{"id":21969,"date":"2019-09-10T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thatrecipe.com\/blog\/?p=21969"},"modified":"2025-11-23T14:17:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T22:17:17","slug":"pressure-cooker-chicken-tamales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thatrecipe.com\/pressure-cooker-chicken-tamales\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicken Tamales Made Faster with a Pressure Cooker"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have a confession to make: I am a huge fan of tamales. From the soft, steaming masa to the savory fillings, there's just something irresistible about these flavorful Mexican treats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as much as I love tamales, I often find myself bemoaning the long cooking time. That is until I discovered the magic of cooking them in a pressure cooker. Not only does it cut down the cooking time significantly, but it also produces amazingly tender and delicious chicken tamales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn how to make traditional tamales with modern techniques. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I found this recipe in a file of my mother's after she passed away. It is from her younger brother Clark Smith. Since I had a bag of masa mix that my <\/strong>brother bought when he visited and made fried catfish, I knew I had to make it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I altered the directions to make them in my Instant Pot because I didn't want to wait as long. I love tamales!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pressure cooker does a great job of speeding up the cooking of both the filling and the tamales themselves. But, it doesn't do anything to spread up the rolling process. The best way to handle that is to recruit help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masa for Chicken Tamales<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can follow the recipe below and make your own masa, made extra flavorful with the cooking liquid. Or you can buy prepared masa at a Mexican specialty market, or at most mainstream grocery stores around holiday time. At least here in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key to a good tamale is the right ratio of masa to filling. The masa does not expand much as it steams, so you want about a 50 to 50 ratio. Enough masa to go all the way around the filling but not so much that is feels like all masa. Of course adding the cooking liquid to the masa does make it incredible tasting.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Recipe<\/h2>

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Ingredients
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