Tamales de Asada

The dish

Two tamales, plated. Each one is a parcel of slow-cooked masa, hand-folded into a corn husk, steamed for nearly an hour. The filling is the same asada that goes into our taco — slow, jalapeño-citrus marinated, charred — diced fine and folded into the masa.

The husk gets unwrapped at the table.

Why we make it this way

Mama folds them by hand on Sundays at home; the same technique runs in our kitchen on Saturdays for Sunday brunch. Machine-folded tamales are the giveaway between an authentic kitchen and a chain — the steam never penetrates evenly, and the masa stays tight against the husk in a way it shouldn’t. Hand-folded, the masa relaxes inside the husk through the steam, which is why ours flake apart properly when you unwrap them.

When to order

Sundays — when Mama personally folds the morning’s batch. Other days they arrive from the previous batch (still excellent, just a notch less alive).