Masa Mas

Tamal and Atole Festival, 6-9pm Sat at Magdalena’s (502 Grand Av, Fort Worth, 817-749-8085). $25. Business.fwhcc.org.

A long time ago –– back in the late 1900s, kids –– we had two ways to get tamales. We could buy them as part of a combo platter at our favorite restaurant, or we could get the hookup from a co-worker’s aubuela or church lady who was making a thousand dozen around this time of year, our waits rewarded with an armful of foil-wrapped packages stuffed full of meat and masa goodness. One of my favorite current co-worker’s Mexican mamas made me some last weekend, so we met in her Oak Cliff neighborhood for the tamale transaction. The only reason the full dozen made it to my house was because you can’t drive and unwrap a warm tamale at the same time.

These days, almost every grocery store (not just the Fiestas, Supermercados, and Michocanas) sells tamales, usually pork, maybe chicken or the bean version if you’re lucky. A couple of weeks ago when I was at the new H-E-B in Mansfield, an employee was wheeling a cooler on a cart with a jingly little bell, yelling, “Fresh tamales! Hot tamales!” That store is wall-to-wall people-y chaos on weekends, yet folks still stopped to grab some of those fresh, hot bad boys.

Originating in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, tamales (tamal) were offered as sacrifices to the gods. When the Spaniards arrived on the continent bringing their monks and their Jesus, the padres forced some modification to the traditions, and the festive offerings began to adorn Catholic altars. If tamales aren’t already a protected foodway, they should be: Recipes are guarded, and although the cost of the materials isn’t high — masa and corn husks are fairly cheap — the labor expense is exorbitant.

Tamale-making season runs from the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 until the Epiphany on January 6. This Saturday, the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Northside Posadas celebrate their inaugural Tamal and Atole Festival at Magdalena’s (502 Grand Av, Fort Worth, 817-749-8085). The chef collab features Magdalena’s Juan Rodriguez with Kevin Martinez (Tokyo Café), Jacqueline Anaya (Calisience), Francisco Islas (Paco’s), and Angel Fuentes (Guapo Taco). Your $25 ticket gets you samples, drinks, and the option to grab a half dozen tamales for home.

If you don’t have a co-worker with connections or an aubuela’s secret recipe, here are eight other options to get your tamale fix, in alphabetical order. I’m not trying to be comprehensive here, just shine a light on some tamale places I’ve come to love.

Crystal’s Homemade Tamales y Mas (2726 Lipscomb, Ste 101, Fort Worth, 682-381-9020) is a newcomer to the tamale market, and the selection is outstanding: Vegan with black beans, bell pepper and potatoes, and slow-cooked brisket are on the menu, plus the more traditional pork, chicken, and jalapeño and cheese. The tamales are all free of pork lard and cost $18-30 per dozen.

Hot Damn Tamales! (per appointment inside The Pantry, 713 W Magnolia Av, Fort Worth, 817-523-1836) is the once and always local champion for year-round tamales, and at one point, Hot Damn boasted 18 varieties. Unfortunately, since the pandemic, our access to unlimited masa flavorings has been curtailed to online ordering and frozen tamale storefront pickup. Ancho pork, beef, chicken and Hatch chile, queso blanco and jalapeño, and vegan black bean tamales will all run you $14-15 per dozen.

Hurtado Barbecue (multiple locations, HurtadoBBQ.com) has expanded from a single storefront in Arlington to locations in Fort Worth, Mansfield, with *clutching pearls* a Dallas location coming soon. Brandon Hurtado doesn’t do anything by half measures, and the Hurtado Christmas tamales are stuffed with prime Hurtado brisket — this explains the $48-per-dozen price.

Ibarra’s Tortilleria (1109 NW 25th St, Fort Worth, 817-625-6391) has a three-tamale plate on their dine-in menu year-round, and on Tamale Thursdays, it’s $10.95.  A dozen pork tamales with red sauce runs $20.50. If you’re feeling brave and have a good recipe, you can buy your masa here, too.

La Cabrona (2933 Crockett St, Fort Worth, 682-224-2560) also represents a new entry into the tamale market this year with their Abuela Rosario’s secret-recipe tamales (chicken, pork, cheese and jalapeño, and bean) at $25 per dozen.

Magdalena’s (502 Grand Av, Fort Worth, 817-749-8085) has offered holiday tamales for the last several years. Rodriguez and crew have an interesting variety, including braised pork in a verde sauce, black bean and Oaxaca cheese, guajillo chile and chicken, and jalapeño and cheese. This year, they’ve added Pulido’s jalapeño and cheese and red pork tamales to the mix ($24-36 per dozen, including two salsas).

Marquez Bakery (1730 E Division St, Arlington, 817-265-8858) only has pork tamales, and at $13.99 per dozen, they may be the county bargain. Pair them with some of Marquez’s salsa and a mini-empanada or some delectable pan dulce.

Tommy Tamale (multiple locations, TommyTamale.com) is the best go-to for non-pork options. Apple cinnamon, vegan black bean, and vegetarian black bean and cheese tamales all run $17 per dozen.