The Tamale Pie Experiment

Only one way to classify this - I give it an A for Awesome!

I had made tamale pie before but never like this! I wanted a tamale pie that tasted like a tamale, not like chili with cornbread baked on top. I searched around for recipes, couldn't find quite what I was looking for so I decided to just wing it.

I sliced up some leftover pork roast, about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, marinated it overnight in salsa verde.

I made up the masa just as I would for regular tamales ...
2 cups masa harina
2 cups chicken broth1/2 cup corn oil (works fine in place of lard)1 teaspoon baking powderI used half the mixture to line the bottom of a deep casserole dish (8x11), added a couple layers of the marinated pork, a layer of hot Rotel (not adding too much additional juice), a layer of shredded cheese (used packaged Mexican 4 cheese blend), and topped with the remaining masa mixture.

I decided to bake it in a water bath, placing the pan inside a larger pan filled with an inch or so of water so it would be more steamed like tamales. I covered the large pan with foil and baked for about an hour at 400 until the masa was set. I used a touch of bottled taco sauce on top.

It was so good and so easy that I may never go through the process of making regular tamales again! This recipe would work great with chicken or beef too.

The Tamale Pie Experiment was a complete success!

This post linked to:
The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Food on Fridays
Frugal Friday
Foodie Friday