How to Store Tamales

After the tamales are assembled you can immediately steam them or you can freeze uncooked tamales. The uncooked tamales can later be steamed directly from the freezer. Keep in mind that the frozen tamales will take a little longer to steam than the freshly assembled tamales. To freeze raw tamales, wrap a dozen tamales in foil, set in a zip top freezer bag and freeze up to 6 months.

Another storage option is to steam, cool then freeze the cooked tamales. Most of my family prefers to freeze them uncooked to enjoy them freshly cooked out of the steamer, but freezing cooked tamales is also an option for long term storage. To freeze cooked tamales, follow the steaming tamales directions on the previous page to cook the tamales. Cool completely, then wrap a dozen tamales in their husks in foil, set in a zip top freezer bag and freeze up to 6 months.