Sour Tamales Recipe

The tamale is a typical Mexican dish that is an important part of the country’s diet and customs. The typical tamales are made of corn dough and wrapped in corn husks; they can have sauce, meat, chicken, or as is the case with sour tamales that are filled with refried beans with cheese and whose dough is left to ferment for a day to obtain tamales with a soft and fluffy consistency. Keep reading and discover the step by step to cook sour tamales.

Ingredients to make Sour Tamales:

• 1 kilogram of dough for tortillas
• 500 grams of cooked black beans
• 300 grams of Cotija cheese
• 50 grams of chipotle chili
• 250 grams of lard
• 16 pieces of corn husk
• 1 pinch of salt

How to make Sour Tamales:

1. To make sour tamales we start by placing the corn dough inside a pot that we will cover with a clean and damp cloth. We leave the dough next to the stove for the whole day so that it sours.
2. On the other hand, you have to wash and soak the corn husks for a few minutes. Remove from the water and let drain until ready to assemble the tamales.
3. We grind the beans together with the chipotle in a food processor and fry without stopping moving in a pot over low heat. The beans should be like a dry paste and come off easily from the pot.
4. Once they have cooled, add the crumbled cheese.
5. Add a little water and salt to the already sour dough to form a smooth paste.
6. In a separate bowl, beat the lard together with a couple of ice cubes to prevent it from heating up. Beat on medium speed until the butter forms soft peaks.
7. We integrate the butter into the dough for tamales in an enveloping way, it is not necessary to beat too much.
8. The trick to know if our dough is ready is to drop a little dough into a container with water, if it floats it means that the dough is ready
9. With the help of a spoon, we spread a layer of dough on each corn husk and on top, a layer of ground beans.
10. The sour tamales are wrapped and placed upright in a steamer. Cook covered for 50 minutes or until the dough comes off easily from the leaves without leaving lumps.
11. Serve the sour tamales accompanied with a little red sauce or chipotle chili if you prefer it spicier. We hope you enjoy our Mexican Sour Tamales Recipe.