Tamales and the holiday season go hand in hand, especially here in Texas. And though the corn husk may reign supreme in most homes, the banana leaf variety is coming for that crown.
It’s the ongoing tamale debate – although for some, there may be no debate at all.
For more on this fun food fight, we turned to Mando Rayo, host of the Tacos of Texas podcast.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Well, let’s just start with what people call this masa-based dish: tamale, tamal – does it matter? Who’s right?
Mando Rayo: You know, the great Mexican proverb said “el tamal no está mal” if you’re eating a very delicious one. Here’s the thing with tamales: tamal if you’re eating one, tamales if you’re eating muchos, and tamale if you’re living in Texas.
Very interesting. Thanks for that distinction. And most people eat do eat more than one.
Yeah, they do. You know, if you’re eating one tamal, I don’t know about that. For me it’s always tamales. It has to be the plural.
Tamale is kind of a regional type of Anglicized version of that word, right, which is actually originally from the Nahuatl language. And the original is tamalli. It’s interesting, you know?
But most people, if you’re living in Tejas, they definitely like to say “tamale.”
What about the masa and the filling, what they’re encased in: corn husk or banana leaves?
Yeah, that’s right. You know, the main thing is the maíz, right? And the maíz is obviously, you know, the corn; that is a labor of love. Tamales are not easy to make. And it takes a whole community, a whole family. That’s why you have tamaladas. Everybody participates and contributes.
But the main thing is the dough and the corn masa. And it’s kinda like kneading at it, threading it with your hands, so much so that you have to get it to room temperature.
And of course, you know, you got the fillings – everything from vegetarian to sweet to beef-based, pork based, a whole mix, even chicken. Even bean and cheese; I’ve seen some bean and cheese tamales.
We talked about the corn husk versus the banana leaf. Is this a regional distinction? I’ve eaten a lot of the banana leaves in southern Mexico. Does it really make a difference in taste? I think the texture does change.
It does. So in Texas and I would say northern Mexico, you do see a lot of the corn husk tamales, and they’re usually filled with green or red pork, definitely beef.
But then the more of the banana leaves … in the southern part of Mexico and into Central America and South America. And definitely when you see that it’s kind of like that Oaxacan style type of tamal.
I would say the corn husk tamales, because of the shape of the corn husk, it’s a bit longer and maybe thinner. But then the banana leaf one, it’s more kind of like square and thick and big. And I would say the masa comes out more moist because of the banana leaves.
Yeah, it’s kinda steamed in the banana leaf. The other one’s more firm. I tell you, I love them both. They’re both delicious.
Yeah, they’re so good, and it’s a variety. One year, my mother-in-law is from Honduras, so we had a the big tamale debate: Was it corn husk or was it banana leaf? And to be honest, at the end of the day, we both won.
Yeah, exactly. Whoever gets to taste them wins. Well, you know, you mentioned sweet tamales, and earlier this year we had chef Dora Ramírez on the show. She’s a vegan chef who grew up in Acuña, Mexico, just across the border from Del Rio.
And she mentioned that when she shared her vegan recipe for sweet tamales on her Instagram, she got a lot of comments from people, many Latinos in the U.S., saying dessert tamales are not a thing.
I heartily disagree. I grew up with pink tamales, sweet tamales in Guadalajara as a child. I tasted those. And I think if people give ’em a chance, they will love ’em. What are your thoughts on this?
I love ’em. I love ’em because they’re great with some champurrados, some cafe de olla. I grew up – the postre we call ’em, you know, the tamales dulces, right? Or you can eat it as a postre.
And my favorites had cinnamon and raisins and some nuts in there. And so I am a pro dulce tamales, for sure.
What about the savory tamales? Which ones do you like? And there’s a huge variety now.
Being from the borderlands, I grew up with the influence of the red chiles and the green chiles from New Mexico and Mexico. And so I love those.
I love the pork ones with the chile colorado, and the guisados, but I also like the Oaxacan style or even Central American style that you have black or yellow mole and red sauce or even like a rajas, poblano rajas with chicken.
My mother-in-law introduced me to the Central American version with pork and bell peppers and olives and capers and raisins and rice. They’re full, they’re filled – like maybe those are the types of tamales that you just have the one tamal.
For people who may not know, you’re saying rajas – those are, you know, thinly sliced like chiles. And that one’s very popular, as you said, in the El Paso area with cheese, which, I had never tasted tamales with cheese.
Oh, so good. The thing is, if you’re cooking with dough, you can make all kinds of things. And that’s a great thing about Mexican or Latin American food, that you can mix and match whatever you have and make your own tamal your own way.
So you mentioned champurrado. Let’s talk about what that is, and also some other holiday recipes or dishes that people enjoy in their homes this time of year.
Champurrados, you know, they’re kind of like a cornmeal-based drink infused with chocolate and that natural sweetener, piloncillo, and cinnamon. And it just warms you up really nice on a cold day.
But besides tamales, I think when you think about like the holiday meals, all of it is tied back to winter. And so you do see a lot of, especially like in the farmlands, you see a lot of pork, the accessibility of pork. So you do have a lot of carnitas and chicharones, and that really works well when you’re cooking in cold weather.
Lastly, do you want to settle the debate in any way or pick your favorite tamale, or is that asking too much?
For me, definitely – I mean, I grew up with it – it’s the corn red pork tamales. And plural tamales, not tamale. Not hot tamale, it’s tamales.
