Indio’s annual Tamale Festival celebrates a taste of Mexico

More than 100,000 people enjoy the annual Tamale Festival

by Karissa Gall — December 31, 2012

pot full of tamales — Tamales is a Mexican dish of seasoned meat wrapped in cornmeal dough and steamed or baked in corn husks. — Photo courtesy City of Indio

Situated relatively close to the Mexican border, the city of Indio is a hot spot for authentic Mexican cuisine and since 1992 has been home to the Indio International Tamale Festival.

The festival has grown from a half-day event with 15 tamale vendors and 2,500 attendees to a two-day event with 70 tamale vendors and an attendance of over 100,000. There are four stages of entertainment for live music and traditional Mexican folkloric dancing, three beer gardens, a carnival with rides and games, a parade and a kiddie land. It has been featured on the Food Network, which ranked the festival in the top 10 of All-American Food Festivals in the nation, and holds the Guinness record for the world’s largest tamale at 40 feet in length.

Hot tamales

When asked how tamales are featured at the festival, Jim Curtis, the community services manager for the City of Indio, said that “with 70 tamale vendors selling all types of tamales, the tamales feature themselves.”

“Bring your appetite and be open to trying all kinds of tamales, including chocolate, mango, strawberry, duck, lobster and the traditional beef, chicken and pork tamales,” he said.

But make sure you leave room for the famous tamale judging contest—a competition open to all tamale vendors. According to Curtis, past local restaurant winners include the Jackalope Ranch and the Adobe Grill.

More than just tamales

The festival takes place in the heart of the city and features free admission, free parking and free entertainment. As the local kickoff to the holiday season, the event is held every year on the first weekend in December.

If you can’t wait until next December for an area festival, Curtis said that the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival, which takes place February 15 to 24 in 2013, is also a popular event. It features a variety of date vendors, a date cooking show sponsored by Dole, an Amateur Date Recipe Contest and traditional fair activities. Presale tickets for the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival are available online and will be at a discounted rate through to February 14. Regular tickets are $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and $7 for children aged six to 12. Children five and under are free.

The Jackalope Ranch

The Jackalope Ranch is a three-time winner at the Indio International Tamale Festival. According to restaurant owner Lee Morcus, the Jackalope earned Best Traditional Tamale in 2010, Best of the Festival and Best Traditional Tamale in 2011, and Second Best Tamale of the Festival and Best Commercial Tamale in 2012.

“It’s the same tamale every year that wins,” said Morcus. “It’s a spicy pork tamale.”

He said the taste of the tamale is what wins the judges’ tastebuds year after year.

“There are a lot of ingredients,” said Morcus. “Our gals are very particular about everything that goes into them. They make their own masa mix (tamale dough) from ground corn, which is really important to get the right flavour, thickness, consistency and texture. We buy pork shoulders, marinate them, slow roast them and hand-shred them. We use a proprietary blend of chillies. We use real corn husks—even the way you steam them makes a difference."

On top of all that, Morcus said, “the most important ingredient that goes in is love.”

“Our gals are terrific; they’re passionate about making our tamales," he said. "They do it every year and they’re just fanatical about what they do. That’s the most important ingredient—the passion and love that goes into making these things.”

Unique dining experience

The Jackalope Ranch operates year round from its landscaped 6½-acre property in Indio. It features authentic Californian cuisine, Mexican cuisine and classic barbecue fare as well as an outdoor palapa bar that boasts “the best happy hour in Palm Springs.”

“This is no typical palapa bar; this thing is amazing,” said Morcus. “We’ve won awards for several years from various consumer polls done by the local media.

“Our entire facility is custom built. The facility is a $38-million facility and the attention to detail that went into this place—it’s remarkable. It’s like you’re not even in the desert when you’re here.”