The Tamale Business I Didn’t Mean to Start

I wasn’t trying to sell a million tamales. I just thought I could make them better.

Every time Fall rolls around, I get the same requests — and not just a few. A lot of them.

I didn’t think our tamale business would grow like it did, so back in the early days, I gave out my cell number. Just trying to be helpful.

Now?
Every September through December, my phone starts lighting up with folks asking:

“Are you making tamales this year?”
“Can I get a few dozen for Christmas?”
“Just a small order, nothing big!”

They're hopeful. Persistent. Some even try guilt.

But here’s the truth:
I’m not making tamales this year.
And I’m definitely not making thousands like we used to.

Because if I did, the Boss and I would have to build a commercial kitchen onto the back of our house.
And I am not doing that.

But I’ll tell you what I am doing…

🌽 The Story That Started with a Cooler

I live in Sterling, Illinois — a town where the Mexican culture isn’t just present, it’s baked into the streets.
We’ve got cantinas tucked behind grocery stores, Fiesta Days, Cinco de Mayo parades, and some of the best homemade dishes you’ll ever find served in foil pans and paper towels.

And yet, somehow, I’d never had a tamale.

One day after a round of golf, me and a few friends were hanging out at the clubhouse when a little Mexican lady walked in with a cooler. No branding. No sign. Just foil-wrapped tamales — three to a pack.

She sold out in five minutes.

I bought a pack, mostly out of curiosity. Took them home.
The Boss — who loves tamales — salted hers and said, “These are good.”

I tried mine and thought, eh. Not much meat. Masa was bland.
But they sold out fast. So clearly people wanted them.

That’s when my wheels started turning.

“If these had flavor and real meat in them, we could sell a bunch.”

The Boss rolled her eyes. She knows what happens when I get an idea like that.

Two days later, I had made a dozen tamales from scratch — fresh masa, red chile sauce, seasoned pork — and they were good.
Really good.

I took a few back to the clubhouse for folks to try.

I could have sold 20 dozen if I would have had them.

🛠️ From “Idea” to a Million Tamales

I didn’t have a restaurant or commercial kitchen anymore, and when I told the Boss I was thinking about going into the tamale business, she flat out said:

“You wanna bet? Not going to happen.”

She remembered the restaurant days. The long hours. The smell of restaurant in our clothes.

But I didn’t give up that easy.

I rented a commercial kitchen.
Built a process.
Figured out how to make 180 dozen tamales a day with just three people — start to finish.

We called them Mark’s Best Tamales.
Some of you might even remember us from the markets, or from when we loaded up a van with a freezer in the back and delivered them like Schwans.

Over the next 13 years, we sold over a million tamales.

🧂 So Why Am I Sharing This Now?

Because I’ve got 20 years of restaurant and tamale recipes — sauces, sides, seasoning blends, meat marinades, chili recipes, and tamale combos that took us years to perfect.

And even though we’re not selling anymore, I’ve been thinking...

What if I put together the full process — step by step —and shared it here?

I’m talking:

• How we made flavorful masa (not the kind most people settle for)
• Where to get real husks (not the dirty, odd sized, broken half-junk kind at big box stores)
• The fast way to spread masa without going crazy
• Sauce recipes people still ask me for
• Meat prep and cooking that actually works
• How we steamed, packed, and sold them like clockwork
• And much more

Photos. Short video clips. Clear instructions.
Not Pinterest-perfect fluff. Just the real stuff that actually works.