Mexican tamales the easy way with El Gallo Giro

This post is a collaboration with El Gallo Giro

Although Colombian tamales are different than Mexican tamales, in our house we enjoy eating Mexican tamales often. They are delicious and we often keep some in our freezer to warm up when we feel like eating some tamales for dinner.

I am going to be honest. I am lazy and I know making tamales takes a lot of work, so I usually buy the premade tamales from the store. But then this year we were having a potluck at work and the condition was to only bring homemade foods. I was in charge of the tamales.

I did some research and found out that one of my favorite places for traditional Mexican food sells tamales masa and corn husks. So I headed to the valley after one event in Los Angeles and picked up masa and corn husks for my tamales. 

My son picked up what the filling was going to be. He wanted chicken in green salsa for the filling. You can make your own filling or you can even visit a Mexican store to buy it already made. The possibilities for fillings are endless but the most popular I have seen are chile verde, chile rojo both chicken and pork. I have also seen cheese with rajas (peppers)

When you get the premade masa, you save so much time. The masa is ready for spreading. Just make sure to soak the corn husks for at least one hour in warm water so the masa doesn't stick to them.

Prepare the chicken in salsa verde, then spread the masa inside the corn husks. Add the filling. Essemble the tamales. Steam for 90 minutes and enjoy! Easy peasy, right?

Now, if you do not have time for making the tamales at home, you can buy tamales at El Gallo Giro and make sure to grab some pan dulce and champurrado if you are at the store!

Learn more and find a location near you El Gallo Giro