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Salteño Tamal — traditional dish from Salta, Salta Province, Argentina
Starter Meat

Food Flavour DNA

Nutritional Values

🔥620kcal
💪34gProtein
🌾52gCarbs
🥑30gFat
🌿6gFibre
⚖️2 tamales, 360 gServing

* Per serving · 2 tamales, 360 g. May vary.

Salteño Tamal

How to order / say it
Say it Tamal salteño — [tah-MAHL sal-TEH-nyoh]
Order One Salta-style tamal, please.
Locally Un tamal salteño, por favor.
Say locally

A seasoned cornmeal parcel filled with beef and wrapped in a corn husk.

Why try it?

Salta's tamal connects Andean corn traditions with Spanish-colonial stewing and communal preparation. Unwrapping one at the table feels like opening a small parcel of northern Argentina's rural memory.

How it tastes

The corn dough is soft, earthy, and faintly sweet, with a rich, peppery beef center. Steam carries the aroma of corn husk, paprika, cumin, and slow-cooked meat.

Origin & History — first documented: 1850

Tamales in northwestern Argentina descend from ancient Andean and pre-Columbian corn preparations. Salta's beef-filled form was shaped by colonial livestock culture and became established in rural households and city markets during the nineteenth century. By the twentieth century, tamales were central to Salta's regional celebrations and family cooking.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 🥩 300 g beef chuck
  • 🌾 220 g cornmeal
  • 🥣 350 ml beef stock
  • 🧄 120 g onion
  • 🥕 80 g red bell pepper
  • 🫒 45 g lard
  • 🧂 4 g paprika
  • 🧂 2 g cumin
  • 🥕 8 large corn husks
  • 🧂 8 g salt

Method

  1. 1 Simmer beef with onion, pepper, paprika, cumin, and stock until tender; shred it.
  2. 2 Cook cornmeal with hot stock and lard until thick, smooth, and spreadable.
  3. 3 Spread dough on soaked corn husks, add beef filling, and fold into parcels.
  4. 4 Steam the tamales for 45 minutes and serve hot.

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All South America recipes — Argentina — Salta — Salteño Tamal
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