A tamale is simply corn masa with a filling of meats, vegetables or even sweets at times. A tamale is composed of three parts: the corn husk which is the outer wrapping and cooking vessel, the corn masa, then the filling. What is masa you ask? Masa is ground corn made into a powder like wheat is made into flour.

To make the masa, you add salt, baking powder, potato starch, oil, water and spices to masa powder and combine. Take a big spoonful of masa and spread evenly into the corn husk (not all the way to the tail). Load a spoonful of your filling along the edge lengthwise, roll the husk tightly over the filling, fold it seam-side down, and you've made a tamale! Make a few and steam them for about 2 hours then serve. Remove the husks (no, you don't eat the husks!) and top them with our Chili con Queso and our signature Chipotle Pepper Sauce, Jalapeno Pepper Sauce or Cilantro Sauce and you'll be hooked! A standard tamale is around 250-300 calories. Texas Tamales are only 120-180 calories per serving (2 tamales) and are made gluten-free and lard-free. They're wonderful eaten right away but are also great reheated or resteamed. They keep well in the refrigerator for a week or you can freeze them for a couple months.

Click the video to watch Paula Deen's boys learn how to make tamales when they visited Texas Tamale Company on Food Network's program, Road Tasted.

Don't have the patience to make tamales from scratch? No problem, just head over to our online store to have some shipped straight to your doorstep, visit our Mexican Deli in Houston for store pickup, or check your local Kroger or HEB freezer section.

Texas Tamale Company

In the early 1980s, a West Houston couple was making a name for themselves making fresh gourmet lard-free tamales and fresh salsa in their home kitchen. As word spread of the great taste of these fresh tamales, the demand for a lard-free tamale grew. Enough interest was generated so that the couple began selling from a street-side cart on the far west side of Houston.

It did not take long to outgrow their home kitchen and Texas Tamale Company. “The Mexican Deli” was opened on Fountainview, just a few miles from Houston’s prestigious Galleria area. Commitment to quality and customer service soon made them a well-known Houston tradition.

Texas Tamale Company’s core line of products is made up of:

• Authentic Mexican Tamales
  • Beef Tamales
  • Chicken Tamales
  • Spinach Tamales
  • Black Bean Tamales
  • Pork Tamales
• Homestyle Texas Chili
• Chili con Queso
• Signature Sauces
  • Cilantro Sauce de Julia
  • Jalapeno Pepper Sauce
  • Chipotle Pepper Sauce
  • Hot Tamale Pepper Sauce

• The Texas Loop - beef / pork sausage stuffed with jalapeno cheese

• Jalapeno Stuffed Olives
• Jalapeno Jelly

This Month's Featured Products

	Chicken Tamales Great tasting, gluten-free and no trans fat per serving. Sounds too good to be true, but luckily for you, it's not! Our famous chicken tamales are very popular. On a spiciness scale of 1 to 10, they are about a 3. But if you're looking for a spicier version, have no fear – you can easily top the tamales with our chili or queso to add that extra heat. Buy Now
	Homestyle Chili Our mouth-watering chili comes frozen and is an easy to make meal that tastes like you slaved over it for hours (we know this thanks to a number of customer reviews!). It’s a traditional Texas chili with no tomatoes or beans. A traditional Texas chili also comes with a powerful kick of heat and spice – our homestyle chili ranks about a high 7 on the 1 to 10 spicy scale. Like all our products, you can always spice it up, but we think it's perfectly flavorful the way it is. Buy Now