I received my order of tamales in a cooler-box with ice packs to keep them fresh. They were ice-cold when I removed them from the packaging, so I knew they were fresh. They also came in nice little drawstring bags that helped me keep track of the different flavors. Each bag contains 12 little tamales. Each tamale is about 4 inches long, and one inch across. Even though they are on the small size, they have a good filling-to-masa ratio which is very important for a good tamal. While most of their tamales only have a few, natural ingredients such as chiles, spices and salt, a few of the flavors contain a few more ingredients, including a few that I'm not sure about such as "powdered cooked chicken." But that aside, overall these are pretty great tamales, considering they flew across a few states to get to me. I served them at a party and I have to admit a few people asked me if I made them. I would definitely recommend these to bring to a potluck or serve at a party. Use the steaming method of re-heating them if you can. Microwaving dries out the masa to much and leaves the tamales quite crumbly. I just placed a steaming basket on the bottom of my crockpot and left it on low for a couple of hours before serving. It was just enough heat to keep the tamales warm, and the water kept them moist.
Beef Tamales
The beef tamales were very good, with a slightly spicy finely-textured beef filling with flavors of chiles and cumin. (I say "finely-textured beef" because it wasn't quite shredded and it wasn't ground.) The masa was a tad on the dry side for my liking, but overall pretty tasty.
Pork Tamales
The pork filling was very flavorful and not spicy at all. For some reason the masa seemed a bit more crumbly on the pork tamales than the other flavors, but still very tasty. These tamales tend to fall apart if you try to hold them to eat them. They are better eaten on a plate.
Spinach Tamales
These ones were hands-down, my favorite. They are stuffed with Monterrey Jack cheese and spinach with a touch of cream cheese. The moisture from the cheese helps to hold the masa together and adds lots of flavor. While they weren't completely "authentic" as far as the filling goes, they were still very delicious, and great for vegetarians.
Black Bean Tamales
These tamales are made with seasoned black beans. The beans were not whole, but smashed and mixed with spices to give them loads of flavor. If you like beans, you will love these black bean tamales.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
