How to Prepare Corn Husks for Tamales

Your seasoned tamale masa will be spread on corn husks (wraps), labeled in Spanish as ‘hojas de maíz’. Husks are purchased dried and need to be soaked in water. Soaking will rinse and remove debris and soften the husk making it pliable for rolling and folding without cracking. If you assemble the tamale in a husk that hasn’t been properly soaked, it will crack when you roll and fold it. After soaking the husks you’ll trim each one to a uniform size with a pair of kitchen scissors. This may seem like an unnecessary step, but it will ensure your tamales are uniform in size and cook evenly. When you assemble the tamales, your masa is spread on the smooth side of the husk. Although each side of the corn husk looks similar, upon close inspection there is a smooth side and a slightly rougher side. One way to determine which is the smooth side is to see how the corn husk curls into itself. Each edge usually curls inward toward the smooth side.