Tamalada is a tradition illness can’t be part of
Many Latino families in the United States, will gather around the kitchen table, to participate in a holiday family tradition known by some as a “tamalada.” A tamalada is a tamal-making session, creating dozens of individually wrapped servings of steamed entrees.
The tamal is a dish with roots in Mesoamerican culture that has taken different variations throughout Latin America. Other versions are known as pasteles or hallacas, and may use banana leaves to cover the ingredients, while tamales are cooked in corn husk-wrapped bundles, filled with a corn-based dough that encases a tasty filling, usually meat or poultry.
Since tamales, pasteles and hallacas are traditionally made at home, the USDA reminds families to include food safety in the preparation.
Wash hands before and after handling tamal ingredients, and clean and sanitize surfaces where the tamales will be prepared. Germs that cause food poisoning can survive in many places and spread around the kitchen.
Don’t cross-contaminate. Raw meat and poultry can spread germs to surfaces where other ingredients are prepared. Use different utensils, plates and cutting boards, to prepare raw meat and poultry.
Making tamales is a lengthy process. Leaving cooked or raw food ingredients out too long at room temperature, can cause bacteria to grow to dangerous levels, that can cause foodborne illness. Bacteria multiplies rapidly in the Danger Zone, temperatures between 40º F and 140º F.
If making tamales for more than two hours, keep cooked meat or poultry simmering on the stove, or a slow cooker, at a minimum of 140º F. Chill corn dough (masa) that contains animal lard or broth, at 40º F or below, in the refrigerator and bring out small amounts at a time, to keep the assembly line going.
Cook meat or poultry used to stuff the tamal to a safe internal temperature. Whole meats cook to 145º F. Ground meats cook to 160º F, while poultry (whole or ground) cooks to 165º F. When steaming tamales, they should reach a safe internal temperature of 165º F, no matter which type of meat or poultry is used.
Once tamales are removed from the stove and served, any tamales not consumed within two hours, should be refrigerated. Tamales can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days. On the fourth day, either consume, discard or freeze those tamales for another day.
Frozen tamales should stay safe indefinitely, if frozen within those four days. For best quality, defrost and reheat tamales to a safe internal temperature of 165º F, within six months.
