This post was written by Jacqueline Devereaux, staff archivist at The Texas Collection
During the holiday season, a beloved food tradition across Texas is tamales. Generally, tamales are a Mesoamerican dish with cornmeal dough – masa – wrapped around seasoned meat, cheese, beans, or vegetables baked or streamed in corn husks. To assist with the labor-intensive process, a host may invite family and friends to a tamalada to make dozens and dozens of tamales. Because of the time and effort required for tamales, many home cooks choose to make tamales for celebration days. Our staff expert, Maria, brings in this delicious treat for the Texas Collection each year to our Christmas party!
If you are interested in learning more about the history of tamales or finding a recipe to test out yourself, we have plenty of options to explore at The Texas Collection…including an extensive collection of cookbooks – over 9000 of them Texas cookbooks!
Here are cookbook highlights featuring different tamale recipes:
The Tex-Mex Cookbook by Robb Walsh presents a historic look at the development of Texan traditions; it also includes a Christmas tamale recipe! The first picture on page 89 provides a recipe for the masa and a pork filling. The other picture is from page 84, and it shows a woman collecting corn husks for the tamale preparation.
The La Gloria school in La Gloria and nearby Falfurrias, Texas community cookbook compiled recipes during the 1990s from students, teachers, and the community. Page 74 includes a pork tamale recipe.
Tantalizing Tamales by Gwyneth Doland shares over 40 different possibilities for tamale fillings. From the sweet cinnamon to the savory green chile chicken or salmon tamales with peach salsa, this cookbook offers numerous options.
Works Cited:
Doland, Gwyneth. Tantalizing Tamales . Tucson, Ariz: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2007. Print.
La Gloria School Cookbook, Falfurrias, Texas. Collierville, TN: Fundcraft Publishing, 1996. Print.
Walsh, Robb. The Tex-Mex Cookbook : a History in Recipes and Photos . 1st ed. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2004. Print.
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