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Tamales

Bill Clay

By Bill Clay
in Food and Travel

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po elvis

po elvis 2,070

Posted
Posted
On 12/11/2020 at 11:36 AM, NoRagrets said:

Where can I get the best tamales in San Antonio?

i used to like Tellez but got some a few weeks ago and they were salty as fuck. couldn't even eat them. they actually caused me to go get a covid test because i thought my taste must be off if they were so salty, but i came back negative. but typically they are very good.

but since Delia's came to town, i am all about Delia's. at first sight, they looked a little too perfect. like they are machine made where they have the perfect pocket of meat on each one. but they are awesome. they are the only ones i always use their salsa, green or red, both good.

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DoobieWah

DoobieWah 1,435

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We have been getting ours from Alamo Tamales on Berry in Houston for over a decade now. During that time they built a big new facility next to the old converted hovel but the tamales are just as good. 

Of course they were $9.99/dz back then and $15.99/dz now, but they're still just as good. That's for pork. Beef are $1 more. 

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Cajun

Cajun 11,705

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Always used to help my grandmother wrap tamales this time of year, but never did them all on my own till last weekend.  Made ‘em with what was left of a brisket I had smoked a few days before.  Masa was a tad too dry (MOAR Manteca!!!), but other than that a solid first solo tamalada…

3237B828-2CAF-4689-A47B-7F88923B1E94.jpeg

EF082FD3-E6FE-4954-9367-897616561B6D.jpeg

Edited by Cajun
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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4,732

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In DFW great tamales are found at Tommy Tamale in Grapevine, Marguez Bakery in Arlington, Esperanza’s in Grapevine, and Hot Damn Tamales in Ft Worth.

Surprisingly some of the best tamales are found in the Mississippi Delta, brought by Mexican railway workers and cotton pickers and adapted quickly by blacks and then sold by Sicialian grocers. They usually have more spice. You find them in high end steakhouses like Does to diners ands barbecue joints.

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The Ace of Aces

The Ace of Aces 5,179

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On 12/22/2021 at 6:33 PM, Underdog said:

Delia’s is worth it imo.  Of course I’m stuck in tamale hell here in upstate ny.  There is one place nearby that does a good job but they were $20 bucks a dozen a few years ago. 

Mexican food hell here in Pennsylvania … Wegmans carries Texas Tamale Company and they’re good in a pinch, especially up here. 

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Cajun

Cajun 11,705

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22 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

In DFW great tamales are found at Tommy Tamale in Grapevine, Marguez Bakery in Arlington, Esperanza’s in Grapevine, and Hot Damn Tamales in Ft Worth.

Surprisingly some of the best tamales are found in the Mississippi Delta, brought by Mexican railway workers and cotton pickers and adapted quickly by blacks and then sold by Sicialian grocers. They usually have more spice. You find them in high end steakhouses like Does to diners ands barbecue joints.

Yeah, I’ve had the tamales at Doe’s in Little Rock & MS (can’t remember the town).  They were an interesting surprise find for this San Antonio hombre.  But, “the best”?  Small, skinny tamales wrapped in paper & served in a miniature bucket in the Deep South is most assuredly novel, but they are a long f’n way from being anywhere near “best” status.  They were on par with some fresh Hill Country Fair HEB pick up & Gos and they looked like something found in the evidence room for drug mules busted at an aeropuerto in Peru.

For reference…

 

A2D0181E-21EF-4C77-87BA-D9A8E9F6295D.jpeg

Edited by Cajun
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Cajun

Cajun 11,705

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2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

HEB’s Mi Comida brand actually used to be pretty decent. We got them again this year, and they were totally different, and pretty meh.

So, back to hunt for a better source. Sigh.

Central Market.  Hot & ready to go, just like SouthAustin’s mom…

954A36AF-ED1E-4C92-A40A-4C3437FA3C2F.jpeg

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105,093

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35 minutes ago, Nueces River Rat said:

Bill Miller's has good tamales....     So I've been told.

Nope.  Tried them a few years ago.  They're...ok.

10 minutes ago, Cajun said:

Central Market.  Hot & ready to go, just like SouthAustin’s mom…

954A36AF-ED1E-4C92-A40A-4C3437FA3C2F.jpeg

Nope.  Too big, too much masa.  We like the traditional small tamales -- the sort of thing you put three to a plate.  Those CM ones are giants, two is a big plate.

We used to love these:

6a296488deb99867d1855de37f12ce0e.jpeg

But you can't find them anymore.  And the place in Houston with that name isn't the same place.

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Cajun

Cajun 11,705

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43 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Nope.  Tried them a few years ago.  They're...ok.

Nope.  Too big, too much masa.  We like the traditional small tamales -- the sort of thing you put three to a plate.  Those CM ones are giants, two is a big plate.

We used to love these:

6a296488deb99867d1855de37f12ce0e.jpeg

But you can't find them anymore.  And the place in Houston with that name isn't the same place.

Ah, gotcha.  Yeah, the CM ones are like battleships.

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DoobieWah

DoobieWah 1,435

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14 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

 

We used to love these:

6a296488deb99867d1855de37f12ce0e.jpeg

But you can't find them anymore.  And the place in Houston with that name isn't the same place.

Actually they are the same. Alamo Tamales on Berry offer two styles. Those are the machine made ones. They are much cheaper but vastly inferior to the hand rolled ones I mentioned above. Both are available at the Berry facility. Also, they have beef, bean and jalapeno, etc. We usually just get the pork, but also got a half dozen beef this year. 

Highly recommended. 

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105,093

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59 minutes ago, DoobieWah said:

Actually they are the same. Alamo Tamales on Berry offer two styles. Those are the machine made ones. They are much cheaper but vastly inferior to the hand rolled ones I mentioned above. Both are available at the Berry facility. Also, they have beef, bean and jalapeno, etc. We usually just get the pork, but also got a half dozen beef this year. 

Highly recommended. 

Interesting.  Here's the thing....the "machine made" ones look and taste a whole lot like the small ones we used to make when I was a kid.  I'm curious if the hand made ones are that different.  But, next time I'm in the area, maybe I'll grab a dozen of each for a taste test.

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Cajun

Cajun 11,705

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I have this weird thing where I don’t like every tamale to be exactly the same.  Imho part of the tamale recipe magic is that each batch is it’s own little symphony…uh, I mean, Mariachi band.  You get a few skinny guys on horns, a tall guy on the violin, and a couple of short fat guys playing guitaras.

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4,732

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Pretty good for store bought--- Dallas area Costcos have these.  Made in Irving. 
(though they're not as fun as rolling the dice w/ the folks selling out of an Igloo cooler at the 276 crossroads between Lake Tawokoni and Lake Fork.)
Tamales3.jpg.f3c9ab8000a7b4e6defeb05d155f8bac.jpg
 

I buy these in the smaller packs at Tom Thumb. They are a solid B boiled in the bag.
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tantric superman

tantric superman 4,667

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On 12/22/2021 at 4:30 PM, luke duke said:

Thanks for sharing the name of the place in Richardson.

So I usually get mine from La Popular but it's getting more and more iffy -- picked them up from The Garden Cafe this year.

In any case, I was thinking of going to get mine at La Tamaleria Neuvo Leon in Richardson this year if La Popular effed it up. 

Is that the place in Richardson you are talking about?

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Shaddie

Shaddie 1,651

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9 minutes ago, tantric superman said:

So I usually get mine from La Popular but it's getting more and more iffy -- picked them up from The Garden Cafe this year.

In any case, I was thinking of going to get mine at La Tamaleria Neuvo Leon in Richardson this year if La Popular effed it up. 

Is that the place in Richardson you are talking about?

Garland actually. 
 

Picked up a dozen last week and ate some last night. Damn good. Masa had some flavor and pork was good 

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