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From Cootie Brown’s to Texas Tamale Company, some of the best Mexican food in the country is just a click away.
By
Thrillist Editorial, and Caitlin Morton
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Nothing hits the spot quite like a fresh, piping hot tamale, but they can be pretty tricky to make from scratch. And finding the sort of truly transcendent tamales in a restaurant within driving distance from your house? Even trickier.
Fortunately, there are a handful of legendary tamale joints across the U.S. that will ship their wildly delicious husk-wrapped delicacies anywhere in the country via Goldbelly. And we really do mean legendary: Think Cootie Brown’s in Tennessee, Texas Tamale Company in Houston, Fat Mama’s Tamales in Mississippi, and more.
We’ve put together a short list of some of the best Goldbelly offerings here, making it easier for you to stock up and give into those culinary cravings whenever they may strike.
Johnson City, Tennessee’s beloved Cootie Brown’s makes some stellar, flavorful tamales—surrounded in tender masa and wrapped in a corn husk—and now you can get your hands on a variety of them thanks to this special sampler pack. Each pack comes with a dozen tamales in up to two of its six options: Traditional Beef (shredded beef simmered in molé sauce), Chicken (shredded all-white meat chicken breast cooked in molé sauce), Black Bean (black beans, caramelized onions, and molé sauce), Verde Chicken (all-white meat chicken breast smothered in salsa verde), Fiesta (fire-roasted corn, black beans, and roasted red peppers with molé), or Smoked Pork (smoked pulled pork in molé sauce). Plus, you get your pick of three different sauces to accompany them: verde, house, or molé.
Houston’s Texas Tamale Company has been turning out top-notch tamales since the 80s (and have expanded well past the home kitchen where it all started). Now, you can get your fix from afar thanks to these special variety packs, which come loaded with 48 handmade gourmet tamales in four of its popular flavors: Mexican Beef, Black Bean, Spicy Chicken, and Pork. And while four dozen is technically enough to feed up to 15 people, we have faith that with enough gumption and dedication, you could put a significant dent in this on your own.
Another Houston mainstay, Picos Restaurant is helmed by chef Arnaldo Richards (originally from Monterey, Mexico), who serves up perfected versions of his grandmother’s homestyle recipes. The restaurant originally opened in 1984 and has since become one of the best Mexican restaurants in town—one bite of the eatery’s Oaxacan tamales, and you’ll understand why. This sampler of best-sellers includes six each of: Chicken in Green Chile (corn husk-wrapped savory chicken in green chile), and Pork in Red Sauce (banana leaf-wrapped tamales with pork in red chile sauce).
El Charro Café was founded in Tucson way back in 1922 (it’s still run by the same family), offering a wide variety of northern Mexican and Tucson-style Mexican dishes. This sampler pack lets you choose four tamale flavors from El Charro’s extensive line-up: Green Corn, Chicken Tomatillo, Red Chile Beef, Red Chile Pork, Vegan Hola Hemp Original, Vegan Hola Hemp Chipotle, Vegan Red Chile Jackfruit, Sunflower Chicken, Pumpkin Spice, and Vegan Hazelnut Dessert Tamales. We’re drooling already.
Straight out of Natchez, Mississippi, Fat Mama’s Tamales has become a local landmark thanks to its wildly tasty homemade tamales. This pack gets you up to five dozen of its “Mississippi Tamales,” which are made with a combo of seasoned ground beef and pork surrounded by spicy masa, wrapped in a corn husk, and cooked for over three hours.
Dedicated to using only organic, non-GMO corn and hormone- and antibiotic-free meat, Tucson Tamale has been dishing out delicious tamales since 2008. Now you can get their best stuff delivered straight to your own kitchen thanks to this special sampler pack, which comes with 16 assorted tamales in four different flavors: Green Chile Chicken, Green Chile Pork & Cheese, Green Chile & Cheese, and Black Bean & Cheese. And just in case you don’t have it in you to finish 16 tamales at once, no worries. These things can keep fresh in your freezer for up to a year.
For more than five generations, The Hatch Chile Store has been growing and selling New Mexico’s most iconic chile. These traditional tamales are made with Hatch green chile and chicken (a particularly legendary combination), which are stuffed into fluffy masa made with stone-ground maseca (dried corn), wrapped in a corn husk, and steamed to perfection. They can be frozen for up to six months, but we have a feeling you’re going to want to eat these bad boys the second they arrive on your doorstep.
We've already sung the praises of Fat Mama’s Tamales, but this list would be woefully incomplete without a mention of FM’s special tamale Party Pack. This kit comes with everything you’ll need to throw a proper tamale-centric celebration, including four dozen tamales (both ground beef and roast pork), four jars of “Fire & Ice” sweet and spicy pickles, and four bottles of Fat Mama’s “Knock-You-Naked” margarita mix. Just tell us where and when the party is, and we’ll be there.
