While tamales are eaten year-round, they are a holiday essential, which for Mexicans extend from the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 through Three Kings’ Day on January 6. Tamales for the holidays are a requirement like the Christmas cookie.
In Mexico the most traditional of tamales are pork or beef and depending on the region they may be wrapped in Plantain leaves like in southwest Oaxaca, or the traditional cornhusk.
But the basic is the same — a corn masa is spread on a leaf wrapper, filled with meat or another dish, wrapped up tight and . . .
