Sometimes when cooking tamales, there are more of them than you can eat in one sitting. The place in the stomach ends before the appetite. But do you know how long tamales last in the fridge?
In short, if you have leftover tamales, the biggest problem after every tamale dinner is to preserve the leftover tamales without losing their quality.
How Long Do Tamales Last In The Fridge?
To preserve the tamales, chill them first, then place them in a zippered bag and refrigerate. Tamales can be stored for 4 to 7 days in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. Frozen meat tamales have a shorter shelf life of up to two months.
Try to get as much air out of the bags as you can and place a paper towel under each layer of tamales. To remove moisture.
This results in fewer ice crystals forming in and on the tamales. This is important because the ice crystals will ruin the texture of the tamale. Because of that, they will become soft when reheated.
But is this the only way? Here are a few methods and tips that seem to work well.
Storing Cooked Tamales
The most important thing when storing cooked tamales is to cool them first. If food is kept warm enough for bacteria and mold to grow, it will grow even when refrigerated.
Once cooled, you can store the tamales for 4 days to a week, or freeze them.
Frozen cooked tamales keep up to 6 months. However, if they are made from meat, they are best consumed within 2 months.
How long do tamales keep without refrigeration?
we are sure that you know how long tamales last in the fridge but do you know how long your tamales are without a fridge? Well, it depends a lot on the weather in your home. And whether you keep them in an air-conditioned room or not.
The food industry standard states that food should only stand for up to 4 hours at 4 to 26°C. And no more than 90 minutes at a temperature of 26 to 55°C.
That’s why it’s so important to refrigerate uneaten fresh tamales as quickly as possible. Cooked tamales should be prepared for storage by bringing them to room temperature as quickly as possible.
Do this by arranging them in a single layer on a cooling rack or tray. It is advisable to spread them out with a gap between each tamale.
Freshly cooked tamales retain heat well, so wait about an hour or two. Before transferring them to bags or plastic storage containers.
Should tamales be stored wrapped or unpackaged?
Although some advice suggests that tamales should be unwrapped for freezing. Because freezing destroys corn husk wrappers. This doesn’t seem to be necessary.
However, corn leaves soften when thawed. Therefore, reheating by baking or frying may help if you have frozen wrapped tamales.
How to reheat frozen tamales
The classic way to reheat tamales is to steam them. This best preserves their original taste and texture. However, other methods also work very well, such as frying.
To reheat steamed tamales, defrost them if they are frozen. And then put them in the steamer basket. Warm them up for 15-20 minutes. You can also steam them straight from the freezer. This will take about 30-35 minutes.
Storing Raw Tamales
Raw tamales keep in the refrigerator for the same amount of time as cooked ones. However, if they contain meat, it’s best not to wait that long and cook them 48 hours after cooking. Raw can also be frozen and will keep for six months.
However, Internet chefs agree that tamales are best frozen after cooking, not before.
Again, this is due to the effect of the ice crystals on the texture of the dough.
Also, frozen raw tamale ingredients can change flavor over long periods of time in the freezer and during thawing.
How to store corn leaves for tamales
If you bought dried tamale leaves, you may still have some corn husk left over from the tamale. A traditional meeting dedicated to the preparation of tamales.
What can you do about it?
Dried corn leaves, let dry, can be stored for up to a year. Just keep them well sealed to keep moisture out.
If you don’t have a lot of leftovers, consider adding flavor and aroma to your tamales. Laying the bottom of the double boiler or pan with the remaining sheets.
If there are too many of them or they no longer fit in the containers, you can dry the leaves. It is best to pack this re-dried husk separately from the unused one. So that if mold develops on your re-dried sheets, it won’t affect the rest.
Before use, carefully check the leaves for signs of mold. If you find any mold, it’s safer to just throw away the entire batch.
To avoid spoiling your stored tamales, make sure you refrigerate them sufficiently before storing them. Keep them covered while they are on the shelf and only defrost what you will use immediately.
Store properly and be healthy!