaten around christmas time in Mexico, usually the whole family makes these together. When you make tamales, you usually aim to make about 100 since they take a while to make. That is why this dish is normally made with many family members. If there are many people to help, the dish is easier to make. The recipe below makes 30 chorizo tamales.

Chorizo Tamales are easy to make

I have added a few short cuts in my recipe to make this go by a little faster. I also only make 30 of them, instead of 100. Tamales are normally made with either pork or chicken. The pork is slow cooked in a red sauce, and the chicken is cooked in a green sauce. Honestly, I love both equally. I wanted to skip the step of having to make the meat before I even start assembling the tamales, so I chose to stuff mine with chorizo.

Chorizo is a Mexican style sausage flavored with chile de arbor and several other spices. It has a very unique taste which I love. Some of you may have had chorizo before in a taco, or even in queso dip at a Mexican restaurant. Some brands of chorizo are spicer than others. I like mine more with a medium spice, however, since you don’t put a lot of meat in each tamale, you don’t have to worry about the spice being too much. These Chorizo Tamales have an incredible flavor and are balances perfectly.

Also, the masa of a tamale is slightly sweet. Not sugary sweet, but it is made with corn which is just naturally a little bit sweet. Since, this is surrounding the dough, the combination of chorizo and corn is honestly so good and the flavor is balanced perfectly.

Ingredients for Chorizo Tamales

• 2 lbs Chorizo uncooked
• 1 bag Corn Husks
• 4 Cups Masa Harina corn flour that is readily available in most large groceries stores and small Latin grocery stores
• 2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 cup Canola Oil or vegetable oil
• 2 cups Broth chicken, beef, or vegetable
• 1.5 cups Water

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Soak the Corn Husks to soften them. Add them to a very large bowl and fill it with hot water. Then, cover the top of the bowl with aluminum foil and let them sit for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Cook the chorizo. I like to buy chorizo in a casing and then remove the casing to cook the chorizo and make “ground chorizo”. I have seen ground chorizo being sold but it is not as widely available as chorizo in a casing. My favorite brand of ground chorizo is Hatfield which is readily available in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey area. Cook the chorizo until the little bits are crisping up. About 15-20 minutes.
• Make the Masa. In a large bowl combine the masa harina, salt, baking powder, oil, broth, and water. Mix well until it is fully incorporated. Keep the masa moist until you are ready to use it. You can do this by placing a moist paper towel on top of it. 
• Assemble your tamales. Once the corn husks are soft, drain them and lay them in a pile near where you will be assembling your tamales. Lay one cork husk on a cutting board, making sure to have the smoother side facing you. Add a large spoonful (about 1/4 cup) of the corn masa to the middle of the corn husk. Using a silicone spatula, spread the masa to cover the bottom half of the husk. Make sure you only have a thin layer. You can also use your fingers to spread out the masa. Wetting your fingers will help the masa not stick to you. Then, add 1 tablespoon of meat (or filling) into the middle of the masa. Tamales use very little filling. Only a tablespoon is necessary.

How to Fold Tamales (scroll dow to see photo slide of how to fold a tamale)

1. Fold over the husk down the middle like a book(vertically).
2. Next, you need to fold over the side that just came together as a book to ensure filling doesn’t come out of that side.
3. Lastly, take the top half of the tamale and fold it where the dough starts(horizontally). This is the area where you will stand up your tamale in your pot or instant pot. 

Repeat with remaining tamales, being careful to make sure the seam of each tamale is sealed while you finish making the rest. 

Instant Pot Instructions

• Add 1.5 cups of water to the bottom of an instant pot. Place the trivet on top of the water. Then, place 3-4 unfilled corn husks on top of the trivet. This will help make sure that the tamales do not fall to the bottom of the pot as they are cooking. The tamales will all rest on top of these corn husks.
• Add the tamales to the instant pot, standing up. Stand them all up making sure the seam side is facing down. You can fit 30 tamales in your instant pot. It is an extremely tight fit, but you can do it. 
• Once they are all in the pot, add the cover to the pot and make sure it is sealed. 
• Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes, and then do a 15 minute natural release followed by a quick release. Once they are cooked, let them cool inside their corn husk for 15 minutes. 

Stove Top Instructions

• Add 1.5 cups of water to the bottom of a large stock pot. Add a steamer basket to the bottom of the pot. Stand up all of the tamales in the pot, seam side down. Make sure to fit all of them in. It will be a tight fit, but that is good. 
• Bring the water to a quick boil and then immediately reduce the heat to low. Steam for 2 hours. Then, let them cool inside of their corn husk for 15 minutes.

If you like this recipe, you may also like:

Elote Dip (Mexican Street Corn Dip)

Ground Pork Tacos