Happy Tamales Day!

Holidays have never really been my thing. Fireworks make me jump; Christmas shopping in packed malls makes me frantic and driving on Labor Day weekend gives me agita. I think mothers, fathers and veterans should be given deference year-round; and I don’t really know the difference between Arbor Day and Earth Day.

The obvious exception to this rule is Thanksgiving, for its large scale embrace of many enjoyable food-related gerunds: baking, roasting, stuffing, sautéing, slicing, mincing, serving, eating, drinking, etc. While I am consistently thankful for family, friends and country, it is the singular time each year when it’s appropriate to fete these things with butter. Last Thanksgiving alone, I used 14 sticks for 12 guests. Surely, it was what the Pilgrims had in mind.

In recent months, however, my holiday repertoire has expanded by one. I, along with my family, now celebrate the weekly observance of Tamales Day. Most Saturdays, we make a pilgrimage across the Mid-Hudson Bridge that ends at Tacocina, 1585 Route 9 in Wappingers Falls — home of the best tamales in the Hudson Valley, bar none.

Tacocina, owned by Cesar Navarro, is a family-run business that’s two in one. In front, it’s a grocery store filled with Latin American comestibles and ingredients, including a good selection of dried chiles in bulk. Tucked in back, there is a small restaurant consisting of a kitchen and stainless service counter where you can place orders for authentic Mexican meals. The area in front of the counter is adorned with red, white and green garlands, a hand-painted mural and pictures of the Mexican World Cup team, which stand out against the soft yellow walls. There are several tables at which you may eat or watch Spanish-language television while waiting for your take out.

The restaurant’s daily fare includes burritos, chiles rellenos, tortas and tacos, of course. Once Saturday comes, however, the family matriarch appears to lead the production of the hundreds of tamales it takes to make Tamales Day the happiest day of the week for Tacocina’s patrons. My younger brother lived in Oaxaca for three months and reports that their food, specifically the tamales, is the closest you can get to his home away from home without making the trip yourself.

For those who are not yet familiar with these delicious treats, a brief introduction: tamales is the plural of tamal, which is a butter-like mass of masa (dough), made from masa harina (finely ground cornmeal flour) and water, spread on a corn husk and topped length-wise with a line of sweet or savory filling. The husk is then folded over, surrounding the filling with masa and encapsulating the whole in the husk. It is then steam-cooked until the tamal has a dense cake-like consistency.

Tacocina serves five different types of tamales, both savory and sweet, for $1.50 each. Fillings of the former are: verde, with pork in green sauce; rajas, with jalapeños, onion, tomato and cheese; and mole, with chicken. The smokiness of mole, a dark brown sauce made from dried chile peppers, spices and Mexican chocolate, is a perfect complement to the rich masa. Verde’s blend of green chiles makes it a spicier selection, served with slow-cooked pieces of pork that are velvety on the tongue. Chiles in the rajas tamales also have a kick to them, which is muted only slightly by melted white cheese. For those who crave additional spice abatement, I suggest a tall cold glass of horchata, a blend of milk, rice, sugar and spice that is almost like rice pudding in liquid form.

The two types of dulce, or sweet, tamales are: piña, with chunks of pineapple, and the bright pink dulce, filled with large swollen raisins. Though I prefer raisin in general, mouthfuls of these piña tamales taste almost like pineapple upside down cake. There are also several non-tamales desserts to choose from, all made on premises. Try the dense rich flan Napolitano, $1.99, made from the family recipe.

For that matter, there are many non-tamales options for lunch and dinner, too. As one might imagine, their tacos, also at $1.50 each, are extremely popular. Tacocina is a play on “taco kitchen” — cocina is Spanish for kitchen, my friend tells me; I took French. And, yes, you should follow the rule: if you’re going to Jeff’s Clam Shack, order the clams; at Big Mel’s Pork Rind Heaven, get the pork rinds, even if it seems counterintuitive. Thus, you should not leave Tacocina without trying the tacos.

They come in 10 meaty varieties, each heap of filling nestled on doubled-up round floppy corn tortillas with cilantro confetti, garnished with disks of crisp radish, a slow-cooked leek bulb and slices of lime. For the middle-of-the-road diner, I recommend al pastor (spicy pork) and shredded pollo (chicken, pronounced “poy-o”) tacos, topped with either of the two spicy homemade salsas, red or green. Adventurous types can try lengua (beef tongue) or cabeza (head), though I admit that both are a little too exotic for my palate.

The tamales, however, are a sure bet. Try a few onsite and get some to take home. They refrigerate and freeze well, and can easily be steamed back into their original, delicious form. Until next time, I wish you all a very happy Tamales Day.

Megan Labrise

(Orig. pub. date: March 28, 2007)