Basic Mexican Tamale Dough Recipe

Name: Basic Mexican Tamale Dough Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 30
Ingredients: 2 pounds fresh masa for tamales from a tortilleria or 3 cups of masa harina para tamales mixed with 2 cups water or chicken stock and left to rest, covered, for 15 minutes (see note); 8 ounces lard, preferably back lard (see note); 2 teaspoons baking powder; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 cup homemade chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium broth, plus more as needed

Why It Works

Back lard adds a mild porky flavor.
Beating the dough until light and airy creates the most tender tamale.
Resting the masa for an hour allows for better hydration and lighter tamales.

This master dough recipe for Mexican tamales starts with either fresh masa (the nixtamalized corn dough used to make tamales and tortillas) from a tortilleria or masa harina (nixtamailzed corn flour that's reconstituted with water or stock). Then lard, baking powder, and chicken stock are beaten into it to create a light, tender, and flavorful tamale that can be stuffed with your favorite filling, like green chili and pork, rajas and queso, or red chili with chicken.

How to Make Mexican Tamales

Prep: 20 mins

Active: 15 mins

Chilling Time: 60 mins

Total: 80 mins

Serves: 30 tamales

Rate & Comment

2 pounds fresh masa for tamales from a tortilleria or 3 cups of masa harina para tamales mixed with 2 cups water or chicken stock and left to rest, covered, for 15 minutes (see note)
8 ounces lard, preferably back lard (see note)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume or the same by weight
1 cup homemade chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium broth, plus more as needed

Combine lard, salt, and baking powder and, using an electric mixer, beat at medium-high speed until well whipped, about 1 minute.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel
Add one-fourth of the masa at a time to the lard, beating between additions until thoroughly incorporated. Add chicken stock and continue beating until dough is light and has a soft and spreadable hummus-like texture. Cover masa with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel
Remove masa from refrigerator and re-whip, adding additional chicken stock 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary, to return it to original hummus-like texture. Use tamale dough in any tamale recipe (see links above for ideas, assembly, and cooking instructions).

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

Special Equipment

Electric mixer

Notes

Fresh masa can be purchased at local tortillerias, if you are lucky enough to live near one. If not, masa harina, such as Maseca para Tamales (available at most well stocked supermarkets) can be used. Pork back lard is preferable for its mild pork flavor, although more neutral tasting leaf lard or vegetable shortening can be substituted.

This Recipe Appears In

How to Make Mexican Tamales

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
111	Calories
8g	Fat
9g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 30
Amount per serving
Calories	111
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g	10%
Saturated Fat 3g	15%
Cholesterol 7mg	2%
Sodium 119mg	5%
Total Carbohydrate 9g	3%
Dietary Fiber 1g	3%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 34mg	3%
Iron 1mg	6%
Potassium 37mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Basic Mexican Tamale Dough Recipe

Why It Works

Special Equipment

Notes

This Recipe Appears In

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