Monday Through Saturday at 6205 19th Street
Four tamales, every day we're open — pork, chicken with green chile, cheese with green chile, and bean — all $15.00 a dozen, no surprise fees on the menu. The recipe is the one Tony folded the first batch with. The masa, the husks, the steaming, the hand-folding — all of it still happens at 6205 19th Street. Holiday season runs October through December — the same four tamales, just every steamer in the kitchen running full.
All four are always available, Monday through Friday and on Saturdays from noon to 5. Bean, cheese, and chicken tamales are steamed fresh for you, so call at least an hour ahead. Under 10 dozen, that's all the notice we need.
No hidden fees. No guessing. These are our prices.
Menu prices are cash prices. We use dual pricing, so paying by card costs a little more. Prices subject to change. Call (806) 780-LEAL for large orders. 5+ dozen orders require 48-hour notice. 50+ dozen require 1–2 weeks and a deposit. Holiday season (October–December) — order ahead.
How They Get Made
Every tamale that leaves 6205 19th Street is folded by hand the same way Tony folded the first batch.
The corn masa is the foundation, and we don't cut corners on it. The recipe hasn't changed since the Tortilla Factory days. No lard, no preservatives, no extenders, no shortcuts that would let us make more tamales faster. It's corn, so there's no gluten in it either.
Pork shoulder is shredded, not chunked. Chicken is white-meat only. Beans are refried with no lard added. Green chile is roasted, not raw. Cheese melts inside the masa, not on top. Each filling has its own day in the kitchen.
Corn husks soak overnight. Masa goes on the husk, filling goes on the masa, and the husk wraps around it with one fold and a tie. We don't have a folding machine. We have hands. That's the part that makes a tamale taste like someone made it for you.
Tamales steam in batches in the same kind of pots they've always steamed in. About an hour, give or take. They come out hot, and the husks come off easy when they're ready to eat.
Common Questions
The questions we get most often. Call (806) 780-LEAL for anything not covered here.
Call us at (806) 780-LEAL. Christmas orders are call-in only, and tamales are picked up on Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24, from 8 AM to 5:30 PM at 6205 19th Street. Holiday food orders are picked up the day before, Wednesday, December 23. By the second week of December the kitchen is fully booked, so call early.
For bean, cheese, and chicken, yes. We steam those fresh for you, so call (806) 780-LEAL at least an hour before you come by. Bigger orders need more time: 48 hours for 5 dozen or more, and a week or two for 50 dozen and up.
Refrigerated in their husks or in a sealed container, our tamales keep for about four to five days. They're best within the first two — that's when the masa is freshest and the filling has the most moisture.
Yes. Tamales freeze well for up to three months. Wrap them in plastic or store them in a freezer bag with the air pressed out. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating, or steam them straight from frozen for a little longer than usual.
Steam them. A few inches of water in a pot, a steamer basket or rack on top, husks still on, ten to fifteen minutes covered. Microwave works in a pinch (wrap in a damp paper towel, two minutes), but the masa stays better in steam. We don't recommend the oven — it dries the husks out.
No. There's no lard in our masa and no lard in any of our tamales. That goes for all four varieties, pork included.
Our masa is. It's made from corn, and corn doesn't have gluten. So whether a tamale is gluten-free comes down to what's inside it, and most of our fillings are. If you're avoiding gluten, call and ask about the one you want before you order. Everything is made in one shared kitchen, so if you have celiac disease, talk to us before you order.
Pork is the warmest of the four, with red chile sauce and shredded pork. Chicken comes with green chile, so it's brighter and lighter. Bean is vegan and the most filling of the meatless ones. Cheese with green chile is vegetarian, and it's the one locals fight over. All four are available every day we're open, holidays included.
No, we don't ship right now. Every order is picked up here at 6205 19th Street in Lubbock, or delivered around town through DoorDash. Holiday orders are pickup only.
Christmas orders are open
We're already taking holiday orders by phone. Call us, tell us how many dozen and which kinds, and we'll write your name down for pickup. Holiday orders go out on two days this year: food on the 23rd, tamales on Christmas Eve.
By the second week of December every steamer we have is spoken for. The sooner you call, the easier it is for us to say yes.
We don't ship. Every holiday order is picked up here at 6205 19th St.
Holiday food orders
Wednesday, December 23
10 AM – 8 PM
Christmas tamales
Thursday, December 24 · Christmas Eve
8 AM – 5:30 PM
Roadside stand, south Lubbock
From the third week of October through December, we're selling tamales at the corner of 83rd Street and the Highway 87 / I-27 frontage road. The stand carries pork tamales only. For chicken, bean, or cheese, come see us at the factory on 19th Street.
Questions about the stand, or anything else? Call the factory and ask.
