Hormel Tamales Review

If there’s one thing I absolutely love, it has to be a Tamale!  Delicious steamed masa, filled with beef, chicken, fruits, you name it, wrapped and served in a corn husk (or banana leaf in some parts of Central America).

The tamale may seem like a simple fare, but the one ingredient that matters most in a tamale is love.  In many countries such as the US and Mexico, Tamales are handmade and shared among family and friends during celebrations such as Christmas, the Day of the Dead, Las Posadas, La Candelaria Day, and Mexican Independence Day.

With such pain staking labor and love that goes into the tamale, could it easily be factory replicated and canned for easy consumption? While primarily known for their assortment of canned chili, Hormel believes so, and has for some time packaged a tamale product that has sold on shelves in American stores.

Inspecting the can, Hormel offers 2 methods for heating the tamales.  Since stovetop is first on the list, I’m going to choose that method for this review.  Hormel also offers a recipe for CasserÓLE on the can. This cleverly placed recipe not only servers as a way to spice up your Hormel Tamales, but also to sell you Hormel’s beans.

Hormel tamales: carne de vacuno en Chili Sauce (Pack de 3) 15 oz ...

Inside the can were 6 individually wrapped cigar shaped tamales.  Each tamale was wrapped in wax paper instead of corn husk or banana leaf.  My assumption with this is that the tamales were also in a chili sauce that may have disintegrated the corn husk, eliminating the preferred wrapper from the steaming process when these cook.

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From here, I put all the tamales in a pan, and per the instructions, brought to a simmer for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally.  The tamales cooking didn’t offer much in terms of pleasant or unpleasant smells.  There was a light chili smell, but nothing to get excited over.

Once done cooking, I transferred to a plate, removing the tamales from their wax paper wrappers, and drizzling what sauce I could scrape out of the pan onto the tamales. The masa in the tamales did not hold well together, and was only able to successfully transfer 4 out of the 6 without completely destroying them.

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Flavor wise, sadly, there’s not much to say.  Maybe because Hormel was targeting the white suburban American market, they dulled down any flavor the tamales may have had.  The masa didn’t have the sweet corn flavor, the beef inside was boringly unseasoned, and the sauce had no kick.  So boring.

Canteen Cup Tuesday, Hormel Tamales and Uncle Ben's Rice, a Budget ...

But maybe we could find something inside this factory made mess that could replace the most important part of a tamale… Love…

Alas, this tin can needs a journey to a wizard before we’d find love in these tamales.

Summary

The Hormel Tamales weren’t horrible… but they weren’t great. In fact, they weren’t much of anything, except maybe disappointing. I could see why Hormel would want to push it’s chili along with the tamales. It might actually rescue the tamales by hiding their severe blandness in beans and meat.

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  1. Daniel Crowder says:

    The Hormel canned tamale is absolutely my favorite canned meat product. Unfortunately during the pandemic this delicious item has been missing from the shelves of all my local grocery stores. I got to say, I'm truly bummed out over losing this tasty treat. My picky palate recognizes a five star delight when it senses one and these little tamales take the blue ribbon. What am I going to do first when the pandemic is over and this treat is no longer hoarded by its many faithful fans? Why grab me a whole case worth of Hormel Tamales in Chile Sauce of course.

  2. Michael Ferguson says:

    My sister and Ibothare happy to see the Hormel TamLes back on! These are a very tasty quick meal that so versatile!

  3. Lynn Lobliner says:

    In the 50s, when I was 9ish, I went across the street looking from my friend. She wasn't home but her dad was and he was heating a can of tamales on the stove, with the lid 7/8 cut off and up. I had never seen anyone heat a can before -- at our house we had to take it out of the can, put it in a pan and heat it. He let me try one and, having never tasted any Mexican food at that point, so they weren't bad. I went home and asked my mom if she'd buy tamales. Not sure if she said no but she never did. So while they may not be the best fare on the block, when camping and when pulling down a memory of Mr. Plein, I enjoy them. Canned peas don't taste like fresh peas either.

  4. Carol says:

    I love these tamales...especially the sauce that goes with them. I was looking for a copycat recipe for the Hormel sauce but everybody wants to "up" the ingredients. Wish Hormel would sell just the sauce. I'd use that on frozen tamales or homemade and maybe even use it on tacos or enchiladas!

  5. Binky says:

    I had a craving but I couldn't put my finger on it I looked in the cupboard and I saw a can of the Hormel beef tamales and so what I did was I put it in a microwave safe container and then on the bottom I put cream of mushroom soup the tamales more cream of mushroom soup onion powder garlic powder and mozzarella cheese I heated it up for 3 minutes stirred the sauce a bit so it's creamy I tell you I will definitely make that again. Under $3.00 to make. Great also in a slow cooker for hot dip and chips. I may use a different cheese next time.

    1. Binky says:

      Remove the paper first😊

    2. William Chester says:

      Amazing how some people eat garbage. I'm not talking about the ramales. Just all the crap this guy put on them.

  6. Chris Butterfield says:

    These tamales are of an era, like the twinkie and anything Chef Boyardee. The are now only consumed for nostalgic reasons by those who were fed them in their youth.

    Painstaking is one word.

  7. John Cole says:

    Take the paper off the tamales. Heat them and melt some cheese over them. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce with a fried egg or 2 on top!

  8. John Crenshaw says:

    tamales are not a labour of "love" that is a misnomer, tamale's are a dirt cheap way most "illegals" here in TEXAS use to screw over the gringo.....everything about the tamale is dirt cheap as far as "ingredients goes typically. the "masa" is nothing more than semi fine "cornmeal"/ corn flour mixed with a "oil/fat" of choice and water. .mixed to a consistency of a "spreadable paste"......the reason the corn husks are used...is because in ancient times most piss poor central American villages ground their own corn after drying it and simply had a surplus of corns husks laying around(most was typically burned as fuel or fed to the swine being raised and used at the most "traditional" filler) as corn husks, as is most of the corn plant indigestible to actual human digestion fue to its high cellulose content that's the external portion around each corn kernel.

    so they used the husks and spread the "corn paste" inside them and either "filled them with various aspects meats veggies berries ect or even not at all.......then typically cooked them with various methods depending on region and technological standards( from bake in earthen ware/stone ware ceramic vessels to "barbeque/grilling " often directly in the coal bed of the fire..

    either way the water inside would boil/steam and "super heat the ground corn particulate which would expand and then "uptake" the fat used..

    ergo everything about the tamale is an over processed "food product" period and most sadly utilize pork and pork fat/lard which is over cooked and often over spiced because its a nasty food source its self and if you have ever been to a butcher shop "south of the boarder" you will know why because most dont utilize any kind of proper refrigeration or much have high standards of cleanliness....

    unlike a "canned" variant which does not risk mold and mildew contamination, or salmonella botulism ect and while it may be the "lips and assholes of "mechanically separated beef" at least it is beef and not pork or god only knows what ground up( by the illegals selling out the trunks of their cars)

    and the cans them selves are sealed and heated to over 250 degrees fare height for differing amounts of time depending on what's being in the can its acidity value ect and since its sealed in its can its "pre cooked" and literally ready to eat straight out of the can.. its also "shelf-stable" for years/decades long past its "guaranteed "expiration date just as all modern canned food made since 2015 in America is with few exceptions as long as its made in a U.S. facility /factory which is governed by the F.D.A and U.S.D.A..

    in close ill take canned tamales over those out of some illegals trunk any day and best of all its better for my wallet for literal "junk food"

    1. mustard seed says:

      Considering the fact your name is “John Crenshaw” and you appear to behave like a KKK reject, I seriously doubt you’ve been around ANY Mexican, and especially not Mexicans in the process of making tamales (which is a family activity).

    2. William Chester says:

      I agree with you whole-heartedly. When I was a kid back in the mid to late '50's there was a maxican family that sold tamales out of thier garage. It was a regular thing to read in the newspaper where they were shutt down because the health department found cat and dog meat in the tamales. This happened over and over. They just kept doing the same thing over and over until they were busted again.

    3. Gerre Gannaway says:

      You have more choices than "those out of some illegals trunk" and "an over processed 'food product'". I have watched a Latina neighbor prepare tamales for her family, and the process was, indeed, a labor of love.

      Have you tried Pedro's Tamales, which are available in some of the large grocery store chains? They aren't canned, and they're pretty good.

      Have you tried reviewing your spelling skills? "Earthen ware" is one word: earthenware. "Stone ware" is also one word: stoneware. "Its self" should be "itself". "South of the boarder" is "south of the border". "Dont" is "don't". "Them selves" should be "themselves". "Fare height" is "fahrenheit". "Ect" should be "etc". "Its", when used as a contraction, should be "it's". "Ill" should "I'll".

      And you're worried about tamales?

    4. ChiefThuderbutt says:

      So masa is just semi fine cornmeal? I suggest you Google the word nixtamalization and learn the truth. Nixtamalization adds flavor and makes cornmeal a healthier food.

  9. Bucky says:

    I don't eat bootleg trunk tamales either. My dad actually likes canned tamales he swears the Hormel ones are better than Nalley's or other off brands. My dad also likes Vienna sausages and a lot of other marginal foods too though like canned corned beef.

    Most tamales suck because too much masa. I actually ate a can tonight, I haven't in many years. It was just bland like mentioned. I think jazzed up with cheese and hot sauce and maybe some chili or beans it would be more tolerable.

    I should have had someone send me some canned tamales when I lived in Italy. Mexican food or the ingredients to make it were scarce.

    These may be OK for nostalgia or poverty or camping but overall are best to be avoided.

  10. TamaleLord says:

    You prepared them wrong. The sauce they come in is bland as fuck. Buy a bunch of these tamales. Line them up in a glass casserole dish after taking the paper off. Then pour a shit load of red enchilada sauce over them and heat them up in the oven. They taste a hundred times better that way.

    1. William Chester says:

      Oh yes.... just like all mexican food. Completely cover everything in a hot chili cauce to mask the stinch of the rotten food. Ever notice that all mexican food are all made with just a few simple ingredients,
      Beans, corn, rice, peppers, cheese. It's all the same crap just prepared differently. Boring!

      1. Gerre Gannaway says:

        Have you ever been to Mexico? Monterrey, Mexico City. or even Acapulco? The people who live there don't eat what you refer to as "all mexican food", and it isn't made with "just a few simple ingredients". The food that you describe is TexMex.

  11. John John John Boo Boo says:

    I'm white and this is how I like them. Sue me.

  12. K says:

    I personally love Hormel tamales. They are too spicy as it is imo.

  13. Shoney Wokman says:

    Buncha mouth breathers commenting. I'll tell you where you can stick your can of tamales.

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