Red Chile Beef Tamales
The Joy of Tamales: A Taste of Las Posadas
Las Posadas, a cherished holiday tradition in Mexico and Latin America, brings families, friends, and neighbors together in celebration of the Nativity story. Central to these festivities are tamales—humble yet extraordinary bundles of corn masa filled with savory or sweet goodness, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed to perfection. Among the many variations, red chile beef tamales hold a special place, combining tender shreds of beef with a medley of potatoes, carrots, pickled jalapeños, and green olives, all infused with a bold, complex chile sauce.
Related Recipe: Pork Chile Verde Tamales
The Taste and Texture of Red Chile Beef Tamales
These tamales are a symphony of flavors and textures. The masa is light, fluffy, and subtly flavored with the smoky, earthy notes of the chile sauce. Each bite reveals a perfectly balanced filling: the tender, juicy beef carries the richness of five chiles (guajillo, New Mexico, mulato, pasilla, and puya), while the potatoes and carrots provide a soft, starchy contrast. The olives and pickled jalapeños add pops of briny acidity and heat, elevating the dish to unforgettable heights. Together, these components create a tamale that is as satisfying as it is deeply rooted in tradition.
Tamales and the Heart of Las Posadas
- Tamales are more than just food—they are a symbol of love, labor, and unity. During Las Posadas, which lasts for nine nights leading up to Christmas, families gather to pray, sing, and share meals. Making tamales is an event unto itself, often spanning days and involving multiple generations. This shared labor fosters connection and ensures the traditions are passed down.
- The inclusion of beef, a premium ingredient, and the variety of vegetables and chiles in this recipe reflects the festive nature of Las Posadas. These tamales are not just sustenance but a way to honor loved ones and celebrate the season.
The Love of Tamales in Mexican Culture
Tamales are not just a dish; they are an emblem of Mexican culture. The patience required to make them, the communal effort, and the anticipation of their warm, flavorful goodness embody the spirit of Mexican hospitality and resilience. During Las Posadas, tamales are more than sustenance—they’re a gift, lovingly prepared and joyfully shared.
The flavors in this recipe speak to the diversity of Mexican cuisine. The smoky richness of the chile sauce and the vibrant medley of fillings echo the country’s colorful traditions and bold flavors. No celebration is complete without tamales, and their enduring popularity is a testament to the love and care Mexican people pour into their food.
Serving Suggestions
Tamales shine as the centerpiece of any Posada feast. Here’s how to serve them:
- Salsa and Crema: Serve with sour cream or Mexican crema alongside a smoky red or tangy green salsa.
- Side Dishes: Accompany with Mexican rice and refried beans for a hearty meal.
- Drinks: Pair with a warm mug of atole, champurrado, poncho navideño, or café de olla for the ultimate holiday comfort.
- Garnish: Sprinkle with queso fresco or cotija for an added layer of flavor.
Storage and Leftover Tips
Tamales store beautifully:
- Refrigerate: Keep in an airtight container for up to one week.
- Freeze: Freeze individually wrapped in parchment or wax paper and stored in a freezer bag.
- Reheat: Steam refrigerated tamales for 10–15 minutes or microwave them wrapped in a damp paper towel.
Leftover tamales can also be repurposed. Slice and pan-fry them for crispy tamale cakes or crumble them into a skillet for a hearty breakfast hash.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Lard/Shortening: For a lighter option, use butter or oil, though it will slightly alter the flavor and texture.
- Chiles: If some varieties are unavailable, increase the amount of guajillo and ancho for balance.
- Vegetables: Swap potatoes and carrots for sweet potatoes or squash for a seasonal twist.
- Beef: Replace with pork shoulder or chicken thighs, or use beans and roasted vegetables for a vegetarian version.
A Legacy
Making tamales is a labor of love, a culinary tradition that brings people together. This recipe for red chile beef tamales captures the essence of Las Posadas: warmth, community, and celebration. Whether you’re sharing them with family or introducing them to friends, these tamales will fill your home with joy and your heart with pride.
Prepare them with care, savor each bite, and pass on the tradition to the next generation—because tamales are more than food; they are a legacy.
FAQs
Yes, but for fluffier tamales, mix it with broth and lard or shortening before assembling.
Use guajillo and ancho as the base and add any other chile for heat or smokiness.
Absolutely! Freeze cooked or uncooked tamales in zip-top bags for up to six months.
Steam them for about 30 minutes or microwave them wrapped in a damp paper towel. They also reheat and crips up perfectly on a comal or skillet.
Drop a small piece into a glass of cold water—if it floats, it’s ready.
Shredded pork, chicken, or even jackfruit for a vegetarian option works well.
Use a large pot with a steamer basket or a makeshift rack to elevate the tamales above the water.
Resting helps the masa set, ensuring it doesn’t stick to the husk.
About 40, depending on the size and amount of filling.
Yes! Assemble them a day in advance and steam when ready.
Red Chile Beef Tamales
- Yield: Makes 40 1x
Description
Celebrate Las Posadas with tender beef tamales in chile-seasoned masa, featuring a rich red chile sauce and festive fillings. Makes 40—perfect for sharing!
Ingredients
- 4 lb. boneless beef chuck (or a little more, if meat has quite a bit of fat)
- 2 small white onions (peeled, divided)
- 10 garlic cloves (whole, peeled; divided)
- 12 allspice berries (divided)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp. dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- 7 tsp. salt (divided, plus more to taste)
- 1 lb. dried corn husks
- 7 oz. dried guajillo chiles
- 1 dried New Mexico chile (or California chile)
- 1 dried mulato chile
- 1 dried pasilla chile
- 1 dried puya chile (or use an ancho chile)
- 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
- 1 fresh jalapeño peppers (large)
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 3 cups lard (or vegetable shortening, at room temperature)
- 8 cups masa harina (also called instant masa)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 3 large carrots
- 3/4 lb. potatoes (Yukon gold, russet, or regular white potatoes)
- 45 pimento-stuffed green olives
- 12 oz. sliced pickled jalapeños (1 can, drained; about 45 slices)
Instructions
- Make filling: Bring 3 qt. water to a boil in a 6- to 8-qt. pot over high heat. Meanwhile, cut beef into 2-inch chunks, trimming any large chunks of fat (it’s OK to leave some). Add beef to water along with 1 whole onion, 6 garlic cloves, 3 allspice berries, the bay leaves, and oregano, and reduce heat to medium. Return to a boil, then boil meat uncovered for 15 minutes, skimming off foam with a wide metal spoon.
- Add 1 Tbsp. salt to beef. Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer beef until it’s very tender when pierced with a fork, about 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, if you’re filling the tamales on the same day as cooking the beef, separate corn husks and rinse of any debris or silks. Place husks in a large bowl and soak in hot water weighted down with a couple of plates until husks are soft, at least 1 hour. Otherwise, wait to soak the husks until the day you fill the tamales (see Step 9).
- While the beef is cooking, rinse dried chiles. Cut off stems, using kitchen shears (no need to remove seeds; they’ll be strained out later). Put chiles in a large saucepan. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer chiles uncovered until they’re softened but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Transfer chiles with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside. Discard cooking liquid.
- With a slotted spoon, transfer cooked beef from broth to a large bowl. Let stand until cool enough to handle, then tear into shreds. Pour broth through a fine strainer into a separate bowl. Measure broth and add water if needed to make 10 1/2 cups. Season broth with salt to taste if you like. Cover broth to keep warm; discard contents of strainer.
- Working in batches if needed, add soaked chiles to a blender container along with 3 cups of the reserved beef broth, 2 garlic cloves, the coriander, remaining 9 allspice berries, and 1 tsp. salt. Blend until smooth. Pour and then rub sauce through a fine strainer into a bowl. Discard contents of strainer. You’ll have about 3 1/2 cups chile sauce; set aside.
- Slice remaining onion lengthwise into strips and slice fresh jalapeño lengthwise into thin strips. Heat oil in a 4- to 5-qt. saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 2 garlic cloves, the onion strips, and fresh jalapeño strips and cook, stirring often, until onion begins to soften but not burn, 4-5 minutes.
- Add shredded beef and continue to stir. Set aside 1 cup red chile sauce for masa and add the rest, about 2 1/2 cups, to the beef. (Save any extra sauce for other uses.) Stir beef mixture until evenly distributed; then cover and simmer for 15 minutes to blend flavors, reducing heat if meat starts to stick. Remove garlic. Season with salt to taste if you like. (At this point, you can cool, cover, and chill the beef filling up to 1 day; use it cold. Also cool and chill the remaining beef broth; reheat until warm to touch before making the masa. And chill the reserved 1 cup red chile sauce; reheat to room temperature before using.)
- Soak corn husks if you made the filling ahead (see step 3). Make masa: Place lard in a bowl of a large stand mixer (preferably at least 5 qt.) fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until lard looks light and silky and resembles whipped marshmallows, about 15 minutes, scraping inside of bowl occasionally.
- Add masa harina, remaining 1 Tbsp. salt, and the baking powder and blend on low speed until mixture resembles wet sand. Slowly add 7 1/2 cups beef broth and the reserved 1 cup red chile sauce, scraping sides of bowl to mix well. Continue mixing on low speed until masa is fluffy and spreadable, 15-20 minutes. To check if masa is ready for spreading, drop a small piece of masa into a glass of cold water. If the masa floats, it’s ready. If it sinks, continue mixing and repeat the test every 5 minutes. Save any remaining beef broth for other uses.
- While the masa is mixing, prepare vegetables for tamales: Peel carrots and potatoes and cut into sticks about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide.
- Assemble tamales, ideally with several people (someone to spread masa, another person to add fillings, and another to fold tamales). Drain water from corn husks. Choose the largest husks. Open up a corn husk on a work surface with the pointy edge facing you. Spoon 1/3 cup masa into the center. Holding the husk at the straight end with one hand, and using a soup spoon with the other, spread masa on the wide part of the husk into a rectangle that extends about two-thirds of the way from the flat end to the pointy end, leaving a 1/2-inch border clear along the straight edge to avoid any masa spilling as it steams, and about 1 inch clear on the sides for easy wrapping.
- To the center of the spread masa, add a loosely packed 1/4 cup beef filling in a band, and then a carrot strip, a potato strip, an olive, and a slice of pickled jalapeño on top of the meat. Fold one side of the husk snugly towards the center (but not too tight, as the masa expands during cooking). Fold the other side of the husk snugly towards the center, making sure the sides are well overlapped. Then fold the pointy edge up, making sure the sides don’t spread open, so as to prevent steam from getting into the tamales. (The straight edge will be open.) If any husks get filled but then are difficult to fold up, you can double-wrap the whole tamale with another husk. Repeat with the remaining masa and filling. (At this point, you can wrap each tamale in parchment paper, then freeze in zip-top bags up to 6 months. Freeze any leftover masa in an airtight container up to 3 months.)
- Cook tamales: Fill a 32-qt. tamale steamer with water to the fill line (at least 1/2 inch under the position for the steaming rack), then add rack. Arrange tamales in steamer on the rack with the straight (unsealed) edges upright, touching each other but not packed, so there’s room for steam to circulate. (If you don’t have a tamale steamer, use a large pot, a least 10-qt. size. Add 1 inch water, set a steamer basket or flat metal colander in place at least 1 1/2 inches above the bottom of the pan, and cook tamales in batches.) Cover tamales with any remaining corn husks and 2-3 clean kitchen towels to help contain some of the steam.
- Place steamer over medium-high heat, cover with lid, and bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low so the water is constantly boiling to circulate the steam. Set timer for 1 1/2 hours (or 2 1/2 hours if tamales are frozen). Have a kettle with hot water nearby to add to steamer as water evaporates (check by pushing aside the towels and corn husks on top with a long wooden spoon). Pour in hot water as needed, adding it slowly against the side of the pan to make sure it does not spill on the inside of tamales.
- Turn off heat. To check that tamales are done, unwrap one partway; the masa should no longer stick to the husk. Let tamales rest in steamer, covered, for 20 minutes. Carefully remove a tamale with tongs and place on a plate. Unwrap and check again for doneness; the husk should come off easily. If it doesn’t, bring the water back up to boiling, steam tamales another 30 minutes, and let them rest again. Cooked tamales can also be frozen in zip-top bags up to 6 months.
